David Dobbs

3..2..1.. Let's Jam

Reviewed: 09-30-22

A fun story from start to finish!
Alex White strikes a good balance between Space battling big robot action, and meaningful character growth and interpersonal relationships. I found the deep rooted love of music, and how it impacts so many facets of the story to be a great feature. The world is an interesting balance of post apocalyptic sorrow, and flickering hope and the chance for new beginnings. The "big bad" is also a really enjoyable aspect to the story, both daunting and horrifying in its capabilities, but also understandable in its justification. The characters are well thought out and each bring something to the story. The Mecha are unique and the method used to incorporate their perspectives takes a moment to get used to, but really works when you understand what they really are. Overall, a fun and entertaining space adventure with enough romance thrown in to Amp up the stakes.

The performance is well done, and each character is given their own "voice." This is not to say Hayden Bishop goes too far with incredibly distinct voices for every single character, but, they do a wonderful job of creating a voice for characters in each scene, and they are consistent with the voice and characteristics of the main cast.

Over all, my only complaint... I wish I could hear the music that occurs within this story, it sounds like it would be amazing.

I look forward to the next book. I want to see where this goes. Check it out!

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2 people found this helpful

A fine end to a glorious series

Reviewed: 01-05-22

Gildart Jackson leads us once more through Benedict Jacka's path walking of Alex's life. I loved this series and during the past few books I knew we were drawing to a close. Which of course left me feeling both apprehensive and mournful. Apprehensive, because I was constantly wondering how it would all come together in the end, or not (which was also a scary prospect). And mournful because, like most series that I love, I didn't want the story to end. Well, without giving any spoilers, I can say this final book does bring the story to a satisfying conclusion. I'm still a bit mournful because I have to say goodbye, but it's a contented sadness. Besides, I can always start the first book, and enjoy it all over again.

If you have followed Alex Verus all this way, then don't hesitate a moment more, and dive back in. This was a good send off for not just Alex, but all the characters we've grown to love and enjoy.

Thank you Mr. Jacka for letting us into this glorious world. And thank you Mr. Jackson for lending your talented voice and character throughout all of these books.

I trust you all will enjoy "Risen" as much as I did. Happy listening!

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Ghosts+vampires+Dresden= a dark and crazy ride.

Reviewed: 11-18-13

First let me get my regular preamble out of the way. This run through is probably my 6th time going through the series, So, it is safe to say I'm a big Dresden fan and I have a pretty good idea of what is coming in the following books so I try my best not to let that color my review of this book, but the key word in that is "try." Also, I'll say that while it is not mandatory to read the two books before this one, it does help to make things make more sense. The book could stand alone on its own because the story is that solid and the characters that enjoyable. But, I highly recommend starting from the beginning and enjoying this wild ride from the start at "Storm Front."

Ok, with that out of the way we can move forward. "Grave Peril" brings us back to the wild ride that is the everyday life of one Harry Dresden, Wizard of the White Council, Private investigator, and all around smart ass. It seems that in the last month ghosts of all flavors and power have been making their presence known in a most uncommon display through out the city of Chicago. Dresden has found this nightly occurrence so strange and quite frankly, a handful that he has enlisted the aid of his friend and sometime partner in the battle against what goes bump in the night, Michael Carpenter. Michael, a Knight of the Cross, that's "The Cross" mind you, has been helping Harry these past nights by putting these spirits to rest, the hard way. But this night's ghost hunt brings with it a few snags, one the discovery of a strange spell worked upon the spirit that appears to be what has been driving it and the other spirits to the point of such madness that they have been cropping up nightly and doing some serious work on weakening the boundary between the real world and the spirit world. Also, to bring this particular spirit down Harry and Michael have to tread into the Never Never, the realm of the faye and the spirit world itself. And here in lies another problem, They run into Harry's Fairy Godmother. She's apparently been waiting for Harry for quite sometimes, some debts need to be repaid and for the Faye, that sort of thing is not optional.

The two are no sooner escaped from that trouble, for the time being, than they are met with a new slate of problems, Because of the turmoil in in the barrier a great big mega ghost has been allowed to form up and has made its mission to wreak some bloody vengeance, and it is all somehow tied back to a case Harry and Michael worked with Murphy the the Team from S.I. earlier in the year. People from that case are beginning to meet up with trouble at the hands of this big nasty, and Harry and Michael are not sure how to beat it.

