Storm Front

The Dresden Files, Book 1

By: Jim Butcher

Narrated by: James Marsters

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under Wizards. Believe it or not, I'm the only one there.

With rent past due and a decent meal becoming an issue of some importance, Harry needs work, and soon. A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt. Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters to vampires, while he himself is under suspicion of the crimes.

©2000 Jim Butcher (P)2002 Buzzy Multimedia

Wizard Noir

A witty and fun magical Noir flavored detective story. I enjoyed this take on modern magic. I'm sure much more much more eloquent words have been spoken about Harry Dresden, but I feel as though this story is fairly straightforward and just absolutely fun. I would totally recommend this book to anyone willing to spend a short amount of time and wants to hear about Wizarding duels demons and Magic.

Road Trip!

Would you consider the audio edition of Storm Front to be better than the print version?

It definitely made the road trip a lot more interesting, being able to follow a well written tale and drive keeps the long hours from getting boring. We binged it from over to cover! It's hard to beat the feeling of a book but having such a quality reader, James Marsters, made it an adventure all the way through.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I would have to give it to Bob for this book, his witty banter and jokes had me laughing aloud.

Have you listened to any of James Marsters’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Well, I did!

Any additional comments?

My uncle and I where driving back home from visiting with family for the Holidays. I put this book on and we listened to it cover to cover, only stopping as frequently as stretch. It kept us enthralled the entire time.

Solid Beginning

I started listening to this series with Book 5. By then, James Marsters had honed his reading skills and didn't make the slips he does in the first books. While still very good, the narration is a little rough compared to the refined, powerful readings of the later books. This is a great start to the Dresden File series and shows Harry's humble beginnings as a wizards when compared to how he has grow in later books. All of the passion is still there though, and anyone interested in the series has to read Storm Front. Listening to Marsters deliver the dialogue is even better reading the written word -- in MY book.

If you can tolerate the narrator,

Then it will be worth the listen. The story is good and the characters relatable. The narrator swallows loudly every couple of sentences; breathes loudly, also every couple of sentences, as part of his character. This is super annoying.

Nailed it!

James Marsters is perfect as Dresden. Can't wait to listen to the rest on our road trips!

Great beginning for a continuing storyline

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Author, vocal performance, story, main character, all come together very nicely. It is the total package and a great starting point for a regular continuing story line.

Wizard of contemporary fantasy

Superb storyline, James Marsters' voice acting brings Harry Dresden's character to life. A must read.

Pretty darn good!

I loved the quality of the readers voice, perfectly paired to the characters perpetual sense of paranoia and hilarity! I think it was well read, and the author has a talent for combining the storylines he weaves. If there was a single flaw, I think perhaps the flow of reading could have shifted at some points, perhaps sped up a little when the character is talking to himself and psyching himself up for something. Well worth the time, extremely enjoyable.

Fantastic.

I had heard good things about this series, so I decided to give it a try. HOLY CRAP, I was not disappointed. All the main characters are perfectly lovable in their own ways (yes, even Carmichael), and I practically marathoned the whole book! I need the rest of the series, now. 5/5. Would read/listen, again.

A movie for the mind.

The authors writing sweeps as a brush to canvas, painting a world for the listener to explore in their mind. The performance was stirring and relatable. Tone and emotion was fitting and engaging. I didn't want it to end.