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

A masterful reading.

James Marsters' stage background shines through in his reading of this classic murder mystery with it's supernatural cast of characters. Every once in a while you can hear a little bit of Spike come through, too.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

This is hands down my favorite book series. The Dresden files is amazing! I can't wait to expand my audible collection with all of the books.

fun

I loved that it was done like the old detective perspective, I saw some reviews that they didn't like the narrator I loved it don't let those reviews stop you from trying it was a very fun modern look at fantasy

Narrator brought the character to life

The narrator did a fantastic job. I think the way he performed made me want to hear more

performance isn't as bad as people make it seem

There was one major mess up, where the edit was wrong, the end of one sentence was cut short and the start of the next was too soon, which did pull me out of it for that moment. Outside of that the issues other reviews bring up were hardly noticeable to me.

Always a good read but dang is the audio awesome

Dresden files is the only series I have read more than twice. It's always a nice cozy, familiar memory to get lost in. To have Spike (Yes I'm a Buffy fan) narrate it is just a huge bonus. His acting just adds to a story that is already awesome in my opinion.

Nice introduction

As with most series, the first book can be . . . Hard to finish. Rough. The new world building and introduction of characters take up a lot of time. It can bog a book down. Honestly, the first time I picked up a copy of this book and tried to read it, I didn't like it. It wasn't grabbing me. A friend was encouraging me to hang in because the subsequent books get better. It was a slog that I never did get through. Then I got a hold of an audible copy of the story. Being a James Marsters fan to begin with, listening to him read a story was no hardship. He actually made it interesting for me. I have since listened to this story several times, but even James Marsters improved the quality of his narration with subsequent books. What I am saying, whether you read the book, or listen to the audible, hang in there. This series really does get better and you will want the introduction under your belt to help you truly understand and appreciate Harry Dresden.

Enjoyable listen

Really enjoyed this book, having not heard of them before. James has a very soothing voice to listen to and really make Harry come alive. The reviews complaining about the narration are well off the mark in my opinion. James really makes a very calming listen about a wizard/detective who doesn't always have the easiest of life but makes the best of it. I've become a fan now.

Still A Delight

The story is as riveting as when I read it 12 years ago. The narrator reads Dresden spectacularly! However, though infrequent, his mispronunciation of certain words was frustrating. Most notably: chitinous.

Try it

This is a very different take on magic and I suggest you at least try the book. Get through the first five chapters before you make up your mind.
Yes, the narrator's voice sounds sloppy at first, but I think he’s trying to put a distinct accent on the main character.
Butcher doesn’t quite nail the main character’s story progression until nearing the end. There’s needless conflict inserted as fillers, but again, it’s entertaining if not a bit clumsy.
This isn’t a perfect book and it’s got some holes in it, but Jim Butcher does a good job entertaining. Get through the first part of the book then make your determination but you should at least try it out.
I’m going to read the next book in the series before determining to give up on Dresden.