Storm Front (Dresden Case Files) (Paperback)

Harry Dresden, the series' protagonist, is everything that's great about the hardboiled anti-hero, with a twist: He's a wizard trying to make a living working practical magic in a modern world that's foolishly rejected the supernatural in favor of science and technology. Part average guy, part renaissance man, Harry's got a dark side, a wicked sense of humor and a deeply rooted, personal code of honor that drives him to risk everything to fight the supernatural forces preying on his clients, an attitude that puts him at constant, dangerous odds with both the bad guys and the authorities alike.

In Storm Front, when a routine murder investigation turns out to be anything but routine, the police reluctantly turn to Harry for help. But a case that started as a way to pay the rent soon gets complicated for Harry when he's forced to cross paths with the Chicago mob and a mysterious figure known as the Shadowman, drawing Harry into a web of black magic and danger.

Already under the Doom of Damocles (a form of probation placed on him by the White Council who oversee the ethical use of magic in the world of the mundane) Harry himself falls under suspicion and is forced to risk execution to solve the mystery and stop the Shadowman, before the killer takes another victim.

Storm Front is a riveting, action packed roller coaster ride of a novel, a damn good mystery with compelling characters set in a rich alternate reality universe where anything can happen. There's a little something for just about everyone here from black magic and the Chicago mob to vampire madams, demons and the fey.

I enjoyed this novel immensely and am looking forward to the next in the series.

Lieutenant Karrin Murphy is the Director of Special Investigations at the Chicago Police Department. The unit exists precisely because the supernatural folks listed above exist - and many of them commit crimes against humanity. Dresden is a paid consultant to this unit. In the novel's first pages Murphy informs Harry that a pair of corpses have been discovered in a hotel suite at the Madison, in a most compromising position. The crime scene is unusually gruesome. It appears that an extremely powerful supernatural force has been used to kill the couple. He is told to get to the scene ASAP! Just before Lt. Murphy's call, a distraught wife phoned. Her husband has gone missing under mysterious circumstances and Harry makes an appointment with her at her insistence. He usually searches for lost articles - not husbands.

More murders are committed - same MO. Harry becomes a suspect. To make matters worse, the White Council, a governing group of Wizards which monitors to prevent the use of dark magic, is on Harry's back. He has been placed under the "Doom of Damocles," a sort of wizard probation which could turn into a lethal sentence. Then murderous mobsters, magic most dark and heinous demons join in to make life deadlier.

"Storm Front" is a fine beginning to a series which has become a mainstay for fantasy/sci-fi fans. This is an action packed mystery, filled with a range of funny and scary characters: Mister (Harry's huge gray cat); Toot, a ditzy faery with faulty memory; Bob, an air spirit living in a skull in Harry's basement, who acts as Dresden's encyclopedia of magic lore, (the wizard cannot use the Internet as anything electrical malfunctions when he is close by); Susan Rodriguez, a very sexy reporter for the Chicago Arcane, who has the hots for Harry; the evil omnipresent Shadowman; and Lt. Murphy (Harry's Chicago PD friend and boss). Harry is an unusual character. He has a slapstick sense of humor that leads one to think he is less powerful than he actually is - and less serious. He is honest, has a deep-rooted code of honor, and a dark side also. The explanations behind his spells are fascinating, and go into more detail than most books in this genre. I found this a major plus.

I am a huge fan of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, (Laurell Hamilton is the author). Anita's job is a little like Harry's. She does work for a consulting firm, and is also on a special supernatural investigation team, with the local police, which hunts down other-worldly predators. While I really enjoyed "Storm Front," I prefer the Blake novels and Anita's character. She is much edgier and her storylines take a darker approach than the Dresden/Jim Butcher novels.' Although the Dresden Files deal with super evil beings, Harry lightens things up a bit. I think it important to note my preference, as it will give the potential reader an idea of where I am coming from with my review and rating. For those who prefer the lighter side of the preternatural, and more humor with your monsters, Harry Dresden is for you! Recommended!
JANA

Harry Dresden is a good guy with problems of his own when a gangster pulls up in his car wanting to hire him. Now Harry is in need of money right enough, but he's also basically an honest kind of guy. He turns the gangster down flat and basically makes an enemy he could do without. Things progress with Harry stumbling into one sticky situation after another often with laughable consequences. I particularly like the skull-with-an-attitude on his shelf.

Great book. Buy it and all the others in this series. You'll love them!

Mark E. Cooper
Author of The Warrior Within