Looking for more "Dresden Files" type books

[KevinH]

Hi,

*** not exactly on topic - but ***

I love Dresden Files so I went and purchased Sandman Slim based on everyone's recs here from the Sony bookstore for my Sony PRS-600 ebook reader (I had a gift certificate from Sony Store which I was trying to spend).

Of course, upon loading the book all I got was a page error! I double-checked and I had no other PDF or Library DRM books on the Reader so I figured they messed up when they created the ebook.

Sure enough once the DRM was removed, I opened the epub and found an over 600K png file that was the "cover", a 300k jpeg of that same cover and an over 300K "chapter" in one html file. Given the 300K max for chapter size recommended by Adobe for ADE books, I had at least 3 problem files.

So even Sony doesn't bother to see if the epub ebooks they sell form their own bookstore even work on Sony Readers!

Luckily with Sigil, I was able to split each of the html files into smaller pieces (less than 300k), remove the 600K png image of the cover, and the over 300K jpeg of the cover, and replace it with a nice crisp 140k jpeg of the cover (and fix the opf and manifest, etc) and recreate a "working" epub.

Sad isn't it. The state of ebooks is so very very poor. They are selling us crap and we are paying for it.

If I didn't have the tools to remove the DRM, and Sigil I would have been out of luck and would have had to call up and fight with Sony to get the book replaced (which would have cost me more in time alone waiting on the phone than the value of the book).

So if anyone else has a Sony reader and wants to get that book, don't buy it from the Sony ebook store!

[daffy4u]

Wow! Sorry you had to go through so much. I hope you like as much as I am (so far) for all the work you're putting in.

[phenomshel]

Yes, y'all keep it up, please! I have added every recommendation in this thread to my "to buy" list. I'm having a blast!

*ooops* this was in reply to Daffy's thanks a few posts up.

[C.I.Bond]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Yes, y'all keep it up, please! I have added every recommendation in this thread to my "to buy" list. I'm having a blast!

Well… I have a not-recommended to add (keep in mind I am a really tough reviewer, worse since I started writing). I picked up Vampires by John Steakley, just awful. The movie by John Carpenter was good entertainment, the book… ouch. I tried to put a review of it on Amazon but it isn’t showing up for some reason.

The author has a totally uncontrolled point of view so it bounces from one character to another in a single scene which gets very disorienting because he has so many characters. The bulk of the story is cheesy dialogue very little description. I couldn’t even really tell you who the main character is because it appears to change in the middle of the book. Hmm… it feels like there are two books crammed together.

The world-building doesn’t make sense, people don’t know there are vampires around but they are mindless killing machines infecting random small towns across the Midwest slaughtering with wanton abandon. The monsters aren’t well planned, there are mindless “new” vampires who are like zombies and then there are “master” vampires who throw charity events but you meet a “master” who has only been a vamp for 8 years? These questions are never answered. My husband suggested some sort of night school, a “master vampire” course that taught them how to tie their shoes and make small talk but the book never explains this.

The flow is awful. You get exciting action, and then back story about the vamp that was just killed. It would have been more effective if it was the other way around, now I don’t care, he’s dead lets move on. Lot of back story on a character I haven’t even met before and don’t care about. The climactic scene happens in the middle of the book and then the author seems to wander around like he forgot what was going on.

I gave it 2-stars. John Carpenter’s movie takes the first part of the book and then rewrites the second half to explain the vampires and gives the story a clean arc. Don’t read the book, watch the movie.

[Gadget_girl]

I've added quite a few off of this list to my to-read list as well. I third any recommendations for Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, and either of Illona Andrews. I have read quite a few of the other titles mentioned and agree on most. These last two were ones I happened upon recently at my local library.

Perhaps a bit less snarky, but still fun is the Maxine Kiss series by Marjorie M. Liu. I figure demons that think a teddy bear and assorted steak knives are breakfast is a good start. It's more in the dark urban fantasy realm I suppose.

[Mrraow]

Originally Posted by NNolan

I have to recommend Kate Griffin's "Matthew Swift" urban fantasy books, A Madness of Angels and The Midnight Mayor, in addition to most of the other series that have been mentioned here already.

Seconded. There are some excellent suggestions in this thread, but if you try only one of the series mentioned, start here. Especially if you live in London

[daffy4u]

Still reading "Sandman Slim" as I have a few moments free and still loving it. For my car commute listening pleasure I've started "Bitten" from the Women of the Otherworld series. The unabridged version was part of $5 sale (). I picked up several other books in the series from the Fictionwise sale. So far I'm not feeling the snappy snarky. I like it but it doesn't seem to fit in the Dresden Files "genre", it's more serious. Maybe I'm not far enough along.

