Another visit to the life of professional wizard Harry Dresden, this time finds him trying to protect the women involved with an erotic filmmaker from an entropy curse. There are hints of sex, of course, and seduction, and Harry, being human, can’t help but react, but really this is not a novel about sex as much as it is about family and willpower.

Family? Oh yeah, Harry finds some in an unexpected place.

As usual there are two plots, tightly intertwined. The “B” plot has to do with a rogue vampire trying to kill Harry. Kincaid, the body guard from book 5, makes a repeat appearance in this novel.

Oh, yeah, and Harry acquires a dog.

by Jim Butcher

A visit to Harry Dresden’s Chicago is like putting on the perfect pair of faded jeans. You know the denim is old, and you know the seat’s about to rip out, but you just don’t care, because they make you happy. These books are the same way: you know that Harry’s going to take a beating, and you know there’s going to be financial angst and lots of mayhem, but Harry is such a likable fellow, and the writing is just so real, that even if you’re the type who cringes whenever the hero takes a punch, you keep reading.

In this installment, we find Harry chasing after the shroud of Turin. No, I’m not kidding. Along the way, of course, there are demons and mafiosos to deal with and oh, did we mention that one of the Vampire Courts is trying to engage him in a duel that will trigger the all-out final battle between the vamps and the White Council.

Oh, and then there’s the fact that Susan, the almost-vamp lover Harry still pines for is not only back, but in the thick of the action.

At this point, such rock-and-hard-place situations should be no surprise.

It should also be no surprise that this book is completely riveting, and great fun.

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2) by Jim Butcher

Book Two of Jim Butcher’s fantasy/mystery series The Dresden Files mixing it up with werewolves, of which, we learn from Bob (the spirit in the skull) there are many different kinds. Butcher’s novels are designed so that readers who follow the series in order will pick up the continuing relationships between the characters, but so that they can be read as stand-alone stories as well - which is my wordy way of saying that there was enough introduction included to make sure that new readers knew who everyone was, but not so much that it felt at all repetitive.

With the eponymous television series now in its seventh week on the Sci-Fi channel (here in the States, and on Space, I think, in Canada) comparisons are inevitable, but while the feel of the series is sort of “cozy paranormal” the books retain a much more classic detective novel tone, with strong secondary characters like local crime lord John Marcone offering a surprising amount of depth and personality.

Harry, of course, is our main focus, and in this novel we see just how fragile his friendship with cop Karrin Murphy really is, and get a little bit better knowledge of his on-again off-again romance with Arcane reporter Susan.

The action and exposition nicely balance each other, and over all the story does what Jim Butcher does best: entertains, and leaves us wanting more.

Storm Front

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a detective named after three magicians, which is appropriate, since he’s a wizard. Storm Front, the first novel in The Dresden Files, introduces us to Harry, who is a little bit snarky, a little bit romantic, and more than a little bit of a gentleman, despite his lack of finances.

The mystery is interesting, with a good balance of action and exposition, and the world - an alternative Chicago - is just enough like our own that it’s believable.

The overall tone? Sara Paretsky meets the Supernatural. I’m eager to read the rest of the series.