Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detection Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soulpublished in 1987 and 1988. It was originally intended to be a trilogy (The Salmon of Doubt was to be the third book in the series) but the author died before completing it.
I first read these when they were originally published. I have no idea how many times I have read them since, but I keep emergency copies of them on my Kindle in case I need a fix. I have had who-know-how-many copies in paperback, a couple of hard cover copies, and both books on cassette tape, CD, and now as Audible downloads.
I have listened to it so many times that you might think I’d grow tired of it, but I never do. Of all the books that Douglas Adams wrote — and I love all of them — this is my favorite.
Unlike the Hitchhiker series, the Dirk Gently books have plots and follow a linear timeline. They are bizarre, outlandish and hilarious, but are actual detective stories, albeit full of ghosts, gods and weirdness.
I love Dirk Gently. He’s wonderfully strange and finds things intentionally by accident. The “holistic detective,” his purposely random behavior produces results. He doesn’t know how he does what he does and he doesn’t actually like it, but he counts on it.
The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul was the book in which Adams introduced the idea that gods without worshipers fade away, that their powers spring from having followers. The idea was new and unique when the books were published in 1987 and 1988. Since then, the concept has been widely adopted by many authors and is now a staple in the fantasy genre.
Douglas Adams died suddenly and far too soon. I still mourn him, but his influence and books live on.
Douglas Adams left his fingerprints all over the fantasy genre. Although Dirk was not a magician, he had magic. Descended from him is a legion of magic-wielding detectives solving crimes around the world. Douglas’ proclamation that “The Gods live!” has become the backbone of more than a few well-known authors. An entire sub-genre of literature is peopled by immortals and gods from various Pantheons.
Douglas Adams got there first and got there laughing.
If you haven’t read “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” and “The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul” you should correct that omission as soon as possible. You don’t have to read them in order, but I think they are better that way although each book stands on its own. You’ll love the gods … gods of rain, gods of thunder, gods of every little thing … as they roam the earth, wondering what happened to all their worshipers.
We are in the midst of a glorious Golden Age of paranormal fantasy—the last ten years, specifically, in genre fiction have been nothing short of landscape-changing. The days of rigidly defined categories (romance, fantasy, horror, etc.) are long gone. Today, genre-blending novels reign supreme: narratives with virtually limitless potential that freely utilize elements of fantasy, romance, mystery, horror, and science fiction.
I’ve been asked to compile a list of the best paranormal fantasy novels of the last decade (2003–2013): a virtually impossible task, considering how many iconic series and authors have risen to prominence during that period—Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Richard Kadrey, Kat Richardson, Stacia Kane, Nicole Peeler, and Jaye Wells, to name just a few.
I did a comparable list back in 2009 and, while researching this post, I realized how radically paranormal fantasy has evolved in just a few short years. The list below includes 20 novels that are not only extraordinarily good, but have also dramatically influenced—and continue to influence—the course of the genre.
20. The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, by Mario Acevedo (2006)
This is the first book in Acevedo’s Felix Gomez saga, a series that went a long way toward redefining the genre when it was released in ‘06. And talk about great opening lines: “I don’t like what Operation Iraqi Freedom has done to me. I went to the war a soldier; I came back a vampire…”
19. Pride Mates, by Jennifer Ashley (2010)
The first book in Ashley’s Shifters Unbound saga, this was a transcendent read for me—it was the first paranormal romance that worked just as well as a paranormal fantasy. This remains one of the most wildly erotic novels I’ve ever read.
18. No Hero, by Jonathan Wood (2011)
This sadly underrated début is one of the most audacious novels I’ve ever read. The novel’s main character, Oxford police detective Arthur Wallace, is obsessed with Kurt Russell. Throw in conjoined triples, an antisocial ninja assassin, prophesying twin girls who live in a pool with octopi, battery-licking sorcerers, grimoires hidden in Peruvian temples, killer cats, and more tentacled monstrosities than you can shake a sword at, and you have an unforgettable read!
17. Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire (2009)
The first book in McGuire’s October Daye saga, this series is an utterly readable fusion of dark fantasy, mythology, and hard-boiled mystery. It’s a profoundly deep series that is at times filled with starkness and existential angst and at others with breathtaking images of magic and beauty.
16. Moon Called, by Patricia Briggs (2006)
The first Mercy Thompson novel, this series has experienced a few ups and downs in the last few installments, but for my money, Moon Called has to be on this list. A sexy, tattooed shape-shifting auto mechanic, Mercy is arguably one of the most memorable paranormal fantasy heroines ever created.
15. Already Dead, by Charlie Huston (2005)
Huston’s first novel featuring vampire Joe Pitt, this series expanded the boundaries of paranormal fantasy. In my review, I described this novel as “a savage and sardonic novel that blends blood-sucking fantasy and horror elements with the hard-boiled style of noir thrillers.”
14. And Falling, Fly, by Skyler White (2010)
White’s debut novel was an intensely passionate, sublimely poetic, soul-rending work of art. The entire novel—which revolves around the relationship between a vampiric fallen angel named Olivia and Dominic, a neuroscientist with a “bizarre” affliction—reads like dark ethereal poetry. Unforgettable.
13. Four and Twenty Blackbirds, by Cherie Priest (2005)
Priest’s debut and the first of her Eden Moore novels, this haunting and poetic read marked the fledgling steps of a writer who has become one of the most innovative—and significant—figures in genre fiction. This novel and its two sequels are vastly underrated.
12. Blue-Blooded Vamp, by Jaye Wells (2012)
The concluding volume of Wells’s stellar Sabina Kane saga, this is how you end a series! This novel is chock full of shocking plot twists and bombshell revelations. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this series will go down as one of the best paranormal fantasy sagas of all time. It’s that good.
11. The Taken, by Vicki Pettersson (2012)
This was just an amazing read. From my review: “This novel transcends genre categorization—yes, paranormal fantasy readers will LOVE this novel but so too will hardcore mystery and romance fans and, most importantly of all, mainstream fiction fans. This is Vicki Pettersson’s coming out party—and we’re all invited.”
10. A Rush of Wings, by Adrian Phoenix (2008)
Phoenix’s debut novel—and first installment of The Maker’s Song saga—is one of the edgiest series out there. I mean, c’mon! How can you go wrong with a duo that includes an undead rock star and a sexy FBI agent? A hugely under-appreciated series.
9. Dead to the World, by Charlaine Harris (2004)
The fourth book in Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series, this is when the series really got good for me. You can say what you want about the HBO series True Blood but, regardless, this is an iconic series featuring an iconic heroine.
8. Tempest Rising, by Nicole Peeler (2009)
The beginning of one of the most beloved paranormal fantasy series on the shelves, the novels are powered by selkie-halfling heroine Jane True, who is in many ways the antithesis of the conventional paranormal fantasy heroine. She’s short, not exactly athletic, socially awkward, works in a bookstore, and instead of wearing stiletto heels and leather miniskirts, Jane rocks comfortable jeans and purple Converse. I love this series!
7.Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton (2003)
LKH’s Anita Blake saga is easily the most divisive saga on the shelves. This long-running—and historically significant—series has had its ups and downs over the years, but a high point for me was Cerulean Sins, still my favorite book in the series.
6. Greywalker by Kat Richardson (2006)
Richardson’s debut novel and beginning of her Greywalker saga, one of my all-time favorite series. Featuring Seattle-based private investigator Harper Blaine, who can see into the realm of the dead, these novels are exceptionally written and almost flawless in their execution. Classy and classic, this is one series that will stand the test of time.
5. Blood Blade by Marcus Pelegrimas (2009)
The Skinners novels read like a cool, supernatural-powered video game—nonstop action, ghastly monsters, unique weapons, intriguing and well-developed protagonists, and plot twists around every turn. But the series is so much more than that. It’s a highly addictive blend of splatterific horror, dark fantasy, mystery, supernatural thriller, and sardonic social commentary. I’ve called Pelegrimas “the Bram Stoker of the 21stCentury” for good reason.
4. Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane (2010)
The first novel in Kane’s Downside saga, this is the most socially significant fantasy saga I’ve ever read. From my review: “Never before in paranormal fantasy have I read a series that features the combination of grand-scale world building, labyrinthine mystery, superb character development, and social relevance. Stacia Kane’s Downside saga is taking paranormal fantasy to another level…”
3. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (2005)
Butcher’s Dead Beat—the seventh installment in his Dresden Files—was a blockbuster book when it was first released. Not only was it the first Dresden Files novel to be released in hardcover, it was a clear indication of just how much the series had expanded to embrace mainstream fiction readers. The first printing sold out in a just few days! The commercial success of the Dresden Files paved the way for countless other noteworthy protagonists, including Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt and Mario Acevedo’s Felix Gomez.
2. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey (2009)
An in-your-face fusion of fantasy, horror, and hard-boiled mystery. It’s Kadrey’s biting wit that makes this novel so unforgettable. His blunt and acerbic writing style makes for simply addictive reading. For example, here’s how he describes Los Angeles: “L.A. is what happens when a bunch of Lovecraftian elder gods and porn starlets spend a weekend locked up in the Chateau Marmont snorting lines of crank off Jim Morrison’s bones. If the Viagra and illegal Traci Lords videos don’t get you going, then the Japanese tentacle porn will.” Classic.
1. For a Few Demons More, by Kim Harrison (2007)
The fifth installment of Harrison’s phenomenally popular Hollows saga featuring endearing gray witch Rachel Morgan and company, this novel was the first hardcover release in the series and, at least for me, heralded its ascension to élite series status. With only two novels to go until the series concludes, there is no doubt in my mind that the Hollows saga will go down as arguably the very best paranormal fantasy series ever written.
What are your favorite paranormal fantasies?
Tags: best of × paranormal fantasy × roundups
Marilyn Armstrong‘s insight:
Don’t Miss any of these, but especially Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series and my absolute all-time favorite, Kim Harrison’s Hollows series. It is wonderful.
I waited with a proverbial bated breath for this latest episode of the Harry Dresden series. I am enchanted by Jim Butcher’s writing and the world he has created. And I’m in love with Harry, Chicago’s resident wizard. Look him up. He’s in the Yellow Pages.
I’m reading it again. All my favorite authors are between books, so this is my time to reread the last books they released and pick up all the missed nuances, subtle hints about what will be coming next and more. I figure if a book it good enough to read twice, it’s good enough to read a third and fourth time. I have read some of my favorite books often enough to have memorized large sections of them.
I read Cold Days on Kindle then listened to the audiobook. Hearing the audiobook again seemed the right choice. James Marsters is a great narrator and has become the voice of Harry Dresden. One of the books used a different narrator and fans were seriously upset. I wasn’t as bothered as some others were, but I do prefer Marsters.
The previous book, “Ghost Story” in which Harry was neither entirely alive nor quite dead was difficult for Harry’s fans. I liked it well enough, though it certainly was a change from previous Harry Dresden adventures. I was positive it was a bridge to the next phase of Harry’s wizarding. I was right.
In “Cold Days,” Harry is back, in the flesh. Changed, less careless of life having lost it once … but as Winter Knight, he is powerful in new ways. This is just as well because his foes are stronger than ever and they aren’t going away.
“Cold Days” is very satisfying. Although Harry gets pulverized, attracting violence like iron shavings to a magnet, I am consoled knowing Harry will survive what would kill an ordinary mortal. He has already survived death. Earlier books ended with more resolution than these last few books. Now, each book is an episode in a continuing story line heading toward what I expect will be some Dresdenesque version of the apocalypse.
