Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) eBook PDF

User Reviews

Siria

Rating: really liked it
I'm not going to pull any punches. This book is a misogynistic piece of shit.

All I knew about it before I picked it up was the very basic premise—a wizard in modern-day Chicago, who works as a sort of detective—and that it had picked up quite a cult following. I was expecting to really like it, but before I got to the end of the first chapter, my eyebrows had risen to meet my hairline. I kept reading out of some misguided expectation that things would get better, that there couldn't possibly be such a sustained level of misogyny coming from both the character and the authorial voice. Oh, how wrong I was.

The main character, Harry Dresden, repeatedly tells us that he's a chauvinist, yes, and shows no signs of wanting to change that. It would have been difficult enough for me to get into a novel with such an unpalatable main character, but the level of narrative endorsement of his viewpoint nauseated me. The female characters in the book are there only to cry, seduce, and occasionally mother. Some of them are presented as having power of their own, but if you take a second glance at them, that power is always represented as secondary to male power, or a sham. Karrin Murphy is a hard-bitten homicide detective and Harry's friend, true; but she's undermined to constant references as to how "belligerent" she is, how small and lady-like her hands are, how she cries when he won't share information with her. Let me repeat that: cries. Bianca, the vampire—sorry, vampiress! must use appropriately gendered language!—is defeated because Dresden can see how she's truly ugly beneath all that fake beauty, and so she's humiliated and he can overpower her! All of them use their sexuality to get ahead—or try to, because clearly Harry is just too intelligent to fall for those silly women's wiles!

How about an explanation for the motive behind a murder:

I gestured toward the room. "Because you can't do something that bad without a whole lot of hate," I said. "Women are better at hating than men. They can focus it better, let it go better. Hell, witches are just plainmeaner than wizards. This feels like feminine vengeance of some kind to me."

Or how about one prostitute talking about another:

She shook her head. "No, no. Nothing like that. That wasn't her style. She was sweet. A lot of girls get like—They get pretty jaded, Mr. Dresden. But it never really touched her. She made people feel better about themselves somehow." She looked away. "I could never do that. All I did was get them off."

This isn't just Dresden being sexist. This isn't just showing us the thought processes of an un-reconstructed chauvinist. This isn't even just using noir tropes—because god knows there are a thousand and one ways of subverting those and reimagining them. This is holding up a clichéd, smug asshole of a main character as the kind of man every guy wants to be, and the kind of man every woman wants to fuck, as a mirror for how Butcher thinks. It's laden with sexist stereotypes that irritate me and in case you couldn't guess, it made me very, very angry.

The book also fails on pretty much every technical level I can think of: I have no idea why it's set in Chicago, or why the location was emphasised, because there's absolutely no sense of place to it. For all Butcher told us, it could all have been taking place in Seattle, or Denver, or Kansas City. The plot is silly, illogical, and by rights everyone should have been dead of Stupid within the first two chapters. The writing style displayed an absolute cloth ear for language. I'd imagine that he was trying to recreate the terse, staccato style of noir detective stories, but didn't realise that in order to do so, you need more than short, simplistic sentences. You need to be attuned to the rhythm of what you're writing, to know how to turn a handful of words to best effect, and Butcher neither knows how to do that, nor how to write realistic sounding dialogue at all.

I have not read such offensive drivel in a long, long time. Avoid.

Patrick

Rating: really liked it

I never got around to reading these books until The Name of the Wind was published. And when I first did, I was a little pissed. First person point of view. Magic based on thermodynamics. Gritty, realistic world. Arrogant wizard who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. It struck rather close to home....

Some people say that the first few books of this series were kinda rough. But I didn't notice anything particularly untoward about them. In fact, I burned through the whole series (11 books at the time) in about two weeks.

As a side note, James Marsters reads the audiobooks. And while his first one was a little rough, all the rest are very enjoyable.

Nataliya

Rating: really liked it
Let me tell you how a wisecracking Chicago wizard-for-hire with the most rotten luck imaginable won a permanent spot in my heart, making me a devout Dresdenite.

'Twas a week before USMLE Step 1, the most important test for any medical school student as it pretty much determines which medical specialty you are supposedly smart enough to pursue. Basically, the stakes were high and the stress reached the previously unknown heights. By then my poor average-sized brain has been fully stuffed with all the medical trivia it was able to handle. Have you ever met an overcaffeinated, freaked out, sleep-deprived, shaky med student with bloodshot eyes and propensity to quote at you random basic medical science facts in a high-pitched shaky voice? If so, it was probably before Step 1, and this is an honest representation of what my friends and I looked like:

Lovely, no?
Anyway, physically unable to study any more, I stumbled upon this book on my Kindle app. And this is how Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, he of the magical staff and a black leather duster, entered my life. Suddenly the anxiety was gone, and instead of omg-it's-test-time-and-I-did-not-study-enough customary nightmares I dreamed about Chicago magical world that night. In the week that followed, I got through most of the series - 11 books at that point in time. The stress was gone with the help of Harry Dresden's adventures - and on the test day I beat my goal score by one whopping point! :D

“A man's magic demonstrates what sort of person he is, what is held most deeply inside of him. There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power. I was not a murderer [...] I was Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. I was a wizard. Wizards control their power. They don't let it control them. And wizards don't use magic to kill people. They use it to discover, to protect, to mend, to help. Not to destroy.”

I loved this book despite all its imperfections. Harry Dresden, a wisecracking, self-deprecating, Star Wars-references-dropping, never-knowing-when-to-shut-up, and unwaveringly good guy with a penchant for attracting trouble was someone I'd love to be friends with. I even forgave him the annoying and eyeroll-inducing case of old-fashioned chivalry towards women. Plus, his assistant is an erotica-obsessed formerly-evil spirit living in a skull - how can anyone not love that?

“Harry," Bob drawled, his eye lights flickering smugly, "what you know about women, I could juggle.”

This book is a quick and delightfully pulpy read, modeling Harry's personality and adventures on the hardboiled crime noir detective stories with a generous helping of humor set against the paranormal background. It does not aspire to be life-changing or profound, it does not try to be the capital-L literature (that was an excuse to use my favorite Pratchett quote: "Susan hated Literature. She'd much prefer to read a good book."). All it does is take you on a fun and exciting ride, and that's what I love about it. Yes, sometimes it falls flat, or tries too hard, or gets a bit full of itself, but the feeling of sheer fun that Jim Butcher must have had while writing this story is palpable on each page, and it's awesome!

“Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face.”

This is a "freshman" book, and is not perfect, but it is nevertheless really good. Jim Butcher's narrative voice gets more confident and more polished as the series progresses, especially beginning with book 4. But it was enough to keep me completely engrossed in Harry Dresden's world and read eleven books of the series in a little over a week. I love the Chicago mystical world, I love the characters, I love the fast, even breakneck pace, I love the detective noir touch, I love Butcher's take on mythologies. I absolutely adore the wisecracking - to me, it never felt annoying, maybe because it's a big part of my own (I assume, completely charming) personality.

““You don't go walking into the proverbial lion's den lightly. You start with a good breakfast.”

For all of that, I easily give it four stars. (I'd be tempted to call Harry Dresden my literary boyfriend, but as I learned from the sequels, nothing good can possibly come out of that).

“I don't want to live in a world where the strong rule and the weak cower. I'd rather make a place where things are a little quieter. Where trolls stay the hell under their bridges and where elves don't come swooping out to snatch children from their cradles. Where vampires respect the limits, and where the faeries mind their p's and q's. My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. When things get strange, when what goes bump in the night flicks on the lights, when no one else can help you, give me a call. I'm in the book.”

