The Dresden Files

Maybe it was a little overkill to display all the covers for The Dresden Files, but they are all just such good books I didn't want to leave any out.  They are displayed in order, ending with Skin Game which comes out in a month.  I am starting to get very excited for that release.  Since it has been on my mind, I thought I would talk about the rest of the series.  It is technically classified as urban fantasy.  Most of the series takes place in modern day Chicago.  Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire.  You can find him in the yellow pages.  He is a frequent consultant for the Chicago P.D., working with their Special Investigations department solving crimes with a supernatural element.  Karrin Murphy is the head of the S.I. unit.  She is a petite little firecracker.  You don't want to mess with her.  Harry is tall and lanky, sarcastic and a frequent rule breaker.  He is a relative loner.  Each book deals with different types of bad guys, mostly humans messing with the supernatural world.  You've got werewolves, vampires (three different kinds), faeries (both winter and summer courts), rogue wizards and more.  Each story deals with a different case, but there is an overall story arc that continues throughout (the first handful of books is more about introducing characters and their back stories, all of which will come into play later in the series) .  I don't want to get into the characters too much because I don't want to give anything away about them.  All I can say is there are some fantastic characters.  My favorites besides Harry and Karrin are: Butters (the polka loving coroner/medical examiner), Bob (a disembodied all-knowing entity that lives in a skull in Harry's apartment), and Michael (a long-time friend of Harry's).  I also love Thomas (a white court vampire) and Molly (Michael's daughter).  There are lots of fun characters that make appearances throughout the series.  One thing I love about this series is that there is always a big fight scene and each and every time Harry gets his butt kicked.  He usually wins, but he never gets out of it unscathed.  I appreciate that despite how powerful he is, he is not impervious.  It just feels more realistic to me.  The books are fast-paced, layered, and full of trouble.  Life is not easy for Harry.  He is constantly battling for his very life and the world he so dearly loves.  I highly recommend giving this series a try.  If you are more a fan of audio books, these are excellent in that format as well.  All of them (except Ghost Story) are read by James Marsters (Spike to all you Buffy fans).  He does a wonderful job.  Whichever format you prefer, this is a series you should definitely try out.  Happy reading!