Jim Butcher is a clever author. He extracts Harry from impossible predicaments in which he faces overwhelming odds, then adroitly weaves these events into the storyline, taking Harry and the series into the next book. He wastes nothing. No phenomenon is accidental. Everything is part of a giant jigsaw puzzle, a piece of a picture to be finally revealed.
Which brings me to my single criticism: the sudden inexplicable alterations of existing characters in which they reverse their previous persona. From a reader’s point of view, sudden turnarounds are jolting. I understand that “out of character” reversals drive the story in a specific direction. There are no rules about this sort of thing, but having an evil character suddenly become good or vice versa is disorienting. It takes a bit of time, with me sitting with my eyes crossed saying “whut?” until I am able to realign my thinking. Dropping a few hints … a line of literary bread crumbs as it were … might be helpful. But it’s a quibble. For all I know, there were hints I missed because I was looking the other way.
(From left to right) Paul Blackthorne, Valerie Cruz, Terrence Mann, Conrad Coates: The Dresden Files (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’d keep reading the books even if the characters started walking on their hands and speaking Latin, but wouldn’t mind less abrupt transitions. It’s not a matter of believability; more like giving readers a chance to catch up with the author who for obvious reasons is way ahead of us. If you are already a Harry Dresden fan, reality is unlikely to be your issue. You probably left it behind a long time ago.
Harry’s world of wizards, demons, ghosts, strange immortal beings, mythological creatures and weirdness of every type is far removed from reality, but within the rules Jim Butcher has created for the Dresden world, it flows better if characters’ personalities change in accordance with what we know of them. Just saying.
I love the Dresden universe. My world has more than enough evil to keep an army of wizards busy, but the evil on my reality plane consists of grey bureaucrats, corporate executives and smarmy politicians. Fighting them is like trying to punch a hole in jello. You can’t beat them; they have no substance.
In Jim Butcher’s world, the bad guys are solid, big, and seriously badass. This is where Harry fights evil for me. He takes his lumps and then some, but he’s out there battling for justice and good, even when it seems he’s taken the wrong turn. Despite appearances, Harry is never bad. He is stubborn, too wedded to his own opinions and habits. He’s a poor listener and does not heed advice, a combination that has cost him dearly. He persists in assuming he knows best, not only for himself, but for his friends and is taken aback when his friends object. Sooner or later, he will get the point.
He is changing. He has grown. He is painfully — in the most literal sense — aware of his mortality and fragility. He knows he’s made terrible mistakes he can never set right. He’s become more a planner, less inclined to charge headlong into danger unless it is the only possible course. Mindless violence is no longer his default setting. This is good.
I’m sensing a climactic conclusion to the series coming. I with the series would go on forever, but Jim has said it will be 20 books and a trilogy. I’m not sure if the trilogy is part of the 20 books or in addition to it. I keep meaning to ask, but on some odd level, I’d rather wait and see.
At least I know there will be more than a few additional stories. Lots of relationships to work out. There’s a future to plan and it has become one of my homes away from reality. Harry’s awesome world is my metaphysical escape from the woes of life. Harry’s woes are ever so much more entertaining than mine. Maybe in my next incarnation I will have magic, but in this life, I guess I will settle for unmagical me.
I listened to the audiobook and read the book too so I wouldn’t miss the pleasure of James Marsters‘ fine narration. Audiobooks for me are like watching a movie, but I get to cast the characters, do the cinematography, and I don’t have to slice and dice the story so the studio can fit it into two hours of screen time.
I hope the next installment of the Dresden Files is well along toward publication. I’ll be waiting and ready to read when it comes around! Don’t miss this installment. It’s rich, complex and I promise it will grab you and take you for a ride you won’t forget.
I was feeling a bit forlorn after I completed Mike Carey‘s Felix Castor series until Harry Dresden tapped me on the shoulder and invited me into the world created for him by author Jim Butcher. As I read my way through the entire series, 14 books to date with more on the way, I felt I’d found a perfect combination of gumshoe and wielder of magic. Everything I enjoy most in fantasy is in this series. Harry is a wise-ass, witty guy. And smart, sometimes too smart for his own good.
