Where We Get Dresden in Full Color

Jim Butcher's the Dresden Files Omnibus Volume 1 by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the graphic novel version of the first couple novels in the series, plus some extra bits, and I thought it was well done. All the stars.

I already liked the original books, and while I seldom re-read novels, these aren't quite the same thing. I was glad to try the stories in a new format. The art in the graphic novel versions adds a lot (is a thing that everybody already knew). The stories are faithfully retold in very similar levels of detail, so there are no real surprises, but that's fine; it's still a new experience reading it in this format. I imagined some things here and there a little different, but that didn't put me off. If anything, the artists improved on what I saw in my head.

In case you haven't read any of these books, they're about a guy in Chicago who is a trained wizard and works with the police whenever there are strange cases like werewolves or something. Harry Dresden is capable and well intentioned but can't always sort out the best way to solve a supernatural problem. He's not a screw-up, but he's often in over his head and has to do his best just to survive and keep the bad guys from tearing up the city. Inevitably, he's in trouble with somebody. There's a reason these are very popular stories--Dresden is an amiable everyman who is always stuck in a tough spot but does his best to protect everybody.

I am often out of tune with comics and graphic novels, so much so that I don't turn to them very often. Sometimes, I struggle to make sense of the information conveyed in the images ("Which guy is that?" and "Wait, who's winning that fight?" and "what's happening there?" are my frequent thoughts) and so I stumble into frustration and confusion. The graphic novels I enjoy most, not surprisingly, are the ones that I don't struggle to understand, where I get what's going on in the text and the art, and I would definitely include these in that group. It helps that I've read the source material, of course, but I think new readers would do just about as well.

So--fun stories with good plot and pacing come alive even more in this adaptation. Recommended.

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Where Kay Wipes Me Out. Again.

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ysabel stands out a bit among Kay's works; unlike virtually every other one, it is not set in a secondary world ("Well, actually..." someone might say, but let's not stop for that now), and the main character is a young teenager. It could be marketed as YA, and would work in that category, as Ned and Kate make great YA protagonists, but it isn't really aimed that way. It's also an urban fantasy, set in modern France rather than medieval or ancient sorta Italy or sorta Spain or Sorta Constantinople or sorta China like most of his books. (I love Tigana and Lions of al-Rassan and those other sorta-Europe and sort-Asia books, btw.) And even though it charts a different path, it's still Kay and still wonderful.

I usually rank books--sincerely but somewhat self-consciously for an old literature teacher--according to how much fun I have reading them. And this book, like the others, *is* fun. But more than that, and like all of his books, this taps genuine emotion in a way that a lot of literature cannot, forcing a deeper response, one more like the pain and pleasure of nostalgia, of fondly remembered loss, and that jumps it up a level. (You have to be ready to read a Kay novel. I love them, but they always cut. IMO, Tigana hurts the best, and I'm half afraid to read it a second time.) I really don't know how he does it, and I'm looking, mind you, but he tells a story that makes you see things a different way--the passage of time, the movement of humans through history, the significance of individual lives, the meaning of human connection--and at the end of the novel I'm not sure if I'm a bit happier or a bit sadder, but I feel like I may be a bit wiser.

If that's a sign of genius--which I think it is--a lot more people should be paying way more attention. And if it isn't, if he's tricking us all, and it's just sleight of hand, it's a whole different kind of genius and I'm still gonna applaud. There's always something about things ending, things changing... It gets me every time.

What I didn't know until halfway through was that this novel is technically a sequel to his fantasy trilogy, the Fionovar Tapestry (which is a secondary world fantasy, or really a portal fantasy, so the "Well, actually..." goes here). It isn't relevant to this story, which stands on its own, but when I recognized the connection (and then googled what I should have known all along) the realization took me back to college and my early twenties when I read those books, and it kinda freaked me out. I had a whole career between the trilogy and this. It was like remembering a dream you had years ago...

