Highly Recommended Reading: 'White Night' by Jim Butcher

A new instalment of The Dresden Files? Gimme!

White Night went straight to the top of the 'to be read' pile as soon as I opened the packet from Orbit and I ended up leaving barely a few hours between finishing the rather superb Last Argument of Kings and plunging headlong into the latest rip-roaring adventures of gumshoe-wizard-detective turned magical-guardian-of-Chicago, Harry Dresden.

And in this, the eight book in what's rapidly turning into my favourite long-running series of all time, I found author Jim Butcher to be in rather excellent form, and no mistake.

I'm not going to summarise the narrative, because there's a lot of back-story and sub-plot in White Night that has been carefully lain down in earlier parts of the series that I'd pretty much have to re-cap the whole lot to-date. Instead, I recommend that you nip out and buy, beg or borrow all eight books, then settle down for a good, long read. You should be able to get through them all in a weekend if you really put your mind to it, eh?

I will say, though, that I'm really very pleased indeed with the way the series as a whole is still growing and changing; accreting new layers of meaning and detail with each new book. There can be a risk, with these multi-episodic narrative ventures, that the author's initial enthusiasm will wane, or a particular element of the storyline will come to dominate the narrative; I'm thinking of the way the soft porn aspect of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series came to dominate and drown out most other facets of the series at round about the same stage in its development.

Not so with our man Jim Butcher and our demi-hero Harry Dresden. In White Night, there's enough in the way of ongoing continuity to provide a warm glow of familiarity for regular readers, without any of the major themes or incidents feeling too repetitious or worn-thin. In particular, this tale is blessed with the return of several favourite minor characters, some of whom haven't been seen for at least a couple of the preceding volumes.

At the same time, though, Jim Butcher has continued to expand upon his milieu, for instance with some fairly significant revelations about the state of the global situation vis-a-vis the power struggles ongoing in the supernatural spheres. He's also continuing to develop - in subtle, but significantly ways - the character of protagonist and first-person narrator Harry Dresden; ensuring that the guy remains interesting and edgy, despite eight volumes' worth of growing reader familiarity.

All of which bodes well for the twelve volumes of The Dresden Files that Jim Butcher tells us he still plans to write. He's put down plenty of potential plot-seeds and possibilities in White Night and I look forward to seeing how they blossom and bloom (bless Orbit, they're bringing out the next volume in March, in hardback... only a two-month wait!) If he can keep up the same mix of high-octane action, suspenseful intrigue, strong characterisation and effective character development, then I'll definitely remain a fan to the very end. At which point I'll hopefully find time to sit down and re-read all twenty through again. At least a couple of times...

Great stuff! Go forth! Acquire! Read!

January 25, 2008 | Filed Under Books | 9 Comments

More Dresden Files on the way

I learned by way of a recent Publisher's Lunch e-bulletin that Roc Books in the US has bought books #12 and #13 in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.

I dropped Darren Nash of Orbit Books (Butcher's UK publisher) a line, and he confirmed that Orbit have already signed up books #9 through #11 and that #12 and #13 probably wouldn't be too far behind...

Speaking as a big Dresden fan - books and TV series both - I think that's great news. And I also think that there ought to be enough in the way of open story arcs and plot development in the first eight books to sustain the development of the series into the next five and hopefully beyond. As long as neither Butcher nor his editor start thinking that anything goes because he's got a TV deal - as long as the writing stays sharp and the action scenes stay fast and furious - then the risk of the law of diminishing returns setting in and ruining things should be minimal.

Which is more than can be said of some long-running series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first six or seven books in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I thought they were well-written, sexy, action-packed, intelligent and above-all interesting takes on the modern-day vampire hunter mythos (and the earliest installment was published in 1994, - two years after the Buffy movie, but three years before the TV show hit TV screens, in case you were rolling your eyes already).

But then Hamilton's books started degenerating into little more than supernatural soft porn, with what seemed like minimal plot and not much in the way of character development to speak of either, and I just gave up reading them.

Hell, I'm no prude, but I generally want to get more from the fiction I read than just titillation and the occasional wise-crack. So when it got to the point where the sex-scenes were dominating the books rather than adding colour to them - becoming the point of the books, or so it seemed - then that was it for me. 'Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter' I was interested in. 'Anita Blake, Vampire Shagger'... not so much.

Incidentally, I read the first two of Hamilton's Merry Gentry books and they're even worse (or even better, depending on your point of view and preferences, of course...) so I've given the latest four of those a miss as well...

I admit, they might have improved drastically in the past couple of volumes... but then I wouldn't know. If you've read them and they have got a whole lot better recently, let me know, would you?

Edit 10.05.07 Dave Hebblethwaite sends me a link to John Grant's review of the second Merry Gentry book on Infinity Plus. Nice to know I'm not alone...

May 9, 2007 | Filed Under Books | 8 Comments

Highly Recommended viewing: The Dresden Files

You know, I really wasn't convinced to begin with, but now I'm absolutely loving the SciFi Channel's adaptation of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.

It all started off rather horribly. The season pilot was - in this particular Dresden-fan's ever-so humble opinon - absolute dross.

Mind you, with the benefit of hindsight, I think I can see why. Imagine the scene at the production meeting, as the guys behind the show try to work out how to sell the series to the network...