Grave Peril (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Harry is a powerful wizard. He takes on challenges that should kill him, sometimes almost do and arguably have done so at least once , yet he is ever on guard to protect his city and the whole human world against the forces of darkness. A man with great power, he also packs a gun because magic is great stuff, but sometimes, there’s nothing quite like bullet to get the job done.
He’s witty, funny, sentimental, and foolhardy, prone to give the benefit of a doubt to the wrong people and end up paying heavily for being nice. He’s loyal to a fault and hates following rules. He’ll protect those he loves at the cost of his own life and soul. If your back’s to the wall, Harry’s the guy you want at your side.
Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard. He’s listed in the Yellow Pages. Look him up. He doesn’t do kids’ parties.
For nearly a year, as I read my way through the earlier books in the series, I was entirely engrossed in Harry Dresden’s world. Eventually, much to my chagrin, I realized I’d reached the end of the already-published books. When I finished Ghost Story and Changes, I knew I’d reached the series’ turning point. I moped for a while, but I had to trust the author’s ability to bridge the changes in story and characters with his usual skill. When Cold Days was released, Jim Butcher had indeed moved the series to a new level. Harry was back, better than ever with power to spare. It isn’t the “old Harry.” It’s a wiser, more temperate Harry.
Harry has seen the other side. He no longer acts as if he is invulnerable. He knows he can win the day yet lose his life … and life is more precious to him than before. Holding the title of Winter Knight, Champion of the Winter Fae (Mab’s realm), he has great power for good or evil. He will be a knight like no other before him. Which is good because a war is shaping up. The lines are forming. Harry holds a unique position as the fulcrum of forces in this great battle to destroy or preserve the world as we know it.
To say this is a wonderful series doesn’t quite cover it. There are many series in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Some are so lightweight they float away and you can’t remember anything about them at all. Some are pretty good, others even better. A few are great. This fits nicely into the “great” category.
But why? you ask.
Fantasy series and stories are not known for complex, multi-dimensional characters . Heroic, powerful and brave no doubt, but when you read a lot of books in this genre, you usually know what’s going to happen long before it does. Harry and his crew are unpredictable. They grow, they change, they develop. They form relationships. The mourn their losses, celebrate their victories. They go through hard times and if they survive, are changed. They are magic-wielding wizards or some other magical being, but emotionally they are like people you might know, if you include in your circle people who can cast spells to blow up a city block or reanimate a Tyrannosaurus Rex. None of my friends can do that — as far as I know — but they probably wouldn’t tell me if they could. The world of magic is secretive. Sometimes, if I’m feeling whimsical, I imagine Harry and a few of his pals settling in Uxbridge. Their secrets wouldn’t stay hidden for five minutes.
I read most of the series as audiobooks, but some in print too and a few of them in both formats. I own the last four or five in hard cover because there is something yummy about a fresh, new hardcover. I don’t read the hard covers: I just savor them. I line them up on my shelves in pristine splendor, then I read them on my Kindle. The entire series is available in paperback, if that’s your preference.
Following is the full series to date in order. Although you do not have to read the first few books in order, if you have a choice, it is easier to follow that way. As you progress in the series, you really can’t read the later volumes out-of-order if you want them to make sense. Harry grows and changes a great deal from the first book on. He’s barely a kid when it starts, but he is all grown up by the time he arrives at Cold Days.
Although the series is mostly fun, there is a serious undercurrent. Butcher has put a good deal of thought into the nature of good and evil, the choices we make and price we pay for these choices. Life in the real world is never black and white, nor is it in Harry’s world. It is in the gray areas that Harry operates; rarely are his choices purely good or evil. His life is complicated and the complexities make the stories more interesting. This is one of the very rare series where I don’t always know what’s going to happen before I read it.
Jim Butcher is a fine writer. The stories are witty and charming. It isn’t all darkness and violence. Dialogue is snappy and intelligent. There are no dummies on Harry’s team.