As if this were not enough, Harry has to deal with supernatural politics as the Vampires from the Red court have invited him to a party to celebrate a Nobel members ascension, as with most vampire matters, there is more to this than a simple party, blood and trouble, truths within lies. Next on the Harry do list is a poor girl who has come to him for help and who claims to have visions and in the most recent one Harry plays a central role, along with a lot of fire, and death. A Hallmark greeting card she is not. But of course Harry lets him self get dragged into trying to help her as well. Add to all this Harry's girl friend and reporter for the local supernatural yellow rag tabloid, Susan, is following up on a story that she's remaining closed lip about but none the less has Harry concerned.

How will Harry untangle all the lines of this tapestry of terror? (come on, alliteration is fun) All of these different strands come to tie Harry in knots as he tries to get himself and those he cares about through the flames of treachery and deceit alive. More importantly how does he do it when, in the middle of all this "fun," a large portion of his magic and power is taken from him?




"Grave Peril" is quite often the book that most folks point to when they say things really got started for them in the Dresden Files. Where "Storm Front" and "Fool Moon" set up the stage in a lot of ways, "Grave Peril" is where the play really takes off. It's the first time we are working with a full cast who are finally all "in the know" when it comes to the secret world. Murphy has finally realized there is more to this world than she first imagined, and this time she really believes it. Michael is brought into the story and he is a very welcome addition. A truly good man who fights along side Harry because he knows that some things are just worth fighting for. And having a holy knight with a holy sword featuring a nail from "The Crucifix" worked into its handle makes him a pretty staunch and able ally. But another great thing that the addition of Michael brings to the story is the fact that he is a family man. Harry, an orphan, finds a lot of things in Michael and his family that he admires and misses I suspect. But, by having Harry's perspective on this we get a deeper understanding of Dresden and we also see that sometimes what others take for granted, can be a treasure to some. This gives a real emotional grounding to Harry and explains in someways the tight bond that develops between the two men in the rest of the series.

Another player that is finally fully on board the supernatural train is Susan, while she has always believed in the supernatural, now she has been exposed to some of the real harsh, and darker aspects of what that means. Sadly, such a lesson does not prepare you for everything, and Harry and his relationship with Susan will have to handle this unflinching truth.

In "Grave Peril" Jim Butcher finally feels like we the reader might be ready to handle a little more of the supernatural world. And in this tale that world really sinks its teeth in. We get to finally see the Never Never, and while it is only a taste of what is to come, that taste is fairly trippy and full of dangerous missteps. We get some interesting back story for Dresden as we explore his relationship and his "deal" with his fairy Godmother. Lea,The Leanansidhe. I personally love Lea and all her faye craziness. She adds just the right amount of whimsical danger to the mix and her fingers are tied to a lot of strings, seen and unseen.

We also, get a little more grounding in the politics of the supernatural world. We get exposed to some of the workings of the Red court of Vampires and a little understanding of the interplay between them and the other two courts, the White and the Black, as well as its dealings with the White council, which becomes very important considering Harry is a member of that particular group,

Jim Butcher does not disappoint as he weaves a tale of seemingly sparsely related troubles that Harry has to deal with, but that form a tight red cord seemingly wrapped around our poor wizard and pulling him to a most tragic and seemingly inescapable doom. Along the way, as previously mentioned Jim Butcher leaves us little clues and tantalizing hints that will leave us wondering what is coming and what the heck one character or another is referring to. I suspect he laughs when he writes these parts,and I suspect it is an evil laugh. But, evil authors aside, be on the look out for these little tid bits, they all pay off the further along we go in the series.

James Marsters finally comes into the fullness of his narration in this book. I've said repeatedly in my previous two reviews that while James does a very good job, he still had more to give us. And in this story he finally delivers. His emotion is real and palpable in this tale, and you can really feel it in Jame's words as he delivers the lines that can break your heart or enrage your soul. To say this story would not have been as effective read aloud if the narrator sort of just phoned it in is an understatement. Butcher played harder in writing this story than the previous two, writing more emotionally driven scenes and more impact driven interactions than his previous two books because I think he felt by this point we should be properly invested in his characters, and James delivers to us an excellent reading. He finally has a clear and separate voice for all his characters, He captures the essence of the scenes well, and oh yes, for all those audio back ground noise haters, it seems they cleaned that up as well. James is an excellent actor and in this third book I think he finally got the formula right. From here on in James only steps his game up and he becomes in my mind, and the minds of many other fans, the voice of the Dresden Files.