————
2020 reread:

Listened to it on audio with my better half — his introduction to Dresden. It’s been a decade since I first read it now. Flaws definitely became more apparent this time, and Harry’s attitude towards women (that “chivalry” theme) is indeed annoying, and that noir feel sometimes is actually funny. But overall I still liked it. It’s interesting seeing Harry Dresden’s humbler beginnings, as I’m used to him being the magical powerhouse of the later installments. Anyway, I’m not as enamored by it this time, but magic still holds.

Jesse

Rating: really liked it
You know, the premise of this book actually sounded good. A wizard P.I., sure why not. I like wizards and I like P.I.s, so what could be the problem. The problem was I over estimated this author's abilities.

The main character is like some kind of emotionally retarded uber-geek's idealized life. He lives in a basement and subbasement. He ALWAYS wears a black duster and cowboy boots (even when he's wearing sweats and a t-shirt). He has an abnormally large alley cat that likes to drink coke and doesn't get violently ill from the caffeine. He can't get anywhere with women, for no real reason at all. The first woman that broke his heart, he actually killed (but for good reasons, I mean she was evil). I could go on and on. The protagonist of this story is an immature weiner. He is a walking dorky cliche, that feels like he is some kind of Peter Parker wizard. Constantly bemoaning the weight of the world on his shoulders, even when its actually not on his shoulders. Add to this the characters inability to have basic levels of trust for his friends/allies, lack of common sense, and a very low level of intelligence for someone that relies on brains and willpower for their strengths. And you end up with a guy that is very annoying to read in most any situation.

Now throw that character into a Noir Detective style situation. This is not a confident man, nor is he a physically tough man, and he lacks much in the way of street or even book smarts. I find it highly unlikely that this guy should have survived past the first 100 pages, let alone through all the other blunders he makes through the entire book. Take a gander back to the beginnings of the Noir Detective genre, and you'd be ashamed that this man besmirches the genre's good traditions. Sam Spade has no magic what so ever, but he could quite easily have out smarted and out fought this guy with his bare fists.

Don't even get me started on how annoying magic is in this book. Not since the magic of Terry Brooks' Shanara books have I felt magic meant little to nothing. This guy is constantly like, oh shit I don't have my wand or staff or special ring, so if I do my magic now I'll kill everyone. What the fricking good is magic that can't be used unless you've got your stick of power. If magic is going to be used the way it is in this book, as basically a crutch to hold the rest of the weak aspects of the book up (as it is in most non-awesome fantasy); then at least have it around to do its job and make cool things happen.

So to close, this book is immature and not fun to read. There was a time in my life when I would have found this book awesome, when I was going through that phase of life where you're 13, emotionally retarded, and just discovered AD&D 2nd edition. Which there is nothing wrong with, that's a phase that me and most other nerds went through. Then we grew out of it, because we matured in to adults. But this book isn't be lauded to me as "great writing" by 13 year old nerds and geeks, its being held up as a "Great Book" by adults, and that's who its marketed to. Look if you like this book and you're in Junior high then fine (though I could recommend better things for you to read that are aimed at your age group), but not adults. If your an adult and you think this is even just "good" writing (and again I'll state that most tell me its "great" writing) then I think you need to try reading some other stuff by much better authors. Go find and read Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, Walter Mosley, Warren Ellis, or Charles Stross. These are all writers that have written either modern fantasy/Horror or Noir and/or Crime fiction, so they are working on some similar concepts. Then if you don't find those to be far better book written by actual good writers, well then I'm just going to have to say that you and I may be from different planets or something.

This book is not fun to read. Its poorly constructed. The plot is about as complex as 6th grade math, and less original than that. The characters are 2 dimensional at best. Magic is used a focal point of the story rather than something to enhanced the flavor of original and real feeling plots and characters. At one point the author describes someone by saying he looks like Sean Connery's character from the Highlander, instead of I don't know just describing the dude as having a pony tale (since that was where those two character's physical similarities ended). Most of his other descriptions of characters are like police descriptions of people being given to me by the narrator which completely takes you out of the narrative. The author at one point even wrote "I was a wizard" when his point of view character is lamenting about going into a house or building to solve a problem and I was thinking "wait did you stop being a wizard at some point?". If you're going to write in the first person perspective then learn to write in the present. Of course one would expect a decent editor could have fixed this, but I'm going to assume that decent editors get assigned to decent writers. Look, its not a good book. I didn't make it a bad book, it just is. I'm told that the book get much better after or on book three (so some day I hope to get a copy of his second book for free and see, though I have my doubts since I've read enough bad authors in my day to know they don't usually start becoming good authors, just more experienced bad authors) but that's a really spurious argument since I need ALL book I read to be good if not great right away. I'm not going to recommend an author to someone because his first work was really awful but if you just read two more books by him he gets good. Well then perhaps he should have just started with book three and spared us the bad books. Its bad and I don't recommend it to anyone who's not reading it as a goof to lampoon it in there own head. End of statement.

Petrik

Rating: really liked it
3.5/5 stars

Storm Front is an introductory and page-turning installment to a beloved urban fantasy series.

I am not much of an expert on urban fantasy sub-genre, I certainly haven’t read as much urban fantasy compared to high fantasy, and almost all of the majority of urban fantasy series I’ve thoroughly loved has been UF series that took place in a fictional world rather than ours; The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee and The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett are a great example of this. Many trusted readers and friends of mine who understands my reading taste, however, have convinced me that if there’s one urban fantasy series—with a contemporary setting—that I would end up loving, it’s The Dresden Files by Jim Bucher. Well, here I am, I’m officially starting my journey with this series.

“There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power.”

Storm Front is the first book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, and we follow Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden—the only Private Investigator that’s also a Wizard in town. If I'm not mistaken, this series is planned to be 23 or 24 books long. Storm Front is without a doubt an introductory installment to a long series. Many huge fans of the series have warned me that it takes three or four books for the greatness of the series to truly “begin.” I honestly expected this book to be much worse because of this, but as it turns out, I actually thought that Storm Front was very enjoyable to read.

“I don't want to live in a world where the strong rule and the weak cower. I'd rather make a place where things are a little quieter.

Many readers have voiced criticisms that the first three books are very typical and formulaic by today’s story standard, and yes, that is true. I haven’t read the next books yet, but at least as far as the first book goes, I can’t deny their claim. But, we do need to go back a bit and put some things in perspective here. Storm Front was first published twenty years ago.

Let that sink in for a while.

I wasn’t even in middle school yet when this book was first published! Now I’m reading this in a time of a pandemic. Maybe instead of calling the first three books to be unoriginal because of the formulaic story structure, it would be more apt to say that Storm Front and The Dresden Files series to be—at least one of—the perpetrator responsible for popularizing that formula within the sub-genre in the first place.

“Where instinct fails, intellect must venture."

I’m not saying that this book isn’t without its issue, it will not blow your mind, but even putting modern storytelling standards into account, I can’t deny that I had a great time reading this short book. Storm Front is a fun and quick read that introduces Harry Dresden, the characters, the magic, and the world-building within a compelling murder mystery plot nicely. Oddly, I didn’t click with Butcher’s Codex Alera series; I haven’t continued the series past the first two books, which is odd because Codex Alera is a high fantasy series—my favorite sub-genre to read. As for The Dresden Files, if Storm Front is indeed the weakest book of the entire series, it seems like we’re going to have a lot of fun adventures together, Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.

