Review: Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher

Title: Storm Front

Publisher: Roc

Date Published: April 1, 2000

ASIN: B000WH7PLS

Links: Amazon, Goodreads

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.

New Read: Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher

Title: Storm Front

ASIN: B000WH7PLS

Publisher: Roc (April 1, 2000)

Links: Amazon, Goodreads

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…

Recommended by my wife, Christina.

Comment below about your thoughts on this book, no spoilers, please!

Review: Mistborn

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Mistborn Trilogy

Publisher: Tor Books

Date Published: Feb 1, 2011

ASIN: B004H1TQBW

Links: Amazon, Goodreads

Synopsis: For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

Mistborn: The Final Empire — Kelsier, a brilliant thief has turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler as the mark. Kel’s plan is the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into the fold. But she will have to learn to trust if she is to master powers of which she never dreamed.

The Well of Ascension — Evil has been defeated; the war has just begun. Vin, the street urchin who has become the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire.

The Hero of Ages — The Deepness has returned, along with unusually heavy ashfalls and powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed. Vin and Eland investigate the past to save the future, and in the end, sacrifices must be made.

Genre: Fantasy

Point of View and Tense: Third person, Past tense

Themes: Character development, Magic, Small-scale fights, Large-scale battles

Intended Audience: This would be a fine read for young adults up to any age.

Style: The writing is quite straightforward, not lofty or “purple” by any means. It’s a fun read with an interesting world.

Pacing: There are a few times when the pacing can slow, especially in the 2nd book, but all in all the pacing moves at a very regular speed. Not fast, not slow.

Evaluation: There are two things about this series that really make it stand out: the magic system and the ending of book 3.

The magic system is very unique and almost has a “superhero” vibe to it. It makes me want to use it in my own writing, but of course, I won’t, because it would be really obvious. It just feels like one of those things you want to see more of. Really fun stuff.

Of course, I won’t spoil anything, but after finishing I absolutely felt like the ending made the series. It really just brings it all together. It’s an unexpected change of events that makes you go, “huh, yeah that makes sense, now.”

The series together is around 700,000 words (2582 pages) so be ready for that length. I won’t go and say it’s super long, these days books seem to be getting longer, but each book is over 200k, so it’s not short.

Ending Thought: This is a great series for someone looking for a good fantasy read. Especially if you don’t want to dig into something really deep, but you want something with some length that you can enjoy for a good amount of time. It’s quickly becoming a classic among fantasy groups and there’s a good reason why. It’s a good, solid, story with fun characters and a solid plot.