"So, what are the major themes of this one again?"

"Let's see: black magic, horrific murder, ritual sacrifice, the occult, the undead rising..."

"A-ha. And the lead character?"

"Well, he's this guy who's an incredibly powerful wizard. He's a good guy at heart, but he's got a dark side, and he hides from his true nature on the grounds that if he unleashed the full force of his magical powers he could probably, like, destroy the world or something. So he's basically conflicted. Screwed up. Human."

"Aaa-ha. So, no clear-cut white hat, then?"

"Well, no. More kinda grey... and patchy... with scorch-marks..."

So, the guys behind the show make a special effort for the pilot. Harry becomes a good wizard, through-and-through. He works with the cops, he solves a mystery, he saves his cop-buddy from possession by a demonic body-snatcher (read: foreign hijacker) and an All-American kid from a really nasty kid-eating monster (read: paedophile) and comes out of it covered in glory, and in just enough of his own blood for a purple heart. Hoorah! Apple-pie for all! The network buys the series...

...at which point, thankfully, the script writers throw away all that crap and get on with telling the real story of Harry Dresden.

We're up to episode five (or six, I'd have to check the Sky+ box) in the UK and so far the rest of the series has been bloody fantastic. Elements of the back-story and plot from the books is gradually being introduced, with just enough of a twist here and there to keep things fresh and interesting. Bob is working really well as an all-English eccentric ex-sorceror. Which is good. I mean, Bob - this Bob, I wonder? - is meant to be several centuries old, so I'm glad they haven't given him a Brooklyn accent or something. And, most importantly, Harry and Lt. Murphy's relationship has been restored to its proper love-hate status, which has worked so well throughout the seven-book series to-date.

Having said all that, I can understand why someone coming fresh to the series without any prior knowledge of the books might find it a little inaccessible in places. The producers have made quite a few fan-nods in terms of back-story, so there are a few things that you know from reading the books that you might not immediately realise from watching the show. For instance, fan-viewers know that Morgan has the power and the authority to kill Harry if he so much as puts a black-magic flavoured footstep out of line... which adds a nice tension to their scenes, but might not come across so well if you're a newbie.

So, my advice if you're struggling: read the series, record the show. Then come back and see if your appreciation of its finer points isn't raised through the roof...

March 23, 2007 | Filed Under Miscellania | 2 Comments

Dresden Files trailer #2 on YouTube

The second trailer for the Sci-Fi Channel's forthcoming series adaptation of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is now available to watch at YouTube:

Hmm. I'm still not 100% convinced. I think I'd have to see more of the look & feel of the bad guys and a lot more principle character interaction before I'm completely sold.

Thanks to George Walkley of Jim Butcher's UK publisher, Orbit Books, for the heads-up.

December 13, 2006 | Filed Under Miscellania | Leave a Comment

Recommended reading: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

When we first meet him, our hero Harry Dresden is a down-at-heel, gumshoe wizard-for-hire, living in a basement apartment in one of the less reputable areas of Chicago, taking whatever cases - mostly missing persons, or missing felines - come his way, and helping out Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD with any cases that go so far beyond the norm that even the cops get desperate enough to call him in.

As well as trying to make ends meet, he spends a lot of his time trying to keep out of the bad books of the White Council - they're the secret society of wizards in charge of regulating the use of magic and generally keeping the bad guys under control - just in case he puts so much as a toe out of line and their enforcer, Morgan, finally gets to have his way and carry out the suspended death sentence that's been hanging over Harry since his former mentor tried to eat Harry's mind, and Harry had to get rough and kill him. See? back-story a-plenty, and we're only a couple of chapters in...

Anyhow, I have to say that so far I'm thoroughly enjoying this series. The characterisation is fantastic, the supporting cast is varied and colourful, and Jim Butcher's milieu is extremely well thought-out; it's both solidly consistent and highly intriguing. A multitude of supernatural beasties come pouring out of the woodwork at every turn, and Harry - although he's potentially one of the most powerful wizards to have lived, if certain tantalising hints are to be believed - is young and still relatively inexperienced, so he's not immune to getting his arse kicked in the line of duty.

In fact, that's one trick that Butcher manages to pull off quite neatly; he's very good at instilling a palpable sense of risk in Harry's encounters with his various and numerous foes. Admittedly, as the hero of an ongoing series, there's a good chance that Dresden's not going to get wind up slaughtered halfway through the book, but there's still every chance that something bad will happen to those that Harry works with, cares about and loves...

I'm very glad I started reading this particular series before the Sci-Fi Channel announced they were making a TV series based on them. I much prefer to experience books first, adaptation afterwards, rather than the other way around, and I'm not sure - judging by the trailer - that the producers have got the casting exactly right; Paul Blackthorne looks the part as Dresden, but I'm not sure that Valerie Cruz will make a convincing Karrin Murphy... we'll see when the series finally makes it to the UK.

If you're a fan of supernatural detective / mystery series in general, then this is one of the better ones I've come across. Here are the Amazon links for the first seven volumes, UK editions:

Let me know what you think when you've read the first book or two, yeah?

November 23, 2006 | Filed Under Books | 6 Comments