If you are a fan or a writer, the video that follows is a comprehensive interview with Jim Butcher during which he answers many questions about what’s going on in the Dresden universe and what is likely to come in the future. The interview took place shortly the release of Cold Days in November 2012. Unlike other interviews, this one is well recorded and you can hear the questions and Jim’s answers. It runs a bit more than 45 minutes It’s a great interview and well worth your time.
The insights are not only into Harry Dresden‘s world, but into the world of the author. For me, as a writer, I’m always fascinated by how authors do what they do, how they figure out which characters are going to be prominent in this book (or the next). How they inspire themselves to keep producing day after day and in the case of Jim Butcher, producing high quality work fast.
No two authors work the same way. As many authors as I’ve listened to, corresponded with, read about, each is unique. What inspires one would drive another crazy. You’ll learn a lot of interesting stuff in this interview. Jim Butcher is witty and articulate and offers genuine insight into his work.
This interview does not answer the burning question “Are Harry and Molly going to get it on?” Sorry. You’ll have to wait for the answer with the rest of us. However, if you watch the video, you will learn a lot about Harry, how he got to be the way he is, and where he and his friends are going. If you are a writer, the detailed explanations of Jim Butcher’s writing process are priceless.
I grew up in a world where comic books were ubiquitous. I loved them and read a lot of them, though I strongly favored DC over Marvel and had a particular passion for Superman.
I’ve had to do a bit of mental gear-changing to wrap my head around comic books as “graphic novels.” As far as I can tell, these are comic books in all but name. They are more expensive, have much nicer covers, far better bindings, a significantly higher class of illustration and more complex stories to tell. They are also have more pages.
For all that, I look and see a really expensive comic book. It doesn’t mean I don’t buy them. I do. I have an almost complete set of Asterix, several graphic novels by Kim Harrison and the full Tin-Tin series. This kind of thing is not new. It’s been around a while. What’s new is nomenclature, not concept.
All of the preceding is to explain I am familiar with the genre and not saddled with prejudice toward it.
I love the DresdenFiles and have read all of the books. This was the first graphic version of Harry Dresden I have seen and the events in the story were familiar and taken from the novel of the same name.
This is part two of a graphic presentation of “Fool Moon.” I didn’t read part one, but I don’t think that’s the issue either. It’s the writing.
I am a Jim Butcher fan. I love the way he writes. I love Harry Dresden, his crazy quirky personality and the strange, wonderful world he lives in.
Much of Jim Butcher’s charm as an author is his cleverness and wit. In the midst of violence and chaos, with blood and death raining down in every direction, Harry has a sense of humor. He is funny, always ready with a wisecrack and a joke . It’s a significant characteristic of his writing and his character. It’s a big part of what makes the books special. The sharpness of the writing makes the stories addictive and great fun to read.
The graphic version seems to have had a humor excision. The wit, puns, literary allusions are gone … leaving violence and gore. Yes, it’s Harry Dresden. It certainly looks like Harry. Everything is beautifully drawn, lots of attention to detail … but the author is MIA.
So, as a big-time Harry Dresden fan, I might buy the book if I got it very cheaply. Otherwise, I would probably skip it. Liking the illustrations — and I do — is fine and dandy, but the words are for me the essence of a book. I dare say I am not alone in this. Readers may like pictures too, but first and foremost, we love words.
I don’t see why the quality of the dialogue could not be improved. I can think of a lot of ways at least some narration could be added. It doesn’t need to be hundreds of pages, just something to make it feel like Jim Butcher played a role in the production. His name is listed as one of the authors, but I don’t feel his magic.
I am sure this book (remember, this is part two of two) will find a niche amongst his many ardent fans of which I count myself as one, but for me, this wasn’t Harry Dresden or Jim Butcher.
I wanted to love this book. It’s not awful. The illustration is classy, if a trifle cluttered, but felt true to the material. From a purely visual point of view, it’s a pretty good representation of Harry Dresden. But as a book — for me — it fell rather flat.