Picture: Storm Front by Vincent Chong

You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

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Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin

Rating: really liked it
Reread for challenge

This is the first time I have read a Harry Dresden book and I love it! I'm so glad for my friends at goodreads for bringing me into his world.

I had no idea Harry was so freaking funny! And the cast of characters in this book were great. The bad guys sucked of course. I loved Mac, the bartender. He made me think of a quiet-ish Andre the Giant :) I loved Toot-Toot, the funny little faerie. I wish he was in the book more but hopefully I will get to see him in more books. I could just order a pizza and he might show up :) Mister is a no brainer because I love animals and he's a cool cat! Then there is Bob, who could not resist Bob the talking skull :) I'm not sure what kind of creature lived inside, I may have missed that part but once in awhile Harry would let him out, but not so much because he seemed to like to hang out at the sorority's and cause trouble!

So, someone is going around killing people with black magic and Harry must find out who is doing this because so many people are blaming him for it.

The story is really good and didn't drag for me at any point. There is too much craziness and action going on for that. I look forward to reading the other books in the series at some point.

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

Kat Kennedy

Rating: really liked it
The Dresden Files is one of those books that's intimidating to approach. It has a hard-core fan group that will scream its praises from the top of the roof. Usually, I would approach with extreme caution. I rarely read a series when I've been assured that it gets good after six books. When people tell me that, I simply quietly encourage them to read the Fever Series and avert eye contact.

However, after a discussion regarding male readers and writers of the Urban Fantasy genre, I felt I should give this series a go since the UF male demographic tends to be on the small side.

The Dresden Files has an immersive, interesting world. It's magical lore is possibly the only original thing about it. Which doesn't say that much for the book.

Meyer

It's exactly the same half-assed compliment you'd give to Meyers...

Don't get me wrong. Harry is a solid, interesting character and the mystery and action in this book was great. There were plenty of tense moments, laugh-out-loud moments, and clever, witty escapes.

But that doesn't mean that anything in this book was actually original.

Paranormal private eye? If there ever was a cliche in this genre - there it is. Can't they ever have a different occupation? If you have some magical ability is this your only career choice? Honestly. I think Anita Blake, Rachel Morgan and Harry Dresden would make GREAT pizza deliverers!

pizza delivery

Guaranteed they'd still manage to get in a shitload of trouble though...

What's the draw to being private detectives or retainers for police investigations? They're always struggling with money, almost getting killed to solve cases that don't pay, for people who don't like them and never really trust them. Insurance salesmen, guys. If people are going to treat you like dirt, you might as well be fucking them over equally as bad!

Besides, most of the characters in this book could have come out of ANY mystery novel about a rogue private eye solving mysteries and helping the police.

You have:

1) The toughass female cop with a heart of gold.
2) The asshole cop who gets in the way and hates the protagonist for no reason.
3) The surly bartender who knows everything and likes the protagonist. Usually more than he likes most people.
4) The sexy reporter who flirts with the male protagonist in order to get leads for a story.
5) The male protagonist who is awkward with the ladies, self-proclaimed non-lothario but still has at least one woman through themselves at him.

I appreciate characterization that encompasses flaws. Sometimes though, being too nice is a character flaw I get sick of in books. That's like going to a job interview and listing workaholic as a personality flaw.

Listen, Dresden. If someone explicably involves you in a murder case, doesn't give you enough information, doesn't inform you that they're an accomplice to the crimes, knows that your involvement will surely mean your death, and then tells you to go away and die somewhere else because they don't want your heart to burst out of your chest and stain their lovely carpet - YOU'RE OFFICIALLY ALLOWED TO BE A DICK TO THEM.

You know what you're not allowed to do? Feel like an asshole for getting information out of them that will save your life. That is NOT an asshole thing to do!

And maybe you don't have to put your ass on the line to spare every single other person when you're likely to die as a result.

Mordor

For goodness sake, let the immortal wizard and the warrior ranger take the fucking ring to mordor!

Just sayin' is all...

Over all, I liked this book. I will read more of these books - but I AM still waiting for the magic to hit me and turn me into a crazed Dresden fangirl.

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Yep, can't wait for the day...

Lyn

Rating: really liked it
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre that I have been very much enjoying for a few of years and Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series usually tops the lists of readers’ favorites and it has proven wildly popular.

For good reason.

Butcher first published Storm Front in 2000 and it was in this first edition that Butcher introduced readers to Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Wizard.

Butcher describes his protagonist as a kind of occult private investigator, being chiefly active in the Chicago area. Dresden’s advertisement is as follows:

WIZARD
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Butcher’s talent was in creating a charismatic, cool urban fantasy character and then placing him (and the stories) in the category of mystery / thriller. This provides an almost endless assortment of possible magical / occult / fantasy settings for Harry to explore and Scooby Doo mysteries to solve.

Butcher’s prose is evenly paced and his world building and magic rules forming skills are in good form.

description

Amber

Rating: really liked it
This book was terrible. The kind of terrible where I had to force myself to read the last half in a day just so I could be done reading it. The kind of terrible that made me reevaluate all the ratings of books I have previously given because I remembered what type of book I save one star ratings for. The kind of terrible where I roll my eyes at least once per page. The kind of terrible where I literally throw the book across the room when I'm done both out of frustration and out of the primitive impulse that I needed to get it the hell away from me as fast as possible. That kind of terrible.

There was not a single aspect of this book that I felt was done well. It tried to be a fantasy/detective story (which I believe is an intriguing concept), but it kinda failed at being both. It certainly wasn't a great fantasy story; the whole appeal of this type of fantasy is seeing how magic is performed and, more importantly, how it interacts with our world. But while the rules of Butcher's magic system were somewhat well explained when they were actually brought up, I never really felt like the system as a whole was clearly defined, and because of this, I was never entirely sure what was and wasn't possible. Sometimes rules would be established, only to be ignored later. (view spoiler) And I swear that in just about every situation in which Harry had to use magic (and there weren't as many as I thought there would be considering this is a book about a wizard) he would say/think something along the lines of "I'm too exhausted/wounded to produce enough energy for magic." Yet he would still somehow manage to create magic. Every. Time. It got to the point where I really had no idea what his limits actually were or where he was pulling this energy from. (view spoiler), I had to read under the assumption that wizards can just pull some hidden reserve of energy out of their ass whenever they are in trouble, which both destroys the tension in these situations and completely confuses me as to what wizards are and aren't capable of doing. The magic that was produced in this book wasn't even that innovative or inspired: fireballs, protective walls, demon summoning, a couple of objects thrown around, etc, but nothing was used in a way I hadn't seen done somewhere else (and usually executed better). (view spoiler) Besides that, the magic just felt unoriginal and poorly defined.

This book wasn't a particularly good mystery either, in my opinion. For starters, I found myself actually bored more often than not, which I think should be pretty hard to pull off considering we are following the exploits of a wizard who is solving murders. How do you make that boring? Beats the hell out of me, but Butcher managed it. There were only really three or four scenes that I would label as action/fight sequences. In 352 pages. Okay; I kinda expected more out of a wizard story, but whatever. Maybe the story is about all the exciting detectiving he gets to do? No. He does little in the way of detective work besides make phone calls (the man makes a lot of frickin' phone calls), which is, you know, obviously what I was excited to read about going in. Not interrogating people or finding clues. Just phone calls. Other than that, he just kinda muddles around until a piece of the puzzle falls in his lap, which leads to point two: the revelations in this mystery were either blatantly obvious to everyone but the protagonist (view spoiler) or the evidence and background information leading up to it were so vague that I have no idea how anyone could realistically have connected the pieces. (view spoiler) Their reasoning felt forced and contrived, and I'm not sure how I could ever have reasoned that out on my own, which I think is bad mystery. When pieces are fit together, it should make sense with the background information given. We should go "I can't believe I missed that!" instead of "Oh. Alrighty then." The puzzle pieces shouldn't have to be forcefully rammed together.

