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

love it Harry is one of the coolest characters

Harry is the best and I love the characters and world that Jim has crafted

An R rated Harry Potter meets film noir

Really enjoyed this story. The character of Harry is compelling, imperfect, and easily relatable. The action in particular is very well written. I look forward to revisiting this universe in the rest of the series!

Good

Great natration - and I'm easily annoyed by poor narrators. Story provides a good mystery with some humorous dialogue.

Great, noir feel!

The narrator's performance has the perfect noir feel to it. You can almost picture him smoking a cigarette in his 1950's office while he tells you the story. A great listen!

Initial doubts but hooked after 5 mins

Like a previous reviewer I found the frequent swallowing and moistening of lips by the narrator to be a bit offputting...for the first 5 minutes. After this it felt just like he was sat accross the table from me retelling his remarkable story, perhaps while enjoying a home made ale at Mac's Bar.. Enjoyed this and will download and listen to the others in the series.

my #1 series. listened to them over and over.

listened strate through. If you have not listened before be prepared to buy all of them. they grab you and don't let go.

Listening to the storm

What did you love best about Storm Front?

This was the first novel that I listened to rather then read in a long time. James Marsters, the reader of this particular audio book, did a very good job in capturing the personality of the main character and putting it on display. There were some moments that I felt that Dresden was in the room with me, sitting where my computer sat, his demeanor at times showing his depression, frustration, worries, his hopes and his general assessment in regards to what went down. Allowing my imagination to run wild, there were some moments when I allowed that illusion to take effect, pretending that he really was in the room with me, wearing that crazy outfit. I think Dresden would make for a very interesting conversation partner. In this regard, I think that a first person narrative is what audio books are best suited for, especially for readers as good as James Marsters. With that said, I can truthfully say, that it was James Marsteres portrayal of the main character that I enjoyed the most. Though I didn’t read the book before hand, I believe that this book was made better through the audio experience. I’m not entirely sure I would have enjoyed the story as much without having Dresden’s personality being so expertly crafted.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Reinforcing what I said above, Dresden was by far my favorite character. For this particular novel, I don’t see how any other character could come close. For the first book, Jim Butcher focused his character development on Dresden. Though a considerable amount of attention was also placed on Murphy, I don’t feel I know her quite well enough yet.

What about James Marsters’s performance did you like?

Refer to my first review.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

There are two approaches.

A man hunted by the forces of darkness and light must confront the storm of his fate.

Financial problems, no love life, death threats from gangsters, attacks from demons…..but whatever, life’s just dandy.

Never Fear! Things get better later on....

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

Don't know - I've only listened.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Why, Harry, of course! Dresden is full of dry wit, but as his character develops, we see a man of deep conviction and committment to higher ideals. His guiding priciple is that with great power comes great responsibility - an outlook we might wish to see in our leaders in business and government, by the way.
Others have complained that Harry takes on too much blame and self loathing, but it is his committment to his friends and to others that he feels responsible for - even to the extent of honoring an unwished for agreement with a Chicago crime boss - that makes us respect him, not so much as a powerful Wizard, but as a true hearted Human Being.

Did James Marsters do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Good Character differentiation, yes. ...but see additional comments...

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Spike goes to Hollywood...?

Any additional comments?

Don't Give Up!: If you feel that James Marsters' delivery was a little flat in this first book, hold on and give him a chance. I inadvertently started with Book 13 "Changes" (the only CD version my library had) and there was a world of difference!
In Book 1, when Harry casts and evocation (eg: "vento ventorium") Marsters barely raises his voice from the low-key monotone that he uses through much of the book. HOWEVER: In the later installments Harry's evocations are shouted with a ferocious energy (FUEGO !!!) that makes the book come alive!

Great!

Loved it, great series. Started in the middle, but restarting from the beginning to get the background.

Good get away from it all listening

Made you wish the tv show was still on. Enjoyable listening...it was hard to hit that pause button when it was nessesary to do so.