Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. In a modern world, that is enough to have him laughed at by almost everyone who finds out about his profession. It gives him a funny mixture of cocky and reserved and utterly broke. Storm Front is the first book in the Dresden series.

I liked this book, the first in a series, a whole lot. Harry isn’t necessarily a good guy, he’s judgmental and often sexist. He also has a big weakness for not wanting to get anyone else into the troubles and affairs of “his world.” In fantasy terms, I call this the “Rand Complex” which anyone who’s read the Wheel of Time knows all too well. Even when he obviously needs help, he avoids it. This pits almost every woman in his life against him sooner or later. I read a lot of reviews that said all the women were weak and pathetic in this book, but I liked Murphy. She is your typical woman trying to make it in a man’s police force character, but she’s not weak by any means. The back-and-forth mistrust between her and Harry is amusing to say the least.

Storm Front is set in Chicago, but that’s not overly important to the story. You could take any city with mob connections and it would fit just as well. Having a specific setting does have the advantage of making it feel a little more real to the reader. In a fantasy setting, even one of urban fantasy, it’s nice to have a physical place to imagine while we read.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the way he wrote wizards. There’s nothing strikingly new here, you could research them in dozens of places and see bits of the magic system Jim Butcher uses, but it’s the mind of the wizard that is so much fun. A wizard is only as powerful as he is clever, and Harry Dresden is very clever (which is really where the cocky side comes from). The first person view is perfect for this setup. Harry’s success isn’t stemmed from the fact that he is stronger than his opponents, in many cases this is the exact opposite of the truth, but he can think quick and catches his enemies off guard.

So, all-in-all, if you’re looking for deep originality and intense characters, this may not be exactly what you’re looking for, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out. It’s a fast read, and a fun one to boot. Butcher likes to beat the crap out of his protagonist and I love that. Poor ‘ol Harry gets battered pretty consistently throughout the book.

There’s also a fun television series you could check out. It’s not exactly true to the books from what I’ve seen so far, but it’s fun anyway. The actor who plays Harry does a good job with the arrogant attitude, though I don’t think he pulls off the sensitive side as well as Butcher does in the books.

I give this book a 3.5 out of 5.

Because Alice in Wonderland was one of the books that got me going on this whole classic books series, I thought it was fitting to save it for the last. I’ll probably continue this series down the line, there are plenty of old books just waiting to be read. But my list of reviews for current books is getting too long!

Lewis Carroll is one of my favorite authors for a number of reasons, but mainly because his fantasy is just so much fun to read. Working on the new podcast story I’ve come to realize how much fun it is to write as well. There is a need for subtlety when working in a world of nonsense. Too much of it would have distracted from Alice’s tale.

Really this story comes in two parts. Everyone knows Alice in Wonderland, but Through The Looking Glass is equally enjoyable, if not more so. Those who only watched movie versions of this story, either the Disney version (1951) or the new one by Tim Burton (2010), have really seen bits of both books. These days you often see them combined into one book even.

My favorite aspect of the story is how each chapter is unique. In some ways it’s like a collection of short stories that you only need understand a bit about Alice to enjoy. Any number of Alice’s encounters could stand as its own story. Yet when you put them all together you find they also have a subtle correlation as well. It’s a neat trick.

We’ve all heard somewhere that this is a good story. Its ability to be told again and again in new ways is but one example of that. It’s a short read, too, there’s no reason not to give it a shot. It’s a free ebook and audiobook, too, to add extra incentive!

Continuing with the classic books series is Don Quixote of La Mancha! Written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote is another book I’ve always wanted to read, one suggested to me by a good friend for many years! He was happy to hear that I finally read it.

Don Quixote is a fantastical story written early in the 17th century. As noted in the picture to the left, Don Quixote is a man obsessed with knights and chivalry. He pours through book after book on the subject to the point where he’s gone completely mad for it. He dusts off some old armor and sets about to have adventures and become a knight.

Of course, things don’t go all that well for him as the time of knights is quite over. Everywhere he travels people are confused and put off by his bold insanity. No matter what happens to him though, he always can justify the reasons in his own mind. When he is defeated it is because he failed in his faith, and if he wins he knows he has done right in the world. It’s a very amusing adventure in either case.

This one is not as easy to read as many modern books, but I didn’t have any problems with it. It just goes a bit slower due to the old fashioned writing style. It’s definitely worth that time though, some parts of this book had me laughing pretty hard. I just found out there is a sequel that came out 10 years later, I’ll have to check that one out too.

I’ve always wanted to read this book. The story of Peter Pan is one that every boy dreams about. The lad is a definition of perpetual youth, and he can fly on top of that! His youth comes across so much more in the book than in any version I’ve seen before. There was a movie version I saw a couple years ago that had an adaptation that was very close to the book. It’s my favorite of the film versions.

Peter Pan is the story of a boy, abandoned as a child, who lives in a place called Neverland. When he loses his shadow he knows he must find it, but he finds much more than he expected. Three children of various ages are in the house where he lost it. It’s apparent that he is instantly infatuated by Wendy in particular, her brothers are more a means to get her to do what he wants, which is to return to Neverland with him.