But while not accomplishing either of the things it tried to be certainly didn't help this book's cause, the real reason I couldn't make myself like it is that fact that I really couldn't stand a single character. There were only a couple of characters, in my opinion, that even had the hint of a personality. Besides Murphy and Dresden himself (and possiblely Bob the Skull, who was the only character I didn't want to punch in the mouth), the characters were either boring clichés (Carmichael, Mac, et al.) or sexist clichés (every single female character including, to a lesser degree, Murphy herself). But while Murphy was sometimes badass/a strong female character, her good qualities were vastly overwhelmed by her stereotypical ones and the fact she was a bully more often than not. Almost every time she interacted with Harry she either insulted, threatened, or physically abused him. Harry acted like it wasn't a big deal and that she was really a good friend even though she's aggressive, but I don't buy into that. (view spoiler)

And now for the man himself: Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Wizard extraordinaire and perhaps one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever encountered. He was (mostly) a competent wizard, but he was not a competent human being. The numerous aspects of his personality that I could not stand are perhaps best organized into a list.

1)His freaking chauvinism- I had heard about this going in, and I told myself I wouldn't let it bother me because that was just an aspect of this particular character. But it did bother me. A LOT. Part of my problem is that I expected deliberate chauvinism, chauvinism that was fictional. I mean, there were a few instances of a character pointing out Harry's tendency toward this, but most of the chauvinism was very subtle, and if Butcher's otherwise blunt, straightforward writing in this book is any indication of his skill, then I honestly don’t believe he was capable of deliberately making the chauvinism this subtle. For example, almost every time a woman was described, the adjective "feminine" was used. "With a feminine pout..." or "with a movement that oozed feminine grace" or "she wore a look that made her seem more feminine." Every time he had an interaction with a woman. EVERY TIME. I'm pretty sure there was not a single female character that wasn't described as being overly feminine in some way. Another example would be how every woman was described almost exclusively by her looks, which were usually very "feminine": "Her delicate little lady's hands…" and so on, and they were all beautiful or drop dead sexy in one way or another. Besides Murphy, none of them had anything but the shadow of a personality beyond their looks besides the usual tropes: hooker with a heart of gold, timid housewife, etc. So I guess all of the female characters existed for the sole purpose of being sexy. There was even a scene where Harry had "accidentally" invited two women over at the same time; he was going out on a date with one, and the other was going to give him information on the case. It would seem logical enough that you would explain the situation to the one you are going out on a date with (who arrived first), especially seeing as how you weren't intending to go out with both of them. But Harry didn't tell her! He just ran around trying to get ready thinking "Boy, things are going to get catty in here." Because, you know, every woman reacts to these situations with a cat-fight. And the whole circumstance was not only chauvinistic, but it reeked of some sort of sexual fantasy. It kinda felt like the opposite of that female teenage love triangle bullshit. Two women are about to have a catfight over me! Well, I see you aren't taking any steps whatsoever to prevent it, either. Don't flatter yourself, asshole. God, these situations and examples just didn't feel all that fictional to me. Whether deliberate or not, though, they annoyed the hell out of me. It is hard to like a character who constantly views themselves as superior than the opposite sex.

2)He was a tool- Sorry, but it's true. Passive characters also tend to annoy the hell out of me, and Harry Dresden was one of them. Every character ordered him around in one way or another, and he usually just took it. (view spoiler), and he barely puts up any resistance. "Doing this will probably get me killed, but okay." You aren't going to at least try to explain that you have very legitimate reasons not to do this? "She is probably just going out with me to get information, but okay." STOP BEING A TOOL! "I can't say no to a damsel in distress." First of all, this brings us back to the chauvinism complaint. Second, stop letting people walk all over you! It is hard to respect a character who is an active doormat.

3)His "snarky wisecracks"- These were sort of a hit and miss for me; sometimes they were hilarious, but more often they were annoying as hell. The problem was he did them ALL. THE. TIME. And because Harry was the first-person narrator, these "witticisms" weren't limited to dialogue. We had the joy of riding inside his head where we were able to listen to his snark 24-7. It just didn't work for me. It was partly because most of the time these wisecracks were not funny or charming. He's almost like a comic relief character without the serious foil character to balance him out, and comic relief characters by themselves are often more annoying than charming. Look at the fourth Pirates movie On Stranger Tides. Jack Sparrow crossed the line from witty, charming, and funny to annoying as all shit. That was because having comic relief characters without their foil DOES. NOT. WORK. Listening to it constantly isn't funny; it's annoying. Shut up. Most of his humor was also very juvenile and immature, and he would sometimes wisecrack at rather inappropriate times. (view spoiler) First of all, that isn't even funny. Not even a little. That is elementary school "You have cooties!" level humor. This is a book for freaking adults. It contains mature themes, swear words, and a dark tone and is marketed for adults. So do you seriously expect your audience to laugh at "You're gross!" playground humor? Second, (view spoiler) Very telling of Harry's character. And I don't likes what I sees.

4)His strange combination of self-deprecation and arrogance-
Okay. On the one hand, he would constantly put himself down and feel bad for stupid reasons. For example, he was getting vital information out of this one woman; talking about that topic made her upset, and she started crying. And he kept thinking about how horrible a person he was. You are not a horrible person for getting information that will save countless lives including your own. It wasn't like he was beating it out of her or anything; it was just a hard subject for her to talk about. You aren't a monster; get over it. Or when he felt bad for making another woman cry (there are a lot of crying women. Aaaand back to the chauvinism) because he had revealed something about her while defending himself from her murder attempt. Again he felt like a horrible person. STOP IT! Why do you feel bad? You did what you had to do to stop her from killing you. If someone tried to stab me and then started crying when they failed, I doubt I would feel that sympathetic. For a badass wizard, he was pretty oversensitive.

But then on the other hand, bafflingly, he would show extreme circumstances of narcissism. He would feel bad for stupid reasons, but whenever he did something good or even slightly heroic, he couldn't seem to do so without acting like he was a martyr. "Did you guys see what I just did? Wasn't that heroic of me?" He couldn't seem to do anything vaguely laudable without giving himself a giant pat on the back for doing it. Ugh. Harry Dresden is just not the type of person I would like or respect, which is kind of a problem considering this is a series following his exploits.

To make a long, rambling rant short, I felt an extreme abhorrence for this book. It wasn't a groundbreaking fantasy, an exciting mystery, or a tale about a character I care to follow. I have multiple other issues with this book (like the writing style, featuring such gems as "I stood there in silence for a moment, but said nothing."), but I've covered the ones that well and truly broke the story for me. I've heard that the series gets "really good" about four books in, but I don't think I will be finding out. Unless Harry gets a complete personality overhaul, I just don't see it happening. I'm not sitting through any more of Butcher's unoriginality or misogyny, thank you very much.

Bill Kerwin

Rating: really liked it

The first volume in the Dresden Files series introduces us to our hero, Harry Dresden, a wizard who is also a private investigator and police consultant. It is written in a breezy, colloquial style that makes you want to keep reading, but except for a few interesting magical twists on the private dick genre (e.g., Harry's tipster is a faery, lured with a bowl of milk and honey and confined within a magic circle until Harry gets the information he needs), the book is thin on plot, lacking in wit and deficient in interesting characters.

