Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files follows Harry Dresden, a wizard from present day Chicago where magic exists but it kept under wraps. Harry Dresden is not a wizard for children; he is a grown man fighting demons from within and without. Cold Days is the fourteenth of this series, and so far my favorite. (His newest addition to the series, Skin Games, has just hit the bookstores.)
If you have never heard of Harry Dresden let me give you a brief overview. Harry is Chicago’s first and only Wizard Private Investigator. He uses locator spells to find lost keys, and demons alike. He’s a loveable smart ass with incomparable morals and powerful magic. Every book has its own unique twists and turns, and is also guaranteed to make you laugh out loud due to Harry’s dark humor.
There are many fascinating characters throughout the series, but the most notable are: his brother Thomas-a vampire from the White Court who doesn’t actually feed on blood, Karrin-a sergeant from the Special Investigations of Chicago Police Department, and Molly-his young apprentice who excels at veils and illusion. These three play a big part in Cold Days, which is great because they are my personal favorites.
Small spoiler if you have never read the Dresden Files. Harry was mysteriously killed in the book Changes, and was a roaming spirit doing his best to help his friends in the following book Ghost Story, but now has returned as the new Winter Knight. Harry as a ghost wasn’t nearly as fun as Harry the Wizard, but Harry the Winter Knight is deviously delicious!
The fairies in the Dresden Files are not the sweet little innocents of most bedtime stories. They are immeasurably strong, and can be equally vicious; especially the Fae from the Winter Court, and no one more so than their Queen, Mab. Mab saves Harry’s body and uses her scheming to turn Harry into her Winter Knight. He is now her personal slave; he has to do whatever she commands no matter what. Her first order is to kill an immortal, no small task. However, Harry is never lucky enough to deal with only one problem at a time; he also has a ticking time bomb that has the potential to take out most of the Midwest. Through all this, Harry has to keep the Winter Mantle, an almost irresistible urge to convert into nothing but predator, at bay.
Once again, Butcher has surpassed my expectations. He keeps you on your toes with surprises at every turn. He gives you magic, action, love, betrayal, heart ache, and even makes you laugh. He is an amazing story teller, and does an exceptional job of mixing sci fi and fantasy.