[fantasyISbetter]

I loved Sandman Slim, and will be reading the sequel when I can pick it up. I also loved Child of Fire (Harry Connolly), which was another action-packed non-romancy read with great characters, and its sequel, Game of Cages. Also read The Greyfriar (Clay and Susan Griffith) and Midwinter (Mathew Sturges) recently, both pretty good.

[C.I.Bond]

I know it is tacky to plug your own but how about offering to give it away? Surly that makes up for the tackiness? And it is the people reading this thread who would be interested... well if I screwed up the mod will yell at me and I'll pull the post.
It’s Urban Fantasy and has definite ‘snark’ factor but it is a little on the dark side of things but not heavily detective more… free form. Ah… well. The price is right anyway and I actually hired an editor so… the only pain involved should be my basic lack of ability. Its not yet up on Amazon yet... probably a few more days of processing.

I am giving away 50 copies so if you are interested e-mail me CIBOND@CIBOND.COM and let me know what er… kind of device you have and I will send you the file. I have a Kindle file but I need to do the conversion to get the other kind… Calabra should work but I have no way of checking the conversion so speak up it is looks like crap.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Whitaker9

I have read several urban fantasy series lately, and they seem to keep me interested but I can't seem to find another good collection of books to read.
The series I have read thus far:
Dresden Files (Great Books Highly Recommended)
Iron Druid Chronicles (great series with great mythology)
There arent any others that are worth mentioning, but any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks in advance!
Whitaker9

This is the thread to read as you may find the answers you are looking for here.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

the Nekropolis series by Tim Waggoner. it involves a zombie detective in hell.

I am unclear how Hell is urban. If it is, can you please explain how it is? Thanks.

[siraks]

Hard Magic by Larry Correia
you can find it at baen for $6.

description

Spoiler:

Jake Sullivan is a war hero, a private eye-and an ex-con. He's free because he has a magical talent, being able to alter the force of gravity in himself and objects in his vicinity, and the Bureau of Investigation calls on him when they need his help in apprehending criminals with their own magical talents. But the last operation he was sent along to help with went completely wrong, and Delilah Jones, the woman the G-men were after, who just happened to be an old friend of Jake's in happier times, had a lot of magical muscle with her, too much muscle for the cops to handle, even with Jake's help.

It got worse. Jake found out that the Feds had lied to him about Delilah being a murderer as well as a bank robber, and they had lied about this being his last job for them-he was too valuable for them to let him go. And things were even worse than Jake imagined. There was a secret war being waged by opposing forces of magic-users, and Jake had no idea that he had just attracted the attention of one side, whose ruthless leaders were of the opinion that Jake was far too dangerous to be permitted to live...

link:
http://www.webscription.net/p-1327-h...hronicles.aspx

[Lizzie in Ma]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Man I love that series! The TV series (short lived) is available on hulu, you should check it out.

I can only think of two things that I've read that are similar. Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series (less snarky, a little darker, but fun and equally crackalicious) and Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series (I'll admit I only read the first and wasn't in love, but it has similarities to Dresden Files). I'd really recommend the Mercy Thompson series.

Gak, the series is horrific. To each his own, lol. HUGE Dresden Files fan here.
I would second the Mercy Thompson series. Loved it, very similar in feel, though no Dresden Files. The closest series that came to mind as I read them was the Spencer novels by Robert B. Parker. Not in the paranormal genre, but boy did he have snappy dialogue and humor down. They are old favorites for my husband and I. I have laughed out loud many times reading them.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Originally Posted by Fledchen

I twitched every time he said that. As if bug-monsters weren't horrifying enough!

lol. I just keep picturing him as Spike. It's a problem.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I just started reading the Sandman Slim book. I'm only a few pages in and already love it! Just the snarky ticket I was looking for. Thanks for the suggestion!

And thanks to all who continue to add suggestions to this thread. I will have much fun reading over the holidays.

I just went over to Amazon to order this one and was reading reviews, this one made me hit my 1-Click button laughing...
"“The best B movie I’ve read in at least twenty years. An addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece, Sandman Slim swerves hell-bent through our culture’s impacted gridlock of genres…it’s like watching Sergio Leone and Clive Barker co-direct from a script by Jim Thompson and S. Clay Wilson.” (William Gibson ) "