This is the “not official” but incredibly cool video for Jim Butcher‘s “Cold Days.”
This is the Harry Dresden I have always seen in my mind’s eye … as opposed to the TV version. Tall, with his rings, his staff, the leather duster, the Pentacle he always wears.
If only they could make a mini series or movie with this Harry … I can dream!
I discovered Mike Carey because I reviewed a Jim Butcher book and someone suggested I’d like the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. I’d never heard of Mike Carey, but I was out of new authors to read at the time and I was ready to try anything that sounded good. I got what I hoped for plus a whole lot more.
Mike Carey is not merely a good writer. He is what I would term hyper-literate. He uses words like a rapier. His prose is beautifully crafted, often lyrical, yet never treacly or sappy. He is crisp.
He actually uses words I have to look up because I don’t recognize them. It has been decades since I learned a new word. Sometimes I don’t know the word because it’s British slang with which I’m just not familiar, but sometimes, it’s a word I’ve never seen before.
He does not repeat himself. He never uses the same descriptive passage more than once, nor does he — as many popular authors do — copy and paste sections from one book to another to (I presume) save writing time. Mike Carey doesn’t use short cuts.
The result is a style that is richly descriptive, a delicious combination of gritty street slang banging head-on into literary English. Guttersnipe meets Jane Austen in the streets of Liverpool. It gives the narrative a rare and rich texture.
What’s it all about? Felix (Fix) Castor is an exorcist. He sees the dead and they see him. He uses a tin whistle to cast out the dead and send them wherever exorcism sends them, something about which Castor himself is not entirely clear.
The series consists of five books, each building on the previous one to form what is essentially a single story in five parts.
All the books are now available on paperback, for Kindle and as an Audible download.
In order, the books are:
The Devil You Know Vicious Circle Dead Men’s Boots Thicker Than Water The Naming of Beasts.
None of the books are exactly a romp through a sunny day, but the first three books are significantly lighter in tone … and funnier — Carey has a sharp, ironic sense of humor– than the final two, which are quite intense.
Mike Carey (author) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Felix Castor is no two-dimensional wizard who magics his problems away with the wave or a hand or wand. He works hard for minimal money, is rarely thanked, has plenty of his own personal psychological demons, not to mention some very real, dangerous demons.
It’s a unique series, unlike any other I’ve read. I wish there had been more of them. If you like Harry Dresden, you will also like Mike Carey.
Although Jim Butcher’s Harry is a wizard, he is very different from Fix Castor. The two series share a “noir” feeling, a sense of gathering dark. Carey is less predictable than Butcher. About the only thing you know for sure is that whatever happens, it will never be as planned. Felix Castor is not a lucky guy, but he’s a hard worker and he never gives up.
There are so many surprises in the book. The characters constantly surprised me by growing and changing, developing in unexpected ways and not doing the obvious. Characters make unique choices and don’t take the obvious or easy way out.
Mike Carey can be very funny. His subtle and elegant humor contains no belly laughs, but irony pervades his prose. None of the books are traditionally funny nor are the situations humorous or light-hearted, but the author’s writing style is wonderfully cynical. The stories, pun intended, are dead serious. Darkness notwithstanding, you can count on Mike Carey’s plays on words and twists of phrase to keep the dread from becoming too heavy to handle.
The plots are gripping and creepy. Any or all of the books would make great horror movies. I’m surprised no one has grabbed them yet. Maybe they will. I hope so.
I was feeling a bit lost after finishing Mike Carey‘s Felix Castor series. I wandered sad and alone through the empty halls of literature until Harry Dresden tapped me on the shoulder and invited me into the world created for him by author Jim Butcher.
As I read my way through the entire series,13 books to date with at least one more on the way, I felt I’d found a perfect combination of great gumshoe, mystery, and magic.
Everything I enjoy most in fun reading is in this series. Harry is a wise-ass, joke cracking, funny guy, reminding me a little of Spenser, And Harry is smart … sometimes too smart for his own good.