"Grave Peril" is the first book where, and this is not to devalue the importance of human life, the stakes are higher than a few killings here and there. The cost of what transpires raises the bar and we are left wondering what is to come. A lot happens in this tale, a lot of set up for the next book. New characters that become integral parts to the Dresden Files. And as always, a story that leaves you wanting more. So, after you enjoy "Grave Peril" get ready for a swan dive into the Never Never in "Summer Knight!"

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Wolves at the gate and Dresden at the door.

Reviewed: 11-12-13

Let me get this out there first, I am a big Dresden Fan and am currently going through the series for maybe the 6th time as I write these reviews for the series. "Fool Moon" is the second book in the Dresden Files series, I highly encourage you to read "Storm Front" before reading this book, not because you absolutely must to get any enjoyment from this book, but because if you do then you will enjoy it that much more. To get an idea of what's come before check out my review of "Storm Front."


Ok, with that out of the way, let's move forward.

"Fool Moon" takes place about 6 months after the events of "Storm Front." The city has gotten colder, the nights longer, and the streets a little more dangerous. With a smattering of bloody murders a month before and now what appears to be the same type of gristly murders starting up again Detective Murphy has decided she is in need of Chicago's only publicly practicing wizard, Harry Dresden. Oh, and wouldn't ya know, The FBI are involved in the case, Murphy is under investigation from internal affairs because of the events from "Storm Front" and subsequently Harry Dresden himself has been cast into suspicion as well, the latest murder victim was a body guard and right hand man of the most powerful crime boss in Chicago, Gentleman Johnny Marcone, and oh yea these murders have all occurred around the time of the full moon and present with the same traits of a large animal attack, possibly a wolf... but don't ya know, they don't quite match up with a wolf, there is something very "wrong" about the crime scenes. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we have our werewolf story!

Harry is pulled from one frying pan into another fire as he tries to get to the bottom of this dark tableau of a lupine massacre. As Harry digs deeper he finds himself being nearly swallowed up by this beast of a case as groups begin to crop up and influence themselves into the path that this case takes. From a group of college kids who seem like their bark is worse than their bite, but are oddly being led by a woman that Dresden knows was at at least one murder scene. Another group of lycanthropes who seem to be connected to this mess, but how and why Dresden does not know, but they know him, and wouldn't ya know, they want to kill him... some folks just have that effect on people. John Marcone makes his presence known and the FBI are actively getting in the way of both Murphy and Dresden, and doing so with perhaps a little too much interest. Add to that Murphy is going through some major trust issues with Dresden after the events of last Spring and as such things are a little dicey there as well. But worst of all is the fact that out in the darkness is something large, furry, and with the strength and power to rip folks into people confetti. This is not your mommy and daddies Werewolf, this is a monster that has been unleashed on the city and no one is quite sure how to stop it,

With all this going on our haggard under dog is doing his best to track down the murderer before more people get hurt. But with the investigation going the wrong way and suddenly Dresden being implicated as being involved everything goes to hell and Harry is on the run Can Harry find out who the killer is and protect the people he cares about, and will he clear his name? Or will the darkness stalk him and put an end to our favorite wise cracking hero?



"Fool Moon" takes the fire that "Storm Front" ignited and starts to pick up more steam as we begin to move this tale of Harry Dresden forward. The scope is a bit broader and the stakes now seem a bit higher as Dresden interacts with more parties in Chicago. Jim Butcher is slowly bringing us into a bigger world of influence as far as the supernatural goes. This book also begins the trend of Harry getting the hell beat out of him. I think Jim Butcher secretly like beating up poor Harry, but it does add to his under dog image to always come back for more after the world tries its best to smash him down.

Butcher gives us more and more as he brings us along in this book, the characters we knew from the previous book are being polished and given more of a realistic feel. I recall the first time I read this book that I wanted to strangle Murphy for not having Harry's back in this, but..after a few times I finally realized what Butcher did there, he gave Murphy a realistic mind set of someone who sort of believes in this whole supernatural thing, but has no where near the amount of knowledge to make the leaps of faith required to just go along with this mad man Harry Dresden. It's this kind of thought out character development that makes Jim's characters so relatable and after some time,loved. This book is Murphy's first real baptism into the world of the weird. Sure she had seen things, sort of kind of believed Harry, but over all... she just did not really grasp what the other world was. In "Fool Moon" Murphy gets a bloody, and horrible slap in the face of this particular version of reality.

