Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Jim Butcher, James Marsters
Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $39.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  289 reviews
Sales Rank: 111246
Format: Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Pages: 8
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0965725502
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780965725507
ASIN: 0965725502
Publication Date: 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
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Condition: SHIPS EXPEDITED. IN SHRINKWRAP. WE SHIP PROMPTLY. FULL REFUND IF DISSATISFIED. 11-1-08
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Product Description
Storm Front Audio Book
Written By Jim Butcher
Narrated By James Marsters (Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel)
My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under Wizards. Believe it or not, I'm the only one there.
My ad looks like this:
HARRY DRESDEN--WIZARD
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties
or Other Entertainment
With rent past due and a decent meal becoming an issue of some importance, Harry needs work, and soon. A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters to vampires, while he himself is under suspicion of the crimes. One thing is certain, if he can't stop whoever is on this killing spree, Harry will be the next victim.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 284 more reviews...
 A combination of my two favourite genres November 8, 2008
Harry Dresden is a private investigator in Chicago. Not just any P.I. mind you but a practicing wizard who occasionally helps the Chicago Police when they have cases that aren't quite 'normal', and do they have a doozy for Harry now, a double murder involving the mob and a high price call girl ring.
So as a combination of fantasy and hard boiled detective stories how did I like it? Well it was good but not great. There was lots of good action with vampires, demons and even giant scorpions. Butcher's writing style is a little wooden (although I understand this was his first book so I can cut him a little slack). However there were problems integrating magic and the real world. Specifically of the `if a wizard can do X then why doesn't he just do Y instead of bothering with Z' variety. The magic is so powerful that you would expect wizards to dominate society instead of skulking in the shadows. Butcher tries to tackle this problem by laying out some guidelines in the use of magic in his world. He implies also that it is one of the functions of the White Council to police the use of magic, but if this is the case why is Harry Dresden P.I. investigating these murders and not the White Council? In fact I believe the novel would have been better served if Harry had been an agent of the White Council tracking down rogue wizards and other dangerous creatures encroaching on the non-magical world, while at the same time trying to keep his magical identity secret. But that would have worked against the hard boiled detective vibe Butcher is aiming for.
They get better November 6, 2008
I really liked this book, because it combined the genres that I love; Fantasy, and mystery. The first book was good, but I found the dialogue a little cliche, however I have read the 2nd book and can tell you that they get better as you progress through the series. Definitely a must read for anyone looking for a "Grown Up Harry Potter."
Fun Read October 22, 2008
Harry Dresden is the only wizard you'll find in the yellow pages. He has set up shop in Chicago, and in addition to helping people find their lost items or dealing with the occasional paranormal event, he is also a consultant for the Chicago P.D. After Harry receives 2 calls almost at once, one from a wife whose husband has gone missing and one from Murphy, head of Special Investigations, who has 2 corpses that she'd like to get his take on, his day goes down hill from there. I don't want to give too much more away, but really, the story is quite good.
I liked Butcher's take on magic and how it is formed and where it's energy comes from. It didn't have the feel of, "Well, it's magic, just accept that it happens the way it happens." There are concrete and physical bases from which the magic comes from in this world, and I found it a refreshing change (for instance, when making a love potion, tear up a $50 bill to go into the potion, because money is sexy).
I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to reading these books, but at the same time, now I want to go pick up the lot at B&N, and the rest of my TBR pile is looking a little downtrodden right now, so I may need to space these out a little. If you haven't read these before, though, pick up Storm Front. You won't be disappointed.
 Magic Does Not Make a Stereotypical Character Not So October 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this book for a friend on the basis of some strong reviews I had seen on Amazon, then got around to reading it myself over the last couple weeks. I immediately called and apologized for inflicting it upon him. To think that Butcher continues with these characters over a dozen more books is incomprehensible to me; it literally makes me wonder if they are all this bad. Fortunately, I'll never find out.
I started to get worried in the first chapter: a gumshoe, scorned by the world and late on his rent, gets a call from a distressed woman offering big money? "Ok," I thought, "That's a little campy, but I'm sure the fact he's a -wizard- will drive this story." Boy, was I wrong. One character after another surfaced, all lacking any original qualities. The hard-nosed lady cop who sticks her neck out for the P.I. and her skeptical partner, the well-spoken mob boss, the silent barman, the nosy reporter, and-- get this-- a rich, desperate housewife. Butcher even manages to make Morgan and Bob uninteresting, and that's tough to do.
The plot begs to be made into a short-lived, low production value television series. An action sequence where Dresden is naked and his date is under the influence of a heavy-duty love potion? Oh, how droll. It doesn't take a genius to figure that the two cases he is working that appear totally unrelated are, , the same case! Even Keanu Reeves would have a tough time issuing a "Whoa".
In short, apart from a couple one-liners and some mildly interesting magical interludes, this is the same gumshoe paperback perpetrated by a thousand other authors. If you have seen or read any other escapades of a low-life private investigator, it's probably better than this, and if it actually does happen to be your first escapade into this genre: don't get discouraged. There actually are better incarnations than Butcher's Harry Dresden. Now, go watch Chinatown.
First time reading this author October 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I wasn't sure what to expect when purchasing this book but having a dry run from my favourite authors I thought I'd give Jim Butcher a try. I felt it was surprisingly high in emotional content for a male author (sorry I know that's a bit of a cliche), I was expecting much more action and less emoting. The result was a very satisfying read, I was able to understand the characters' motives and reactions and was able to become immersed in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and suspense.
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