Ned travels from Montreal to southern France with his father, who's working on a book of photography, and while he's visiting ancient sites gets involved in something inexplicable, finding himself tied into the very real and ongoing story of a love triangle going back more than 2000 years. In some way, Ned himself is connected to the story, and before long it involves his family and everyone around them. The juxtaposition of the strange and the everyday, of the unremarkable and the menacing, is so adroitly managed that it's still cool and eerie and weird all the way to the end, not flattened and normalized.

With high stakes, well managed pacing, an amazing sense of place, and Kay's always-excellent character development, I found that Ysabel works very well as a fantasy or action novel, but it's the deep history of the Greeks and Romans displacing the Celts, and the love triangle of Ysabel, Phelan, and Cadell--a story that Ned and the others get dragged into--that supplies the poignant, sentimental, nostalgic feel that permeates his work, like happening on a faded polaroid of your 1972 Cedar Point vacation, where loved ones long gone smile forever on a sunny day.

Like I say, you've gotta be ready for that. It cuts a bit.

Recommended.

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Ancient relics, Magic swords, and Angry Warlords

The Spider Stone by Alex Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fun series, and it keeps getting better. My favorite title out of the first three.

Annja Creed, an archaeologist, becomes something of a hero in the first book when she acquires a mystic sword that materializes when she needs it with just a thought and meets two (possibly immortal) men who teach her a little about the magic still residing in the world. Here in the third novel, she's called in to a mass gravesite dating from pre-Civil War times and becomes involved in the search for an artifact and the treasure it points to on the African continent.

This is a pulp series, with much greater emphasis on action and mystery than character development, which makes it more like an episode in a long-running tv show than, say, a stand-alone movie. But that's cool; those are the expectations I have when I pick up the book, and this is no guilty pleasure. The author worked hard to make a book that's fun to read and succeeded.

Overall, the novel is an excellent mix of real-world danger, ancient mystery, dialogue, and action, and is recommended for readers of this type of series.

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Going for a Pulp Fiction Ride

Solomon's Jar by Alex Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Part of a multi-author, long-running series, this is an excellent example of the pulp action novel. Good fun, lots of action, cool hero, interesting settings. Nice.

As a standalone novel, I give this 4 stars. Anyone who reads Jim Butcher's Dresden Files or Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid novels or the like would find this lands pretty much in the same zone. I expect they would enjoy it.

The difference is this series ran for about 60 books and consequently has a different pace.

The characters and world-building are a little sketchier here, but that's on purpose; it's making room for lots of action featuring the main character. As far as pulp goes, I consider this as solid as they come and would give it a full 5 stars.

One's expectations are different for pulp; the focus is shifted. It's closer to a grown-up, bloody, kinda creepy comic book in sensibility, and less like a big fat fantasy. You still want--and still get--moments of dialogue, of humor, of soul-searching and deep thoughts, but you come for the action and stay for the action. It's well done here, and I recommend it.

The author is listed as Alex Archer, but that's the pseudonym, of course. This one was written by Victor Milan, who unfortunately died in 2018. His Dinosaur Lords series was creative and cool, and he had many other successes, some of which I'm just learning about. It's a shame there won't be any new books under his name, but he has lots I've never read, so I'm grateful for that.

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Where Dresden Kicks Some Phantom Butt

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you've read books 1 and 2, you know what you're in for. But this book isn't just by the numbers. This is a good book, all on its own, and great fun to read.

One of the miracles of the Dresden Files is how Jim Butcher gets the reader to accept one absurd premise after another, but somehow he does it. The stories are grounded in the reality of Harry Dresden's scruffy apartment, crappy car, and overall schlumpy existence, making him come across like one of a million other Joes you might find in any big city. He's a good guy, but not too good; he's sympathetic, but not a soft touch; he's capable and inventive, but not unstoppable. He can't save everybody, but he really tries. All of that makes him feel like a regular guy caught in extraordinary circumstances, allowing the reader to sort of believe in the vampires and ghosts and demons, which makes it more fun to marvel at the strangeness.

The realistic interpersonal stuff, including his relationships with his girlfriend, friends, spouses of friends, police, and other acquaintances, makes what could be cartoony action feel like the real world with genuine stakes. There are lives at risk; we need him to solve the mystery and beat the bad guy. He can do it with wisecracks and banter, which is a big part of what makes these books fun, but none of that would matter if we didn't care. We do.

