Storm Front, by Jim Butcher
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Reasonable rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
This cropped up as one of my recommendations on Amazon based on past purchases, so I thought I'd give it a whirl in the post-Christams book token frenzy.
Harry Dresden is a wizard-for-hire (think Harry Potter grown up and gone a bit seedy). He also acts as consultant to the Chicago Police Dept on their more unearthly cases. Hired by a woman to find a missing item - her husband - and also brought in by the CPD on a case of two people having their hearts torn out apparently by magic, Harry also has to contend with a new drug, ThreeEye, sweeping the city and promising to open up psychic abilities in anyone as well as the threat of his mystical parole officer turning up with a big sword at inopportune moments. Add to this being menaced by demons, vampires and giant scorpions, not to mention gangsters, and it's really turning out not to be his week.
The writing could do with a bit of improving, and I'm hoping over the next few books he finds his own voice more, as a lot of this book felt too similar to a lot of other authors. He does, however, have several nice ideas of his own, particularly the potion making (and the spirit in a skull has potential, even if it does smack of being nicked from Trapdoor). It certainly held my attention, and I'll be seeking out the others - which will hopefully be a little stronger in terms of plot and characterisation.
posted by Izzy @ 2:15 pm
1 Comments:
I didn't enjoy it all that much, to be honest. And I agree about the Trapdoor reference - it was nagging at me all the way through because it felt so familiar. I'll not be reading the rest of the series, I'm afraid. I just didn't like the writing style & didn't think all that much of either Dresden as a character, or the storyline itself. I don't think Butcher was really up to doing the idea justice.
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