Jim Butcher Love Fest?

I'll be honest, my first reaction to the Dresden Files was one of disappointment -- there was something a little slapdash, a little fluffy about Storm Front (and its successors). After the Alera Codex books, these were a bit of a letdown. (The Dresen Files predate the high fantasy series, and Butcher's letter to the reader introducing Dresden fans to Alera is absolutely adorable.) Neither mysteries or first-person narratives make my best-loved elements of fiction list, so I suppose the series was fighting an uphill battle. Even so, for a first person narrative, Harry Dresden struck me as a little too... normal. I was about three quarters through Storm Front when I realized, despite its flaws, I couldn't put the book down. I rolled through all ten books in about as many days. Formulaic? Sometimes. Gratuitous use of violence and femme fatales? Sometimes. Entertaining? Always. The Dresden Files are better than watching summer TV, that's for sure. (Alas, I've no SciFi, and although the TV adaptation seems a bit hokey, I do think I'll be Netflixing it soon.)

Butcher rolls these out like nobody's business, and (especially in the first few) the editing occassionally suffers. However, as the series progresses, both Dresden and sidekicks develop as characters. It's nice to learn more about Dresden's parentage and follow the unfolding of the Black Denarians/Knights of the Cross conflict. Susan is absolutely more interesting as not-quite-a-vampire than she was as the cardboard cutter reporter. A bit more on the individual titles to follow. Bottom line, Butcher is a master of the action sequence, and the Dresden Files are fun from start to finish.

Storm Front -- a typical detective novel, well, except for that wizard thing.
Fool Moon -- ok, the Canim from the Alera codex are much scarier. But the many varieties of werewolf in Dresden't Chicago keep things interesting in this sequel.
Grave Peril -- things are stepped up a notch in number 3 -- Michael, who carries a sword bearing a nail from the Cruxifiction, is a compelling character, and in general, the Knights of the Cross tend to crop up in Dresden's most interestign cases. Butcher doesn't hesitate to steal from any movie, fantasy, fiction, TV, or even musical number; on the other hand, this eclecticism, where Celtic mythology meets fairytale meets horror story meets Christian worship meets paganism, is part of what makes the Dresden files so enjoyable. The opening scene, at Cook County Hospital, is memorable, and stakes are high at the climactic vampires' ball.
Summer Knight -- The final battle here, with the ensemble cast including teen wolves and Toot Toot, is exciting. Who doesn't like a pitched battle between Faerie armies? Butcher's women seldom entirely convince me, and Elaine's no exception. It doesn't seem like she's going to turn out evil after all, which disappoints. Like some of the magic in general in this series, Faerie seems to be a place where the rules are made up as you go along, which tends to lessen the suprise when (suprise?) Harry scrapes by again.
Death Masks -- Dark (yet exciting). The Black Denarians make their first appearance here (as does Shiro). The Undertown scene may trump even the airport/train chase finale.
Blood Rites -- who doesn't want a puppy dog? or a vampire as little bro? (or a job on a porn set?) The most interesting thing here are the revelations about the Raith family.
Dead Beat -- Apocalypse is on the horizon for the second (third?) time here, but Sue the T-Rex is here to save the day! This is a strong effort, and the introduction of Luccio is interesting.
Proven Guilty -- the rebellious teenager and murder at the horror film convention don't make this the most compelling of the Dresden books (but what an interesting reveal about Charity!). The implications of Molly as an apprentice are interesting in light of Dresden's character & history, however.
White Night -- This one is a little more of a whodunnit than some, keeping one guessing. Those ghouls are nasty critters -- but the Thomas of this volume makes me curious about the forthcoming Backup.
Small Favor -- well, I've been waiting for Mab to show up again. The premise here a little weak, but Denarians make for an active closing.