Maybe they get better. I might read the second volume sometime.

Then again, I might not.

☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣

Rating: really liked it
Actually, I started with the TV series, for once. And it was a rather atmospheric show with the exception of that charred body too naturalistically (for my liking!) shown, which I managed to watch during my lunch. Totally ruined that freaking lunch! Offputting, that's what it was. And it put me off for, like, 5 years in reading the series. But now I still am here, ready to enjoy this installment to my everlasting paranormal reading addiction.
And from the very start this novel feels superb. I think I'll stay with this series for the long run.

Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁

Rating: really liked it
2/7/18 - ON SALE for $2.99:

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Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

3.5 stars

Lover of Urban Fantasy that I am, it may come as a surprise that before now . . . I have never actually . . . read Jim Butcher . . .

I KNOW. I'm such a poser.

In my defense, I haven't had much luck with male authors in the genre, and come on . . . we're up to what? FIFTEEN installments, with the SIXTEENTH already in the works, so yeah--DAUNTING. Cut me some slack. And besides, better late than never, right?

Also, I'm holding all of you partially to blame, b/c someone should have told me that around book 3 or 4 the series becomes seriously FAE oriented. So what's up with that, huh? I've said more than once that Fae are my FAEvorite, and based on the PUNS in Storm Front alone, I'm the one who should be feeling betrayed, not you.

*snickers*

Okay. I have adequately blame-shifted, so moving on.

I knew going into this that I'd be entering a longterm relationship with Harry Dresden. I was willing, but skeptical. Even with the image of Paul Blackthorne firmly planted in my subconscious, I knew from experience that commitment requires more than a pretty face.

Little did I know how right I was.

You see . . . longterm relationships are WORK. And often, the things you love the most about another person are the same things that enable that person to drive you NUTS.

I love how realistically flawed Harry is.

I hate how realistically flawed Harry is.

He gets himself into a tight spot, so he rationalizes:

"It wasn't as though I was actually going to be doing any black magic, I told myself. I was just going to be figuring out how it was done. There was a difference. I was helping the police in an investigation, nothing more."

But then he immediately calls his own bluff:

"Yeah, right. And maybe one of these days I'd go to an art museum and become well rounded."

He's also incredibly self-aware. He knows his weaknesses as well as his strengths, and he presents both sides very matter-of-factly. It was refreshing. There was no false modesty or self-deprecation. No melancholy search for affirmation. Harry Dresden just lays it all out in plain site, do with it what you will.

But that same openness allows you to see (over and over again) how hapless he is when it comes to the fairer sex . . .

You know . . . for a self-proclaimed, socially awkward wizard with very little relationship experience, Harry Dresden finds himself surrounded by beautiful, flirtatious women with uncommon frequency . . . *rolls eyes*

But then he gleefully reveals his boyish, mischievous side by the sheer delight he takes at pulling one over on someone who has underestimated him. *rolls eyes again, but this time while grinning*

One second I wanted to smack him on the back of the head, and the next, I wanted to ruffle his hair and kiss him on the cheek.

So that's Harry.

There's also Bob the (peeping) Skull, Toot the pizza-loving faery, Mister the cat, Mac the surly pubkeep, Murphy the hard case female cop, and glimpses into possible future interactions with a literal faery godmother and the mysteriously intimidating White Council.

The plot was . . . eh . . . *shrugs* I'm giving it a pass this time, b/c I'm pretty sure a lot of groundwork was laid for future installments, and while this was a fairly entertaining read, it was also fairly predictable, and Bad Guy was just a stock power hungry Bad Guy.

On the world-building front, we were given a lot of hints, but nothing substantial, but that was okay, b/c so far, we've only been in the real world, so as much as I'd like to know more about the Nevernever (RIGHT NOW), there's plenty of time for that when we get there.

Overall, I definitely see this series being worth it (and not just b/c if I read this one, I will have read every, single one of the Big Deal UF series . . . which may or may not be a personal goal . . . *shrugs noncommittally*). Harry Dresden is a realistically likable character who I have a suspicion will turn out to be quite formidable, and Butcher lays a promising foundation with this first installment. Will it live up to my expectations? Only one way to find out . . .

Jessica Signature

My other reviews for this series:

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, #2)
Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, #3)
Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, #4) by Jim Butcher

Justin

Rating: really liked it
July 2022:
FIVE TIMES! I’VE READ THIS BOOK FIVE GODDAMNED TIMES!!! Insert obligatory comment about how this will be the time I actually continue the series.

March 2021:
Oh my God... I read/listened to this book on a recent trip, and I just realized it’s the fourth time I’ve read it. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything four times. I haven’t read anything twice, with a handful of exceptions. Oh my God, I’m going crazy. I don’t know if I should be cool with this or If I’ve reached a new low. I almost gave the book four stars this time, too. Jesus, who even am I? Next, I’m probably going to tell you how I’m actually gonna read my way past the third book in this stupid series. I’m probably going to make some big, bold declaration about my commitment level, and it’s all going to be a lie. I’ll probably start Fool Moon and then drop kick the book I’ve already checked out from the library across the room. I’ll remember I hate books with werewolves, and remind myself I’ll never get over the hump with this series. Four times. Good Lord.

March 2017 Review:

This is now my third time through Storm Front, and while my rating is holding tight at three stars, I enjoyed it more this time thanks to Spike from Buffy and Angel reading it to me. That guy nails Harry Dresden's character and breathes new life into him. His carefree "whatever yeah here I'm reading the book, alright?" tone was awesome. It made the story so much better.

It also made me realize how one of the only adjectives Butcher knows is the word "naked". Everything and everyone in the book is naked at some point. Harry walks outside with naked feet. A room is illuminated with naked color. Lots of naked people. He just really seems to like the word. I felt like it showed up at least a dozen times and stood out because at times another adjective would have worked better. But I digress...

This is a good book to just get lost in and not think too much. Don't overthink the magic or the spells or weird characters. Just let the story play out and you'll be fine. It feels like a weird episode of the X-Files in book form, or like I said two years ago, it's like a Goosebumps book for adults.

I'm gonna try a different approach and not be overly critical as I read through these first few books. I'm having a good time, and I hear things only get better as the series progresses. I kind of enjoy the pulpy writing style with a mix of crime and fantasy genres. I'm not crazy about Harry being all macho but then stepping aside to remind us all how old fashioned he is. He just likes opening doors for women and bringing flowers to dates, alright? Leave him alone. Not sure why he keeps bringing that up and then goes back into tough guy mode.

I've read the next two books before and then quit. I promised myself I was done, but I've never been good at keeping promises to myself. I should really stop doing that. Anyway, I hope I enjoy those s little more this time around and plow through the other books. Looking forward to seeing what happens. Third time is a charm... right?

Previous review from January 2015:

Second time through, and I feel about the same way. It's like Goosebumps for adults. it just needs a more clever title. Here are my contributions:

"Thunderbolts and Lightning, Very Very Frightening"

"Say Cheese and Die with ThreeEye"

"The Wizarding World of Harry Dresden"

Tina Haigler

Rating: really liked it
"I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual."

The first book in the Dresden Files series, I found this quite exciting. It felt like being picked up by a slightly crazy person, and pulled through a labyrinth by your shirt; all the while having not one creature, but many, trying to kill the person dragging you along with them. You're in for some ride, and the main character is definitely a man without a plan.