So, well done. A farfetched plot, kept in the lane by the gutter bumpers of human emotion on the one hand and wisecracks on the other, rolls along at a terrific pace with tons of action, great fun from beginning to end.

If you're like me, getting a late start on the Dresden Files, go ahead and jump in. This is no guilty pleasure. These are good books. Enjoy.

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Dresden Versus Werewolves. And Loup Garous. And... Look, It's Complicated

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book 2 cranks along just like book 1. Lots of action, lots of characters that the reader cares about, lots of fun.

This is the book you read when you want to enjoy turning pages, when you're ready to root for your team. You could mine the novel for thematically interesting points--Is ignorance better than well guided knowledge? When is it morally acceptable to take the law in your hands?--but you don't need to do that unless you want to. You don't need to justify reading a book that is fun. (My word. You might call it exciting; thrilling; a nail-biter. Whatever means reads like an awesome action movie to you.)

Fool Moon is written well, with excellent pacing and effective use of language. There are no gut checks, nowhere when you have to push through to get back to the good stuff. It's all good stuff. Dresden fights werewolves. Gets beat up a lot. Pisses off friends and enemies, sometimes without even trying. Wears a cool leather duster. Magic and mayhem.

All good stuff.

Recommended.


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Where I Finally Read the Second Book, Remembering How Good the First Was

Hexed by Kevin Hearne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's a fast read because it's good. (Gripping action + sympathetic characters + great language + amusing banter + entertaining plot + cool magic = "good." It's just math, really.)

I've been reading a lot of first books lately, and gave myself permission to get going on second books. Finally. This is one of those second books that picks up where the first left off, in terms both of plot and momentum, and only improves on the first if anything.

Atticus O'Sullivan, the last druid, is a compelling, sympathetic character who is fun to watch. Kevin Hearne does an amazing job making him both modern and ancient, kind and brutal, funny and serious. He stays true to his motivations, as do the other characters he encounters--witches, werewolves, Coyote the trickster, Lady Madonna (ISYN--and sorry, ~spoiler) and others. I love how his supernatural characters wear their nice clothes and enjoy their local entertainments and drive their fancy cars around the East Valley and still party like it's 999.

Lots going on. Atticus is trying to train a new druid, watch out for the nice old neighbor lady, take care of his dog (love his dog!), make a truce with a bunch of witches, repair his relationships with a few friends, and survive a slew of enemies. And fix a stretch of dead, charred ground from the previous novel, because that's what druids do.

Well written. No sour notes. Lots of fun. And, by me, highly recommended.

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Where I Finally Discover an Overlooked Fan Favorite

Storm Front by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I came at this sideways, but I'm glad I got there.

I found the author's steampunk novel, Aeronaut's Windlass and loved it. (Waiting for a sequel.) Then I realized I'd overlooked his popular Dresden Files for too long, though I'd often run on to them in stores, and finally ordered the first book. It was awesome. Who knew?

[I thought for a long time that I didn't like this genre much, whatever you want to label it (paranormal or urban fantasy or whatever). Lately, I'd taken a bit of a chance and read several similar books and series, by Myke Cole and Joe Nassise and Kevin Hearne, and decided I did like them, thank you, and finally read this one.]

I'm with his fans, now. Harry Dresden is cool. This first novel rolls along with tons of action, lots of interesting characters, a crazy amount of conflict, and none of the pitfalls I expected to find. He's not just a wise-cracking gumshoe transplanted from 1930; he's his own character, with his own voice, inhabiting a slowly-revealed world that is fun, and scary, and makes a great setting for more stories. The round female characters in the novel surprised me a bit; I expected more John Wayne-style, testosterone-driven action, but there's a sensitivity here that sets it apart from pulp action novels. (And I happen to like pulp action novels.)

No summary, just a reaction: I liked it. It works as action and as fantasy, and it comes in at a svelte 75,000 words or so. Just right. And tons of sequels.

Recommended.

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