Harry Dresden, that is.
So a while ago the first seven Harry Dresden books were on sale on Kindle, so I bought them all. I'd heard good things about them from everyone who had read them, and the author seems to be a good guy. I'd even enjoyed a short story or two with Dresden as the main character.
I've read the first two and am not quite sure how I feel about them. I can see the appeal: a sarcastic loner hero who has supernatural adventures and improbably comes out on top. They're very fast moving: I think the first 2 stories have both taken place within the span of a week each (they're set about 6 months apart).
They're fun. Butcher has learned the rule that you get the hero out of trouble only by making it worse. I'd recommend them to aspiring authors for that reason. And - also important - that you can just drop hints about things (his mentor, the White Council, the Nevernever). You don't have to stop and explain in full detail when you first mention them.
But there are things that are so off. Susan, for example, a reporter for the Arcane. I'd like to know who's paying her, because no reporter that I've ever met makes a living wage. I worked as a "Lifestyle Editor" back in '99 and only made $13.000 a year. Maybe if you wrote for the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune... maybe. Some small supernatural rag is not going to be able to pay that much. It would be a labor of love, not something to earn a living wage. Not only that, but she's conventionally gorgeous. I don't buy that for a second. She couldn't afford the clothes she's described as wearing. Maybe she's a heiress? Also, if she's that pretty and into news, why isn't she on TV? And wearing heels? Nope, not if she's a serious, on the street reporter. I need a lot more information about her.
I'm also put off by Harry's attitude towards women. This seems to be setting up as something he needs to learn (there's a time and a place for chauvinism?) but in the interim it makes me want to shake him. He wants to protect people, which is admirable - he just needs to learn how. So this is obviously coming - but is it coming quickly enough for me to want to continue reading?
Butcher has planted enough tidbits to make readers curious, and ensure that they'll keep reading (in the second book, the implication that Harry's parents' deaths were not natural, that his mother had some dark secrets, that someone is trying to kill him). The major plot points of the books are answered, which is nice - he just sets up a lingering mystery.
I do like that he had active women characters - I'd just like to know more about them.
I would guess that these are books that are plotted out beforehand. I'd be curious to know how many he plotted at once. I'm sure I could find that out if I dug - I'm not certain that I feel like digging.