Our main character is the wizard extraordinaire, Harry Dresden. He does freelance detective work, but also consults with the Chicago P.D., and he has a doozy of a case. He seems like a decent guy; however he's not the most organized, or prepared. He has a bad habit of underestimating the situations he finds himself in, so you never know what he's going to pull off to stay alive. It makes for great fun and an interesting story. You're never lacking for either suspense or intrigue, and boy, oh boy, the segues from drama to action are nonexistent. One minute you're trying to figure something out, solve the mystery, and the next, someone's trying to kill Harry. It changes that quickly, so you simply never know what's about to happen.

I'm really looking forward to book two. I'm curious as to how Harry's character evolves from here and what adventure is next. What's the next crime scene going to be like? What dangerous situations will he barely escape next? Will he be more prepared? Does he get a second date with the reporter or does he get burned? I think I'm going to go read Fool Moon and find out.

"I'm in the book."

Ahmad Sharabiani

Rating: really liked it
Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1), Jim Butcher

Storm Front is a 2000 fantasy novel by American writer Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series, and it follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard. Dresden is hired by a woman to find her husband Victor Sells, an amateur magician who has been acting oddly. Later that day, he gets a call from Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, director of the Special Investigations (SI) Unit of the Chicago Police Department.

Murphy's partner shows him the bodies of two people, who die by having their hearts ripped out, apparently by magic. Dresden realizes that he is the chief suspect for these magical murders. Eventually, despite encounters with vampires, the unknown warlock, and the ever-suspicious Warden Morgan, Dresden learns that the affair centers around the drug "ThreeEye", which allows normal humans to temporarily acquire Wizards Sight, which eventually drives them insane.

Victor Sells has been manufacturing ThreeEye to edge out mob boss Johnny Marcone. Using the energy of thunder storms and the orgies held at his home, he powered the spells to remove his enemies, namely Marcone's men and anyone else threatening his operation, in order to gradually bring down Marcone and corner the drug trade. Dresden interrupts Victor's spell casting and attacks him, "brains versus muscle", eventually burning down Victor's house while Victor is still inside grappling with monster scorpions and a demon he had summoned to kill Dresden. Dresden survives, but is himself trapped on the balcony of the burning house until Morgan steps in to rescue him. Morgan had witnessed the fight with Victor and, knowing now that Dresden is innocent, reluctantly testifies on Dresden's behalf to the White Council.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوازدهم ماه سپتامبر سال2015میلادی

عنوان: جدال با طوفان؛ نویسنده: جیم بوچر؛ مترجم: مهنام عبادی؛ ویراستار: نیما کهندانی؛ تهران، نشر آذرباد‏‫، سال1393؛ در344ص؛ فروست: مجموعه پرونده‌ های درسدن‏‫‬ کتاب نخست؛ شابک9786006225494؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م

پرونده‌ های درسدن، اثری کارآگاهی است، که نقش نخست آن را کارآگاه خصوصی- جادوگری با نام «هری درسدن» ایفا می‌کند؛ در هر جلد از این سری، رخدادی جداگانه رخ می‌دهد، که «هری درسدن» باید با آن روبرو شود؛ هنر «جیم بوچر» در پیوند دادن رویداهای گوناگون ماورایی، و دنیای واقعی‌ است

نقل نمونه متن: (فصل یک: شنیدم که پستچی به در دفترم نزدیک میشود، نیم ساعت زودتر از معمول؛ حالش خوب به نظر نمیرسید؛ گامهایش سنگینتر و لاقیدتر شده بودند و سوت میزد؛ فردی جدید؛ در طول مسیرش به در دفترم سوت میزد، سپس برای لحظه ای ساکت شد؛ آنگاه زیر خنده زد؛ بعد به در کوبید؛ اخم کردم؛ نامه های من معمولاً از طریق شیار مخصوص نامه به دستم میرسند، مگر اینکه سفارشی باشند

من تعداد معدودی پست سفارشی دریافت میکنم، که هیچگاه حاوی خبرهای خوبی نیستند؛ از روی صندلی دفترم بلند شدم، و در را باز کردم؛ پستچی جدید که شبیه توپ بسکتبالی بود که دست و پا و سَری آفتاب سوخته و کچل داشته باشد، با دهان بسته به تابلوی روی شیشه ی در میخندید؛ به من نگاهی انداخت و انگشتش را سمت تابلو گرفت: «شوخی میکنی دیگه؟»؛ نوشته ی روی تابلو را خواندم -مردم گهگداری آن را تغییر میدادند- و سرم را تکان دادم؛ «نه جدی میگم؛ میشه لطفاً نامه ام رو بدید؟» - خُب، آه...؛ مثل مهمونیها، نمایشها و این جور چیزا؟ به پشت سرم نگاه کرد، انگار انتظار داشت که ببری سفید، یا احتمالاً دستیارانی با لباسهایی کم و کوتاه را ببیند، که در دفتر یک اتاقه ام جست وخیز میکنند؛ من که حس و حال این را نداشتم که دوباره مورد تمسخر قرار بگیرم، آه کشیدم و دستم را برای گرفتن نامه ای که در دستش نگاه داشته بود، پیش بردم؛ «نه، نه اینطوری، توی مهمونیها اجرا نمیکنم.»؛ او دست بردار نبود، سرش کنجکاوانه کج شده بود؛ «پس چطوری؟ یه جور طالعبین؟ با ورق و گویهای کریستالی و این چیزا؟»؛ به او گفتم «نه، من واسطه نیستم.»؛ پاکت نامه را کشیدم، رهایش نکرد، «پس چی هستی؟» - تابلوی روی در چی میگه؟ - میگه «هری درسدن، جادوگر»؛

تایید کردم: «خودم هستم.» او که به پهنای صورتش میخندید، انگار که باید لطیفه ای را برایش تفسیر کنم، پرسید «یه جادوگر واقعی؟ افسونها و معجونها؟ شیاطین و طلسمها؟ زبر و زرنگ و زود جوش بیار؟»؛ - «نه به اون زبر و زرنگی.»؛ نامه را از دستش بیرون کشیدم و نگاهی معنادار به تخته ی زیردستیش انداختم؛ «میشه برای نامه ام امضا کنم؟»؛ خنده از صورت پستچی جدید ناپدید و با اخمی جایگزین شد؛ تخته ی زیردستیش را رد کرد تا اجازه دهد برای دریافت نامه امضا کنم -اخطار دیگری از جانب صاحبخانه ام-؛ و گفت: «شما دیوونه اید؛ این چیزیه که هستید.»؛

تخته اش را پس گرفت و گفت «روز خوبی داشته باشید، آقا.»؛ رفتنش را مشاهده کردم؛ زیر لب گفتم «مثل همیشه.»، و در را بستم؛ اسم من «هری بلک استون کاپرفیلد درسدن» است؛ با گردن گرفتن خطراتش، میتوانید آن را فراخوانید، من یک جادوگرم؛ در دفتری در مرکز شیکاگو کار میکنم؛ تا جاییکه میدانم من تنها کسی در کشور هستم که آشکارا مشغول جادوگری حرفه ای است؛ میتوانید در صفحه ی آگهیهای روزنامه، تحت عنوان «جادوگران» پیدایم کنید