Grave Peril (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Harry is an amazing and very powerful magician who takes on challenges that should kill him and sometimes almost do. He’s sentimental, foolhardy, prone to give the benefit of a doubt and end up paying heavily for so doing. He’s loyal to a fault and hates following rules.
He’ll protect his loved ones at the cost of his own life and soul and if you want someone on your side, Harry’s your guy.
He believes magic is wonderful, but should be used only for good, and in a pinch, a high-caliber gun is a pretty good alternative. Magic takes time and energy, so keep your pistols loaded and bring artillery.
For nearly a year, Harry Dresden.He has kept me happily entertained.
Although not my absolutely favorite fantasy series (Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series holds that honor), it is in my top five. I have enjoyed every single one of these books.
The current last one — Ghost Story — is quite different than previous ones … and for a while, I felt like I’d wandered into the wrong series. But Butcher is a fine writer and skillfully brings you back to the Harry you know and love, albeit a more subdued, thoughtful … as well as sadder and wiser … version of himself. The end caught me by surprise, though really, when I thought about it, it shouldn’t have. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will say that the end was perhaps both inevitable and highly appropriate. I just didn’t see it coming.
Butcher left room to continue the series and apparently, the next book should be available within a few months. Yay..
This is a great series. It’s fun, there’s violence, crazy monsters, complex characters who are evil, but rarely entirely so, and good characters who have flaws. The landscape comprises many shades of grey — with some notable exceptions. There are a few totally evil characters and some nearly perfect good guys.
Harry Dresden is well-intentioned, but far from perfect. He travels a long way from one end of the series to the other.
All things come to an end, but I would be glad for a bit more time to hang with Harry Dresden.
I have read most of the Harry Dresden books as audiobooks, but a few, because I didn’t care for the narrator, on my Kindle. They are all available as paperbacks, Kindle, and audio, so you can take you pick and read them in whatever format you prefer … or whatever is convenient.
Following is a list of the entire series in order. You do not have to read them in order, though it does make it easier to follow. I didn’t start with the first book, but after that, I went back and started from the beginning.
Harry grows and changes a great deal from the first book onward. He’s barely a kid when it starts, but he is far from a child by this book where he finally has to confront his mortality and make a serious choice about his values, and his soul.
Harry is human and though he can control magic, is not immortal or invulnerable. He can die. He can be seriously injured. He makes mistakes. Quite a few of them, actually and he does his best to fix what can be fixed. His friends, lovers, and the whole array of human and non-human characters that are part of his world are fully developed and with each book, you find out more about them and understand them better.
The series is mostly good magical fun, but there are serious and thoughtful areas concerning the nature of good and evil and the choices we must make. It is never black and white. It is within the gray areas that Harry operates most of the time and his choices are inevitably complicated. It makes him and the stories more interesting, but it also makes his life much harder.
With camera in hand, exploring European lands, cultures, food, and drink...mostly with a plan, but sometimes enjoying the adventure of just getting lost.
Jim Butcher is a clever author. He extracts Harry from impossible predicaments in which he faces overwhelming odds, then adroitly weaves these events into the storyline, taking Harry and the series into the next book. He wastes nothing. No 
I was feeling a bit forlorn after I completed 
![Ghost Story: The Dresden Files, Book 13 | [Jim Butcher]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518LPzm7y5L._SL175_.jpg)
To say this is a wonderful series doesn’t quite cover it. There are many series in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Some are so lightweight they float away and you can’t remember anything about them at all. Some are pretty good, others even better. A few are great. This fits nicely into the “great” category.
If you are a fan or a writer, the video that follows is a comprehensive 
I discovered 
authors do — copy and paste sections from one book to another to (I presume) save writing time. Mike Carey doesn’t use short cuts.
What’s it all about? Felix (Fix) Castor is an exorcist. He sees the dead and they see him. He uses a tin whistle to cast out the dead and send them wherever exorcism sends them, something about which Castor himself is not entirely clear.
I was feeling a bit lost after finishing 
