Double Chop: Dresden Files #4 & #5

THE DRESDEN FILES is a great urban fantasy series about a wizard named Harry Dresden who lives in Chicago. He works as a wizard publicly, helping people here and there with missing items and the like. He's usually broke, his apartment sucks, his car is a piece of crap, and he does lots of cool stuff with magic. The stories are unique, inventive, original and entertaining, and the same could be said about the diverse array of memorable characters.

Each book thus far (there are a dozen, and I've read five) deals with a different type of magic, or at least focuses on one in particular.

#1 STORM FRONT is about an amateur wizard who doesn't control his powers very well. He's killing people during storms, and Harry has to stop him.

#2 FOOL MOON is about various types of werewolves on the loose. One group is a gang of college kids, one is a band of FBI agents, and one works with the local mob. Harry is caught in the crossfire of all three as he tries to stop a series of wolf-related crimes and slayings.

#3 GRAVE PERIL is about the ghost of a demon that Harry had to kill a few months ago. It comes back with other ghosts and is causing all sorts of supernatural mayhem. On top of that, the local vampires have a beef with Harry, which he accidentally solves by...um...killing them all.




#4 SUMMER KNIGHT deals primarily with the Fae. The faerie courts are at war with each other. One of the Queens killed the Summer Knight, and there's a lot of intrigue running around to pin it on other people. Harry gets caught up in the middle of it and has to solve everyone's problems using his wits and magic. It ends with an all-out battle in a stormcloud over Lake Michigan.



#5 DEATH MASKS takes a turn away from wizards, werewolves, ghosts and fae, choosing instead to focus on the more mythological/magical/paranormal applications of Christianity (Judas' noose, his thirty silver dinars, the Knights of the Cross, the Shroud of Turin, etc.) More ripples from problems of the first four books are hitting Harry as well: his girlfriend has been turned into a vampire, the Vampire Court wants Harry dead, the White Council of Wizards feel about the same way, an evil demon wants Harry's soul, and a lot of people die.


There are many things to like about this series overall. The magic is well-defined and specific, and easily understood. Again, the characters are memorable. The humor is rampant and I love it all. There's plenty of tension and high cost, too: Harry spends most of every book tired, sleep-deprived, hungry, out of magic, broke, and with about ten people gunning for him. So they move pretty quick and--thus far--all in real time.

Content caveat: the amount varies, but each book has heavy language, and in one way or another there is sexual content. Probably an R rating, so proceed with caution.