باور بفرمایید یا نه من تنها جادوگر آنجا هستم؛ آگهیم به این صورت است «هری درسدن - جادوگر»؛ پیدا کردن اجسام مفقود شده؛ تحقیقات ماوراء الطبیعه؛ مشاوره - رایزنی - با هزینه مناسب؛ از ارائه ی معجون عشق، کیف پولهای همیشه پر، اجرا در مهمانیها یا دیگر مراسم تفریحی معذوریم؛ اگر بدانید چند نفر زنگ میزنند، فقط برای آنکه بدانند جدی هستم یا نه، متعجب خواهید شد؛ اما از طرفی، اگر چیزهایی را که من دیده ام، دیده بودید؛ اگر نصف چیزهایی را که من میدانستم، میدانستید از این تعجب میکردید که چطور کسی میتواند فکر کند که من جدی نیستم؛

پایان سده بیستم میلادی و آغاز هزاره ی جدید به نوعی رنسانسی را در آگاهی جمعی نسبت به مسائل فراطبیعی به خود دیده بود؛ واسطه ها، تسخیرگران، خون آشام - هرچه اسمش را بگذارید؛ مردم هنوز هم آنها را جدی نمیگرفتند، اما تمام چیزهایی را که علم قولش را به ما داده بود، از بین نرفته بودند؛ بیماری هنوز یک مشکل بود؛ گرسنگی هنوز یک مشکل بود؛ خشونت، جنایت و جنگ هنوز جزو مشکلات بودند؛ با وجود پیشرفت تکنولوژی، مسائل آنگونه که همه امید داشتند و فکرش را میکردند، تغییر نکرده بود؛ علم، بزرگترین آیین سده ی بیستم میلادی، به نوعی توسط تصاویری از فضاپیماهای منفجرشده، کودکان از ریخت افتاده در اثر مصرف کراک مادرشان و نسل تن پروری از آمریکاییهایی که اجازه میدادند، تلویزیون بچه هایشان را بزرگ کند، لکه دار گشته بود؛ مردم در جستجوی چیزی بودند؛ من فکر میکنم که فقط نمیدانستند دنبال چه هستند؛ و با وجود اینکه دوباره شروع به گشودن چشمانشان به روی دنیای سحر و جادو، و محرمانه ای کرده بودند، که در تمام این مدت در کنارشان وجود داشت، هنوز هم فکر میکردند که من یکجور لطیفه هستم؛

به هر حال، ماه کسالتباری بود؛ در حقیقت دو ماه کسالتبار؛ اجاره ی فوریه ام تا دهم مارس پرداخت نشده بود، و به نظر میرسید که شاید بیشتر از این هم طول بکشد، تا وقتیکه برای این ماه دستم جایی بند شود؛ تنها کار واقعی ام هفته ی گذشته بود، وقتی که به «برانسونِ میسوری» رفتم، تا خانه ی شاید تسخیرشده ی یک خواننده ی کانتری را، بازرسی کنم؛ تسخیر نشده بود؛ مشتری ام از شنیدن پاسخ خوشحال نشد، و وقتی پیشنهاد دادم مصرف هرگونه ماده ی مخدر، و نوشیدنی الکلی را متوقف نماید، سعی کند کمی ورزش کند، و بخوابد، و ببیند اگر اینکار بیشتر از جنگیری به مشکلات سروسامان نداد، خوشحالیش کمتر هم شد؛

مخارج سفر به علاوه ی مزد یک ساعت را دریافت کردم، و با این حس که کاری صادقانه، پرهیزکارانه و نشدنی را به انجام رسانده ام، از آنجا رفتم؛ بعداً شنیدم که او واسطه ای دغلباز را استخدام کرده است، تا بیاید و مراسمی را با بخور زیاد و چراغهای سیاه اجرا نماید؛ از دست بعضی از آدمها!؛ کتابم را تمام کردم و آن را در جعبه ی «تمام شده ها» انداختم؛

کپه ای از کتابهای خوانده و دور ریخته شده، درون جعبه ای مقوایی، در کنار میزم قرار داشت، کتابهایی که محل اتصال کاغذهایشان خم، و صفحاتشان پاره پوره شده بود؛ من به طرز وحشتناکی نسبت به کتابها خشونت نشان میدهم؛ داشتم به دسته ی کتابهای خوانده نشده نگاه میکردم، با توجه به اینکه کاری واقعی برای انجام نداشتم، به این میاندیشیدم که کدامیک را شروع کنم که تلفن زنگ زد؛ با ترشرویی به آن زل زدم؛ ما جادوگرها وحشتناک در فکرهایمان فرو میرویم؛ بعد از سومین زنگ، وقتی فکر میکردم که خیلی مشتاق به نظر نمیآیم، گوشی را برداشتم و گفتم «درسدن.»؛ «اوه شما، اومم، هری درسدن هستید؟ همون، آه جادوگر؟»؛ لحن صدایش عذرخواهانه بود، گویی به شدت میترسید به من توهین کرده باشد؛

پیش خود فکر کردم: نه. من «هری درسدن» همون آه، داروگرم؛ هریِ جادوگر، طبقه پایینه؛ این حق جادوگرهاست که بداخلاق باشند؛ گرچه مشاوران غیردولتی که پرداخت اجاره شان هم تاخیر دارد، چنین حقی ندارند؛ بنابراین به جای اینکه حرفی زیرکانه بزنم به خانم پشت تلفن گفتم: «بله خانم، چه کمکی از دست من ساخته ست؟»؛

گفت: «من. اوم مطمئن نیستم، چیزی گم کرده ام، و فکر میکنم شما بتونید کمکم کنید.»؛ گفتم: «یافتن اشیای گمشده خودش یک تخصصه، باید دنبال چی بگردم؟»؛ وقفه ای اضطراب آلود به وجود آمد؛ گفت: «همسرم.»؛

صدایش کمی خش داشت، مانند تشویق کننده ای که در مسابقه ای طولانی فعالیت کرده باشد اما از طرفی، به قدر کافی بار سالهای زندگی در آن شنیده میشد، که بتوان او را به عنوان بزرگ سال در نظر گرفت؛ ابروهایم بالا رفتند؛ «خانم، من حقیقتاً متخصص افراد گمشده نیستم؛ با پلیس یا کاراگاه خصوصی تماس گرفتید؟»؛ سریع گفت: «نه، نه اونا نمیتونن؛ یعنی تماس نگرفته ام؛ خدای من، این خیلی پیچیده است؛ چیزی نیست که بشه با تلفن درباره اش حرف زد؛ متاسفم که وقتتون را گرفتم آقای درسدن.»؛

سریع گفتم: «قطع نکنید، ببخشید، اسمتون رو به من نگفتید.»؛ دوباره همان مکث مضطرب برقرار شد، انگار که پیش از پاسخ دادن برگه ای از یادداشتهای نوشته شده را بررسی کند؛ «به من بگید مونیکا»؛ کسانیکه تنها قدر ارزنی راجع به جادوگرها اطلاع دارند، دوست ندارند اسمهایشان را به ما بگویند؛ آنها متقاعد شده اند که اگر جادوگری اسمشان را از زبان خودشان بشنود، میتواند از آن بر ضدشان استفاده کند؛ بخواهیم منصف باشیم، حق با آنهاست؛ میبایست تا جاییکه میتوانستم مودب و بی آزار باشم؛ هر آن ممکن بود از روی تردید و دودلی محض، قطع کند، و من به اینکار احتیاج داشتم؛ اگر رویش کار میکردم احتمالاً میتوانستم همسرش را ظاهر کنم؛ در حالیکه سعی داشتم تا جاییکه میتوانم دلپذیر و دوستانه به نظر برسم، به او گفتم «بسیار خُب مونیکا، اگه حس میکنی که شرایطت طبیعت حساسی داره، شاید بهتر باشه بیای به دفترم، و درباره اش صحبت کنی؛ اگه معلوم شد که من بیش از همه میتونم کمکت کنم، که اینکار را خواهم کرد، و اگر نه، آن وقت میتونم به کسی که فکر میکنم کار بیشتری از دستش برمیآد، معرفیتون کنم»؛

