The Dresden Files ( Dabel Brothers / Butcher / Syaf / Pimentel)
Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he’s the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things — and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a — well, whatever. There’s just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder 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. And that’s when things start to get… interesting. Magic. It can get a guy killed.
My knowledge of The Dresden Files extends only as far as the SciFi show that lasted only one season, but I enjoyed the hell of the show. On my large stack of novels I’d like to read, The Dresden files are towards the top. Knowing that there are a slew of novels out there also means that the world Harry Dresden lives in is very flushed out and all the background characters have full rich back stories. I was afraid that all this pre-existing material may make the material inaccessible to those who haven’t read the novels, I happy to be wrong. Novelist turned comic scribe Jim Butcher, also the writer of the Dresden novels, does dump the readers into established relationships, but uses Dresden’s inner monologue to let readers in on what’s happening. While this may be tedious to long time Dresden fans, we new readers greatly appreciate it. The story is compelling as it drops bits and pieces of back story along the way while still moving the present case forward. Plus, the cliffhanger is one the makes the reader want to scramble for the next issue.The pencils by Ardian Syaf and inks by Joe Pimentel set the mood for the book nicely. If they keep up this pace, then the wizard duels will be something to see.
Grade: B+
