"Storm Front" by Jim Butcher

Storm Front reminds me of the early books of Laurell K. Hamilton, but not in a bad way. Indeed, a lot of the excesses and nonsense that have come to characterize Hamilton's latest work are absent in the first book in Butcher's "Dresden Files". Gone are the two chapter-long sex scenes and instantly killed villains with the ever-escalating power levels (like a bad episode ofDragonball Z) and in are the slowly escalating levels of stress and danger for the protagonist. Though the book feels derivative now (with Harry Potter and the aforementioned Hamilton) the plot is handled deftly and moves quickly, with no fatty unnecessary bits.

I can't remember who said it, but someone said: "Strand your hero in a tree, and then throw rocks at him." Butcher takes this to heart. There's no letdown. Harry Dresden, quite simply, gets his ass kicked, but somehow comes out on top.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Butcher's work. I'll keep you up to date.

8/10