Synopsis: As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put it mildly—stinks.
So when the Chicago P.D. bring him in to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name…
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Point of View: First Person
Themes: Character Development, Magic, Mythological Creatures
Intended Audience: Adult, there’s not really much here that can really be called explicit, directly, but it’s definitely meant for adults.
Style: Put yourself in the shoes of a detective or private investigator, then make yourself a wizard.
Pacing: Solid pacing all through the book. It reads fast and easy with little to no dull moments.
Evaluation: I’m looking forward to the next book, so that says a lot. The pacing does a lot for this book. In fact, it’s not just me, but most people I see reviewing this book say it’s just one of those books that you don’t put down often, and when you do you pick it back up again soon.
I enjoyed all the characters. I can’t think of any issues with any. They all have their personalities and they are easy to detect. Dresden will go into some extensive descriptions of characters and sometimes they are women. It’s okay if he’s attracted to women. He doesn’t say anything I would see as offensive. My only issue is that sometimes those descriptions are so long (no matter the gender) that I did get a bit lost while reading them. This leads into the next paragraph dealing with Jim Butcher’s growth as a writer…
This entry is a little rough around the edges, very little. There’s not much wrong with it at all, but being book one, and the first book Jim Butcher wrote if you try really hard you can probably tell. I’ve heard that it is evident he gets better at his writing as the series progresses and I’m looking forward to seeing that growth.
Ending Thought: Absolutely a good read. If you like urban fantasy this is a must-read. If you like wizards or even just magic: must-read. Mythical creatures? Read it.