Jim Butcher also gives we the reader more of a grounding in the world in which he is leading us by beginning to break down some rules of magic, describing some supernatural factions, and over all adding to the lexicon of Dresden knowledge that will become useful as he dives us deeper into this amazing world he is creating for us.

Also, as I described in the previous review, Butcher loves to place little tid bits of info in his stories that don't pay off till a couple of books or more down the line. Well get ready for a few of those as questions about his mother, his father;s death, and a possible tie between the events of the last book and this one are all scattered like little addictive yet infuriating bread crumbs for us to find along the trail. He really is a jerk.. but a lovable jerk, for doing this.

"Fool Moon" is an excellent book that brings us new characters to enjoy, More wonderful one liners, and gears us up for the fit to really hit the shan in book 3.

As for the narration, in my previous review I also gave Marsters a 4 out of 5 star review, not because he does a bad job exactly, but because its a rough job, especially considering how amazing I know he is going to be at the later books. In the first book he was not very good about distinguishing other people (outside of Harry and Bob) with very different voices or tones. He corrected that a bit in this book, most characters have a feel of their own now, and it really helps to draw you into the story more. Marsters is obviously getting more comfortable in this role and it shows. But, with that being said, it is still not where it will be. I admit my score is reflective of latter knowledge, but really, once you get to book 3 you will understand, because book 3 is kind of where Marsters really snaps into place with how to narrate this series and from then on it's pretty freaking awesome how he narrates. Now, do not in anyway take this to me what he gives now is dross, Marsters gives a wonderful performance and it really is an improvement over the last book. Anyone would be well pleased to listen to him narrate in this book.

Oh, and also, for those who criticize the performance because of the mic picking up the sounds of him swallowing or sometimes taking in a short breath.... get over it, you are being read a story by a person. These things do not take away from the story or the performance. In reality I kind of feel like it adds to it. This story is told from Harry Dresden's perspective, as if Harry were telling us his tale. The little sounds that some folks complain about just bring me into that feel even more. So give the folks a break and just enjoy the show.

I hope you enjoy "Fool Moon" as much as I do, It's a wonderful book with a great story that both draws you in and preps you for more Dresden craziness to come. James Marsters gives a wonderful performance that is only going to get better. Be prepared tho, because "Grave Peril" is next.... get ready for things to really pick up.

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In the beginning, there was Dresden..

Reviewed: 11-07-13

First, let me preface this review with a few things you should know up front. One, I'm currently stating my..5th...maybe 6th go round of listening to all of the Dresden Files, so my reviews will be from the perspective of an avid Dresden fan who's been through the whole series to date a few times. I will try not to give away anything to those who have not done the same. Secondly, As stated, I'm reviewing this with full knowledge of future books and as such will try and temper my ratings to the book itself, and not bring the rating up or down because I know what is to come in later books. I will try to do each book as is, stand alone, and without gushing..... keep in mind, I said try.

Ok, down to business, "Storm Front" is an excellent book for a few reasons, but I think I'd like to single out the fact that it unapologetically grabbed me by the mental short hairs and dragged me into this world that Jim Butcher has so lovingly crafted. and told me that if I'm very good and drink all my Coke, then maybe Mr. Butcher will be kind and give me another book to fall in love with.
I'm serious when I say that it grabbed a hold of me that fast. I was on a road trip to New York from Georgia with my brother when he said, "Hey, I've got a series I think you'd like." and boy did I.

"Storm Front" flows into the Film Noir Detective story mold so effortlessly that you feel at any moment Dresden is going to pour up three fingers of scotch and lament how he's never gonna make the rent next Tuesday, which in fact he does, but minus the scotch. The other half of the coin of course is that Dresden is a Wizard, and the world he works in and the dregs he has to deal with would make ole Bogart hang up his hat and fly back to Casablanca to stay. And Dresden's "voice" in this tale never skips a beat or breaks you away from the feel of a noir story. Yes, he just launched lightning at a toad demon, yea, his right hand man happens to be a talking skull with centuries of magical knowledge tucked away next to the store house of perverted thoughts in his mind, but no matter the fantastical nature, you are still riding along in a well crafted detective novel trying to solve the mystery right alongside our beleaguered wizard.

