Customer Reviews

Jim Butcher Box Set #2 (Dresden Files)

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I just have to say, I love Jim Butcher's books. I get strange comments when I go to the bookstore in person to buy them, because the clerks think that most of Mr. Butcher's readers are men. More women should read these. The Dresden Files books are a great mix of adventure, romance, magic and danger. Whenever I get a new one, I end up completely hooked until I've finished it. Plus, I re-read them fairly often. Definitely worth starting this series if you're looking for a good time. I also enjoy Mr. Butcher's other series...

Bad things are happening in the world of wizards, vampires and faeries -- and Harry Dresden is right in the thick of it.

And "The Jim Butcher Box Set #2" brings together three more gritty urban fantasies, from the point in the series when Butcher's series really took off. There are vampires (three kinds!), werewolves, faeries and a wisecracking wizard stuck in the middle of it all, as well as some strong plot arcs in the wizard world.

In "Summer Knight," the wizard council is considering handing Harry over to the vampires as a peace offering, and his only chance is to solve a mystery for Queen Mab. Someone killed the Summer Knight and stole his power. Soon Harry is neck-deep in nasty faerie creatures from the Nevernever, and a conspiracy that lies at the very heart of the faerie realm.

"Death Masks" sees Harry enmeshed in three different problems -- a vampire nobleman has challenged him to a duel, a Vatican priest is asking him to find the stolen Shroud of Turin, and his demi-vampire ex-girlfriend Susan has returned to Chicago. As Harry tries to stay alive and solve the case, he finds that a gang of ancient demons called the Denarians are after the Shroud -- and possibly his soul.

And finally, "Blood Rites" has Harry being hired by the quirky vampire Thomas Raith. Apparently a porn director (who works for the Raith porn empire) is being hit by an entropy curse that has killed two of his assistants. But the stakes turn out to be even higher than Harry expects, and he uncovers not only a grotesque occult plot, but a secret from his own past...

Jim Butcher's got the hard-boiled noir thing down, even in modern Chicago -- dark rainy streets, femme fatales (some literally!), and some literally fiery climaxes to Harry's adventures. This is where the series really took off after a round of fun but not brilliant urban fantasies, introducing new layers to the character and a massive Wizards Vs. Vampires war.

His writing strikes a nice balance between stripped-down, snappy prose ("I don't believe in fairies!"), and moments of haunting horror. But Butcher also knows how to inject some dark humor and action, such as Harry and Thomas trying to escape "flying purple pyromaniac gorillas hurling incendiary poo." Just look for THOSE in other books. I mean, how many authors write about vampires being killed by critical-velocity frozen turkeys? NONE!

And Harry goes through some massive growing pains in these books -- he has a guilt-inspired meltdown, encounters two ex-girlfriends, and learns some secrets about his mother and family. We also learn more about the quirky incubus Thomas Raith, and the cast is rounded out nicely by pervy skull-spirit Bob, feisty cop Murphy, and the ethereally amoral fairies.

"Jim Butcher Box Set #2" collects the books where the Dresden Files really starts getting good -- a solid, complex triple dose of noir-fantasy. Hell's bells!

can't get over just how entertaining Harry Dresden and friends(fiends) are! Best fantasy/sci-fi books with tons of humor in modern Chicago! My hope is Jim Butcher keeps writing for years to come.

I received the order quickly. The box set is new and it is still in the original packaging. nothing more could be asked for.

If you love urban fantasy fiction, you'll love this series. Jim Butcher is an excellent writer and has created a magnetic character with Harry Dresden the wizard detective/monster hunter.

I was going to be stuck in bed and so I ordered the boxed sets to keep me busy. So much fun!

This is a very good book series, I picked up the first book in the series as a recommendation from some friends and I haven't been able to stop reading since. The only thing I would change about it all is buying the first 3 books in the box set to save myself some money, though it was still worth every penny spent on them.

The SyFy show The Dresden files was a joke. They have NOTHING on Jim Butchers books. These books are awesome and I have even shared with my family to get them to see how good they are. In fact I had to convice one family member to actually read them as he had watched the TV show and was not at all interested in the books. The books are ALWAYS better than the movies/shows. If you like magic and wizards this is for you. Its based in Chicago, IL which is really cool as I recgonize a lot of the area! This is a fantastic series and Jim Butcher really grabs you and pulls you into his world!

Very good series. My 14 year old son and I both have enjoyed reading these books. We are always looking for a series we both can enjoy. Dresden more than accomplishes that.

I ordered these at the same time as books 1-3, and was curious as to why the price was slightly higher. Newer books? No, they are actually slightly taller and wider than standard paperbacks. Still a good value.