I’ve been rereading the first books in the Dresden Files. Later books in the series have gotten darker and Harry has become bitter. I was glad to be reminded what a fresh character he was a decade ago.
The early books are still dark; and Harry, whose mother was a wizard and father a mundane stage magician, will always be tortured. Harry was orphaned at the age of six when his father died (his mother died right after he was born) and the sorcerer who “found” and “nurtured” him after that introduced him to dark magic. By the standards of the wizarding community, this taints him. It also, from the very early books, tantalizes us with something more—a hint that Harry is not your average wizard.
- Storm Front is the book that introduces Harry Dresden, a working wizard-detective in Chicago. Harry’s police contact, Karrin Murphy, calls him out to a luxury hotel, the site of a double murder. The murder is clearly magical, and Harry is the man to investigate. The book introduces us to Harry’s friends and allies: Murphy, a practical, tough cop who looks like “someone’s kid sister,” and who is willing to accept the paranormal if there is no logical alternative; Bob, Harry’s indentured air elemental, who lives in a skull and loves to read romance novels; and Mac, who runs an old-world tavern that caters to the magical crowd. We also meet some people who aren’t big fans, particularly Morgan, a representative of the White Council of Wizards. The Council believes that Harry will go back to using dark magic. Morgan plans to catch Harry in the act and execute him immediately. The Red Court vampires also make an appearance in this book, and Gentleman John Marcone, a mob boss.
Aside from the freshness of the concept (at that time) and the snarky, wise-cracking humor, the best thing about the first Dresden book is the potion-making. We will see this again in the second and third books, but then it falls away, and I miss it. Butcher let his whimsy and imagination off the leash with the potions, and they were crackling good fun.
- In Fool Moon, Harry is on the trail of werewolves; four different varieties, to be exact, while dodging the FBI and the Chicago PD, who mistakenly want him for murder. The plot is a bit tortured, and the physics of the loup-garou, one flavor of werewolf, needed to be massaged, but the magical duel at the end is breath-taking.
- Grave Peril introduces Michael Carpenter, a Knight of the Cross. Michael carries a magical sword given to him by an angel. He fights for right and protects the weak and innocent. He is a strange partner for Harry. The plot of Grave Peril involves a necromancer and ghosts, but the focus of the book is on the women in Harry’s life; present and past. His reporter-girlfriend Susan is at risk (one might even say, in grave peril); Murphy is in a coma, and Harry is sparring with his beautiful, ageless, amoral Faerie godmother the Leanansidhe, who wants to transform him into a hellhound. He is also going up against Bianca, the sensuous and vicious Red Court vampire who hates him. This book reverberates with echoes of family and loss.
At the end of Grave Peril, the White Council is officially at war with the Red Court vampires, a circumstance that affects all of the books in the series up through Changes, the most recent. Harry’s world enlarges to include the realms of Faerie and two more Knights of the Cross, while Harry’s abilities deepen, strengthen and darken. Even animal companions change; Mister, Harry’s 30-pound cat, is increasingly upstaged by Mouse, a magical temple dog who adopts Harry.
Despite that, every issue that plays out across twelve novels in twelve years is seeded in the first three. If you want to get to know Harry Dresden, read these now.