دندانهایم را به هم ساییدم و تظاهر کردم دارم لبخند میزنم؛ «رایگان.»؛ باید تاثیر کلمه ی «رایگان» بوده باشد؛ که موفقیت حاصل شد؛ قبول کرد که مستقیم به دفتر بیاید و به من گفت یک ساعت دیگر اینجا خواهد بود؛ اینگونه زمان تخمینی رسیدنش حدود دو و نیم میشد؛ وقت کافی برای بیرون رفتن، گرفتن ناهار و برگشتن به دفتر جهت ملاقات با او وجود داشت؛ تقریباً در همان لحظه، که گوشی را سرجایش گذاشتم، تلفن دوباره زنگ خورد و مرا از جا پراند؛ با دقت به آن نگریستم؛ من به وسایل الکترونیکی اعتمادی ندارم؛ هر چیزی که بعد از دهه ی چهل ساخته شده مشکوک است، و به نظر نمیآید که زیاد میانه ی خوبی با من داشته باشد؛

هر چه شما اسمش را ببرید: ماشین، رادیو، تلفن، تلویزیون، دستگاه پخش فیلم، هیچکدامشان برای من درست کار نمیکنند؛ من حتی دوست ندارم از مدادهای اتوماتیک استفاده کنم؛ با همان لحن شاد دروغینی که برای مونیکای شوهر گمشده فراخوانده بودم، تلفن را جواب دادم؛ «درسدن هستم. میتونم کمکتون کنم؟»؛ - هری، میخوام که تا ده دقیقه ی دیگه مدیسون باشی؛ میتونی بیای اونجا؟ صدای آنسوی خط بازهم متعلق به یک زن بود، خونسرد، سرزنده و باکفایت؛ من که سرشار از نمک شده بودم، سیل کلمات را جاری کردم: «چرا ستوان مورفی؛ منم از شنیدن صداتون خوشحال شدم؛ خیلی وقته خبری ازتون نیست؛ اوه، اونا هم خوبن، خوب؛ خانواده شما چطورن؟»؛ - این حرفا رو ول کن هری؛ اینجا یه جفت جسد دارم و میخوام تو یه نگاهی به دور و اطراف بندازی؛ فوراً هشیار شدم؛

کرین مورفی، رئیس تحقیقات ویژه خارج از مرکز شهر شیکاگو بود، در واقع کمیسر منتخب پلیس، برای تحقیق در مورد هر جرمی که برچسب غیرعادی به آن میخورد؛ حملات خونآشام، غارت و چپاول از جانب غولها و ربودن کودکان توسط جنها و پریان نمیتوانست در گزارش پلیس درست جا بیافتد، اما در عین حال به مردم حمله میشد، کودکان ربوده میشدند، املاک خسارت میدیدند یا تخریب میگشتند؛ و شخصی باید مسئله را پیگیری میکرد؛ در شیکاگو، یا در واقع در هر کجای ایالت شیکاگو، این شخص کرین مورفی بود؛ من کتابخانه ی متحرک او در مسائل ماورایی و مشاور حقوقبگیر اداره پلیس بودم؛ اما دو تا جسد؟ دو مرگ توسط عوامل ناشناخته؟ پیش از این هیچگاه با چنین چیزی به خاطر او سروکار نداشتم

از او پرسیدم: «کجا هستی؟» - هتل مدیسون توی خیابون دهم؛ طبقه هفتم؛ گفتم: «پیاده از دفتر من، فقط ربع ساعت راهه.»؛ - پس ربع ساعت دیگه اینجایی؛ خوبه؟

گفتم: «اومم.» به ساعت نگریستم؛ مونیکای بدون نام خانوادگی کمتر از چهل و پنج دقیقه ی دیگر اینجا بود؛ «من قرار دارم.»؛ - درسدن، من یک جفت جسد دارم، بدون هیچ سرنخی، و هیچ مظنونی، و یک قاتل که برای خودش آزاد میچرخه؛ قرارت میتونه صبر کنه؛ جوش آوردم؛ معمولاً اینطوری میشد؛

گفتم: «حقیقتش، نمیشه، من یک سر میآم اونجا و نگاهی به دور و بر میاندازم و به موقع برای قرارم برمیگردم اینجا.»؛ او پرسید: «ناهار خوردی؟» - چی؟ئ سوالش را تکرار کرد؛ گفتم: «نه.»؛ «نخور.»؛ مکثی به وجود آمد، و وقتی دوباره صحبت کرد، در لحنش حالت دل به هم خوردگی شنیده میشد؛ «اوضاع نابسامان.»؛ - مورف، درباره ی چقدر نابسامانی داریم حرف میزنیم؟

لحنش نرم و ملایم شد، و این بیش از هر تصویری، از خون لخته شده و مرگ خشونتبار مرا ترساند؛ مورفی اصولاً دختری خشن بود، و به خود افتخار میکرد، که هیچوقت ضعف نشان نمیدهد؛ «بَده هری، لطفاً طولش نده، سازمان جنایات ویژه دارن، تلاش میکنن تا این پرونده رو دست بگیرن و میدونم که تو خوشت نمیآد کسی قبل از اینکه نگاهی به اطراف بندازی، به صحنه جرم دست بزنه.»؛ در حالیکه ایستاده بودم و کتم را میپوشیدم، به او گفتم «توی راهم.»؛

به من یادآوری کرد: «طبقه ی هفتم؛ اونجا میبینمت.» - باشه؛ چراغهای دفترم را خاموش کردم، از در بیرون رفتم و با اخمی آن را پشت سرم قفل کردم؛ اطمینان نداشتم که بازرسی صحنه ی جرم «مورفی» چقدر به طول میانجامد، و نمیخواستم فرصت صحبت با مونیکای از - من - هیچی - نپرس را از دست بدهم؛ بنابراین دوباره در را باز کردم، تکه کاغذ و پونزی برداشتم و نوشتم: «مدت کوتاهی بیرون هستم؛ ساعت دو و نیم برای قرار برمیگردم؛ درسدن»؛ با اتمام آنکار، شروع به پایین رفتن از پله ها کردم؛ با وجود آنکه در طبقه ی پنجم هستم، به ندرت از آسانسور استفاده میکنم؛ همانطور که گفتم به ماشینها اعتماد ندارم؛ همیشه، درست وقتی احتیاجشان دارم، خراب میشوند؛ به علاوه اگر من کسی بودم که با استفاده از جادو دو نفر را همزمان در این شهر میکشتم و نمیخواستم که گیر بیافتم، اطمینان حاصل میکردم که تنها جادوگری را که اداره ی پلیس در استخدام داشت، از میان بردارم؛ عجایبی را که در راه پله برایم اتفاق میافتاد، خیلی بیشتر از فضای محبوس و گرفته آسانسور دوست داشتم؛ خیالاتی شدم؟ احتمالاً؛ اما فقط چونکه شما خیالاتی هستید، دلیل نمیشود که شیطانی مخفی وجود نداشته باشد، که بخواهد دخلتان را بیاورد.)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 17/04/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 01/03/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

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