Peter Pan is very conniving in the book, it’s brilliant. The author, J. M. Barrie, writes him as a young boy to be sure, but with a great deal of experience above the other children simply because he’s been one for so long. He easily brings Wendy around to the idea with subtle manipulation. Because, of course, there is no story if she doesn’t.  The rest of the book is of their adventures in Neverland and the eventual trip home since all stories must come to an end. I liked the ending a great deal, it really gives you an understanding of Peter’s long life.

Peter Pan is a classic. A story most families should read aloud when their children are young. The chapters aren’t long, and it goes pretty quick. Barrie had such a great understanding of the mind of a child. There’s a great movie about Barrie writing the book called Finding Neverland if you’re interested, it’s one of my top 5 favorite movies, Johnny Depp plays Barrie. The book itself is free in text and audio on Project Gutenberg.

I approached this story with some trepidation. Sure, I’d heard the warnings, I knew George R. R. Martin had a tendency to murder his darlings as they say. That’s hard for me. When I read fantasy, I love getting to know characters and rooting for them. I’ll be honest, I was nervous.

Now that that’s out of the way. Don’t listen to anyone else who expresses this concern! Trust me, just read it anyway. It is a breathtaking story with an enormous scope of the world. The imagery is some of the best I’ve read in years. A wide berth of cultures, races, and languages; and all very well executed.

He does kill characters, rather a lot of them, in fact. If you have even a slight love of history though, you will still love this book. It feels like a real story, magic doesn’t save the day, and betrayal knows no bounds. But there are many other characters, and all are just as worth getting to know. Even when you hate them, and you will.

As the title suggests, the series starts with a kingdom that has had peace for some time; one on the verge of disaster. The King of the realm has grown soft, fat and happy as they say. In the world of politics though, softness looks weak, and Kings have many rivals. The book very much is a game of thrones. Martin’s writing will have you both cheering and snearing with equal intensity. I was drawn into the world right from the start. I highly recommend this book.

Brandon Sanderson is quickly making his way to the table of fantasy greats. In many ways, he is also the epitome of everything we writers want to be. Not only has he already written over a dozen books–he had written almost all of them before he even sold his first. I meant to write this weeks ago, but it kept getting put off.

The entire Mistborn trilogy was fun and fast paced, this book was in particular. Sanderson wasn’t afraid of making some chapters very short, if it was enough to tell to the story. This made for a book that keeps you flipping chapter after chapter.

It’s well known that Sanderson is a religious man, really comes through in this final part of the series. Not that he is throwing his beliefs onto the reader, it is subtle and it is meaningful, and it is in no way imposing. The ending is perfect for this series. I won’t give away any spoilers, so don’t worry. I was very happy to see that many minor characters got their moment in the sun in this book though.

If you like high fantasy, you might as well start reading Brandon Sanderson. I think he will be around for a long time. His voice is unique and his grasp of the genre just gets better with each book. I look forward to his first epic series, which he just sold to Tor.

To me the Wheel of Time is not just another series. It is the series, what fantasy has come to mean to me over the last few years. I have seen no other series that has such well developed characters and world.

When Robert Jordan died in 2007 I, like so many fans, was saddened. What we all feared was coming, had come. Mr. Jordan was far from done writing. He already had planned out other books set in the same world. What was to come of this world we all loved so much? What would happen to Rand and his friends?

Well, obviously they answered these questions. And what a choice, Brandon Sanderson truly understands this world. He loves these characters. There is no other way to put it.

The Gathering Storm easily ranks among the Wheel of Time greats. It isn’t surprising really, it is the beginning of the end. Jordan spent 11 books building up to this point. Some think he went too far in that build-up, but I disagree. It is because of that story that this ending will mean so much to me. I care about each character and want to know what will happen to them, who will survive, and who is secretly allied with the shadow; you’ll find some of all these things in this book.

As for writing, the book is different than Robert Jordan. Sanderson never said that it wouldn’t be. He writes in a more common style today in fantasy. Quickly moving, switching characters faster than Jordan would have. This doesn’t make it less enjoyable, in fact I could see many fans who lost track of the series enjoying this new fast-paced writing style.

My love of this story keeps me from being able to write any sort of critical review. I knew I would love it, and I wasn’t disappointed. I think any writer should read this series, if only to discover how truly deep your characters can be.

One thing I got to a lot these last couple weeks is read. I finished a couple books, so expect more reviews than just this one.

It is no hidden fact that Neil Gaiman is a terrific author. The man has so many books out that you rarely find someone who hasn’t at least heard of one. He’s written some of my more recent favorites in the Fantasy genre. Stardust is my favorite. I also like that he writes to audiences of all ages. That is something that reaches out to me because I do the same thing.

Coraline only took a day or two for me to get through. That is partly because it is a short book, but also because it was really interesting. The protagonist is, obviously, named Coraline. She is a young girl who has to go back to school in one week. She wants to use that time to explore a new house that her family moved to. As she does, she comes to realize the house is hiding secrets that put them all in danger.

Gaiman proves again what a great story teller he is in this book. Each chapter jumps quickly from interesting scene to interesting scene. His side characters kept me laughing the entire book. The old man with the mouse circus is fantastic. Much like Peter Pan, Gaiman uses an alternate reality where characters you know become something else entirely.

I would definitely recommend this book. While it is aimed at children, I’m sure most adults would enjoy the natural flow of this book.