I’ve now read the first three installments in the Harry Dresden series. Or, to be more specific, I’ve now listened to James Marsters read me the first three installments in the Harry Dresden series. And I still don’t really know what I think.
Let me explain.
I have no idea what is going on in these books. Yes, I understand that Harry is a wizard who lives in Chicago. I get that he works indirectly with the police and with other, less reputable members of society. I totally get that he’s after the bad guys — in the case of these two books, a rogue super-werewolf and a vengeance-crazed ghost who hangs around with some nasty vampires. I know who his friends are and who his enemies are, and why he deserves both.
But I honestly can’t tell you exactly what happened in either of these books. And I’m going to put the blame here:
I find that when James is talking, my mind wanders. I find his voice overwhelmingly soothing, kind of like comfort food. And suddenly I realize that Harry has something going on and HELLS BELLS I have no idea who is involved or what is happening.
And yet.
I’m still going to listen to the rest of these books. I bought a ton of them with expiring Audible credits. I’m just going to try harder to concentrate and not let Spike mess with my mind.
I did enjoy quite a bit that happened in these books, though. I really liked Harry’s friend Michael, bearer of Amoracchius (which I had to look up, because AUDIOBOOK). I liked his dedication to his faith and his family, and I loved how much his wife hated Harry, yet still named their newborn after him.
I was disappointed that Murphy didn’t play much of a part in Grave Peril, and was curious as to how she was doing in the aftermath of Fool Moon — the police station pretty much destroyed after the Loup Garou was thrown into jail under her watch. Some of her colleagues were killed and we didn’t get to find out how she felt about it until the very end of Grave Peril. More Murphy, please.
And Bob. I do like Bob.
But there was plenty I wasn’t into.
First and foremost, I could give a crap about Susan and her potential vampirism. I didn’t care much for them as a couple, and was not into it when Harry saved her by telling her that he loved her. Nope.
Lastly, Harry’s godmother Lea and her hellhounds drove me berserk. Either take him to the Nevernever or leave him in Chicago, but enough with the back and forth.
Enough of my fellow Cannonballers have assured me that after the first four books, the series really takes off, and I’m glad. While I wasn’t madly in love with these two (or what I remember about these two), I still mostly liked them. I think.