A martial arts enthusiast whose resume includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in Independence, Missouri. Jim is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera novels, and the Cinder Spires series, which began with The Aeronaut's Windlass.
Practicing wizard Harry Dresden dedicates his life to protecting mortals from the unseen world of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and other supernatural creatures that inhabit present-day Chicago-and the rest of the world. When he discovers that a half dozen evil necromancers are all vying for possession of an ancient manuscript that promises to endow one of them with supreme power, Harry's life becomes a fast and furious race against time to find The Word of Kemmler before they do. With an incubus for a half-brother and a talking skull for a companion and advisor, the antiauthoritarian Harry manifests an infectious charm that will appeal to fans of Tanya Huff's "Blood" novels and readers who enjoy noir mysteries or supernatural crime series like Charlaine Harris's "Southern Vampire" series. Mixing offbeat humor, a hard-boiled style, and rich detail, Butcher's first hardcover in his "Dresden File" series (there's enough background information for new readers) deserves a spot in every library's fantasy or dark fantasy collection. Highly recommended. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Butcher's seventh comic supernatural Dresden Files novel makes a welcome leap to hardcover (after 2004's Blood Rites). Harry Dresden, a wizard PI living in Chicago with his half-brother, who's an incubus, and his dog, Mouse, learns that his girlfriend, a Chicago police officer specializing in occult investigations, is being blackmailed by a vampire. Unfortunately, every dark-magic wielder in Chicago apparently wants the same thing as the vampire-the spells of an unpleasant necromancer, Kemmler, whom Dresden's employers, the White Council, eliminated some years earlier. With Kemmler's spells one can summon the Erlking, the leader of the Wild Hunt, and draw on his magic to achieve godlike powers-at the cost of thousands of lives. To thwart the various ghouls, sorcerers and body-stealers in their evil quest, Dresden must turn for help to a reluctantly heroic medical examiner, Waldo Butters; a pack of werewolves, the Alphas; and a fallen angel, disguised as a bookstore clerk. Horror fans with a sense of humor will be pleased. Agent, Jennifer Jackson at DMLA. (May 3) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Praise for the Dresden Files
"Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip
Marlowe."-Entertainment Weekly
"Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff will love this
series."-Midwest Book Review
"Superlative."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"One of the most enjoyable marriages of the fantasy and mystery
genres on the shelves."-Cinescape
"Butcher...spins an excellent noirish detective yarn in a
well-crafted, supernaturally-charged setting. The supporting cast
is again fantastic, and Harry's wit continues to fly in the face of
a peril-fraught plot."-Booklist (starred review)
"What's not to like about this series?...It takes the best elements
of urban fantasy, mixes it with some good old-fashioned noir
mystery, tosses in a dash of romance and a lot of high-octane
action, shakes, stirs, and serves."-SF Site
"A tricky plot complete with against-the-clock pacing, firefights,
explosions, and plenty of magic. Longtime series fans as well as
newcomers drawn by the SciFi Channel's TV series based on the
novels should find this supernatural mystery a real
winner."-Library Journal
"What would you get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin? Probably
you would come up with someone very like Harry Dresden, wizard,
tough guy and star of [the Dresden Files]."-The Washington
Times
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