And with this I reach my Cannonball! I honestly never thought I’d be so fast (last year it took until December for me to reach it). Now I can take slow down a little and pick up a few of the longer books I have waiting next to my bed (and on my audible playlist).
There’s a fair amount of you around these parts that read The Dresden Files, and the audio as well is super popular. It came up on sale on audible, and as I thought I’d try it as it seemed like something that both myself and Mr. Beth Ellen would enjoy for a long car trip. I just wish I’d enjoyed it more.
This is the initial novel in the giant Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden is a wizard in modern day Chicago (or the 90’s as when this was written). He is one of the few wizards out in the open and runs his business helping people find things, basic spells, etc. On the side he assists the police when needed on “magical” looking cases. Lots of people don’t believe that magic exists so it’s an interesting line Harry walks. When Detective Murphy calls Harry to come check out a case with exploding hearts our story rolls out from there, and doesn’t wrap up until the last 5 minutes or so.
It was okay. The story rolled out pretty quickly and didn’t let up so we were entertained for our long drive, but it’s definitely not a favorite. It felt very dated, we could both clearly tell it was written in the 90’s, and that’s not due to the lack of technology. The “dated”ness of it came specifically from the depictions of the female characters. It was off enough that even Mr. Beth Ellen noticed, believe me, that says something. They were all women, who Harry kept having to treat like “ladies”. Harry “treats” the ladies like a “gentleman”, and constantly refers to them in a lesser state. It’s all about how beautiful they are, and then after that a bit on their personality. It all felt very, very 90’s. Maybe I’m just overly sensitive these days, but it left me feeling icky.
Overall, it was okay. I listened, but I wasn’t wowed. Maybe someday I’ll try out the next in the series, but for now I’ve tried it. I can move on and enjoy something else more. At least hooray for the Cannonball!