The bare bones of this story is fairly simple when you break it down, but added all up it makes for a damned good time. Dresden is at this time the only known Wizard for hire, look in the Yellow pages under wizard, and there he is, the one and only. And he's barely into giving us the brief low down on who he is when he has two cases drop into his lap, a missing husband and a double murder. In no time Dresden has been threatened by a Chicago Mob boss, Had to bribe a fairy for some info, and suddenly come to the realization that a member of the secret wizarding council suspects that he may in fact be behind the murders himself. Times ticking fast as Dresden has to put the clues together to both solve a murder, find a missing husband who may have dabbled in the wrong magical pie, and some how exonerate himself to the council lest he lose his head. Oh, and did I mention he's got a few problems with the ladies in his life? Quite often you will find your self shaking your head feeling sorry for the guy... but secretly waiting for the next thing that is going to be piled onto his head.

Jim Butcher's writing style in this first book of the series may lack some of the polish that he achieves later on in his series, but I will firmly say that what he does give in this book is more than enough to satisfy. I have found that while Mr. Butcher can be as blunt as a hammer upside the head with some matters, he does it so that A: he can get a joke or two out of it, and B: because while you are looking at, and 9 times out of 10, smirking at what he's giving you over there, the sneaky fella that he is, he's subtly giving you something more important over here. That's the key to Dresden that I love and grow to love more and more with each book. The clues to what's coming are there in the preceding pages of his work. So far, I have not once seen a reveal occur where the clues were not already given to you at some point, you just had to piece them together. More often than not, I don't realize it till after the reveal of course but that goes back to the whole, Hammer over here, sneaky business over here thing I was talking about earlier.

Jim Butcher lays out a wonderful foundation of information for you to draw upon as you try to work your way through the mystery, but also you get an incredible feel of "reality" to his work that makes the whole story more vibrant and draws you in more emotionally than perhaps you were prepared for. The Characters are well defined and they feel like they each have a bit of a mystery just behind the corners that make them more than just the back drop.

Another great/cruel technique that Mr. Butcher does is he drops mysterious little tid bits or odd occurrences here and there that make you stop a second and wonder, Who is Dresden referring to? Or What was that he said there? And the lovable jerk that he is, he won't let that little bit of info or question pay off till the next book, or sometimes three books later. He is very sneaky that way, but I love it.

Lastly let's talk about the narrator James Marsters. First, need to get this out of the way, I'm a big Buffy Fan and when I first heard this and I heard James Marsters speak I did a double take and said,"Wow, they got Spike to narrate? wow, this should be good then." Little did I know that in time, James Marsters would be forever linked to Dresden in my mind. Now, James, does a great job in this first book, don't get me wrong, but I gave him a 4 star rating on this book because I know just how amazing he is going to become at these and quite frankly this first book does not do him justice. I'd like to rate him over all, but this is a book by book basis, so 4 stars it is. James speaks well and clearly. He evokes a lot of the right kinds of emotion in his characters, and I swear he understands just what kind of story this is and gives Dresden that Noir private detective feel with out hamming it up. Now, while Dresden is the focus and the narrator, he is not the only character, here is where I deduct some points from Mr. Marsters on this first book. James does a fine job giving the other characters emotion and and he distinguishes them well enough, but he does not really give them much in the way of variation. They all sound a little similar in tone and timbre and for a book that is being conveyed to us audibly by one person, those things matter. The female characters don't really sound much different from the males, and if Dresden was not so well developed by Marsters from the get go one might have a problem distinguishing who is talking sometimes.

But, please keep in mind that like I said, this is his first go, James Marsters not only develops a wide variety of specific voice for the cast of characters in these books but he does an amazing job when the new characters start cropping up. So, please bear with him on this one title, and hang in there for the awesomeness that is coming.

All and all, "Storm Front" is an excellent first book. Is introduces you to the world, grounds you in its rules and characters quite well. Dresden fast becomes a character that you can not only identify with, but a character that you want to cheer on and see win out over what fast becomes some seriously messed up odds. Dresden is the ultimate under dog and no matter what he is facing you want to stand there with him, he's that kind of character. I can promise you this, with Dresden, you rarely if ever have a dull moment.

I leave you with these words from the book itself, Jim Butcher's words, Dresden's voice, and I promise when you hear Marster's delivery, you will be hooked.

"The world is getting weirder. Darker every single day. Things are spinning around faster and faster, and threatening to go completely awry. Falcons and falconers. The center cannot hold. But in my corner of the country, I'm trying to nail things down. .... 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. " -Jim Butcher, "Storm Front"

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