Books › Storm Front
Storm Front
384 pages
A rain-slicked, wisecracking noir where the private eye just happens to carry a blasting rod instead of a revolver.
What it feels like
Reading this feels like stepping into a classic, rain-slicked noir film, only the shadows are hiding vampires and rogue mages instead of mobsters. The narrative voice is instantly engaging, delivering a wry, self-deprecating stream of consciousness from a protagonist who is perpetually broke, constantly outgunned, and armed with a lethal sense of humor. The pace is brisk and action-heavy, pulling you through gritty Chicago alleys and neon-lit crime scenes with the momentum of a pulp thriller. It perfectly balances the cynical, hardboiled attitude of a classic detective story with the explosive, high-stakes wonder of urban fantasy. This is a comfort read for anyone who loves an underdog who takes a beating but never stops talking back to the monsters.
- Mood
- gritty
- rain-slicked
- shadowy
- pulpy
- Tone
- wry
- cynical
- snarky
- hardboiled
- self-deprecating
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the burden of power · hidden worlds · underdog struggles · doing the right thing
- The writing
- Punchy, first-person noir pastiche that relies heavily on conversational wisecracks and hardboiled observations.
- The arc
- Moves from weary, bill-paying desperation to a battered but resolute determination to stand against the darkness.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love a snarky, perpetually exhausted underdog and want their classic detective mysteries spiked with explosive magic.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- gore
- drug use
- dated gender tropes
About the book
The novels of the Dresden Files have become synonymous with action-packed urban fantasy and non-stop fun. Storm Front is Jim Butcher's first novel and introduces his most famous and popular character-Harry Dresden, wizard for hire.For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry's eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry's name. And things are about to get very...interesting.
Description from Open Library.
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