The Jim Butcher Files: Dresden . Codex Alera . Cinder Spires & More

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by alansplace

So no new questions answered. The usual same old questions. He won't give an approximate release date or give any spoilers out.

[eschwartz]

for the status update re: short stories!

On the topic of Dresden-like books, the Iron Druid Chronicles aren't bad but it is definitely true they suffer from Marty Sue-ism.
Simon R. Green on the other hand (all his books -- they are set in the same universe) has some awesome characters and is definitely worth a read. Mind you, I am not entirely sure how particularly Dresden-like they are, but they are definitely good books.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I tried the first book in The Iron Druid series and really don't even remember just how far I got into it, but I never finished it. I simply could not warm up to the protagonist, Atticus. I don't believe that any reader can enjoy a book where they don't even like the protagonist and I simply did not like Atticus.

Thanks, I was expecting a similar opinion from you also, as earlier explained by FizzyWater.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

for the status update re: short stories!

On the topic of Dresden-like books, the Iron Druid Chronicles aren't bad but it is definitely true they suffer from Marty Sue-ism.
Simon R. Green on the other hand (all his books -- they are set in the same universe) has some awesome characters and is definitely worth a read. Mind you, I am not entirely sure how particularly Dresden-like they are, but they are definitely good books.

Thanks, eschwartz, for the opinion. Actually the reviews available on various websites regarding Simon R. Green and Peter Brett are biased on the praise side and somewhat appear like sponsored type. We might have to wait for the unbiased reviews of other members who actually have read them, before going ahead.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by drjd

Actually the reviews available on various websites regarding Simon R. Green and Peter Brett are biased on the praise side and somewhat appear like sponsored type. We might have to wait for the unbiased reviews of other members who actually have read them, before going ahead.

Maybe we don't need to wait. It is a pretty high bar if you look for something that is Butcher quality. I vaguely remember Alan's bad opinion about the Iron Druid series. And when he mentioned Atticus I was sure he didn't enjoy it much last time (2015??) it came up. For him to not even finish a book adds to it - there is not many that he gives up.

As for eschwartz - well he didn't sound too enthusiastic about. Sounds to me that it may not be a waste of time if you can live with strange characters.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Maybe we don't need to wait. It is a pretty high bar if you look for something that is Butcher quality. I vaguely remember Alan's bad opinion about the Iron Druid series. And when he mentioned Atticus I was sure he didn't enjoy it much last time (2015??) it came up. For him to not even finish a book adds to it - there is not many that he gives up.

As for eschwartz - well he didn't sound too enthusiastic about. Sounds to me that it may not be a waste of time if you can live with strange characters.

Great, thanks DuckieTigger! Well, Alan's opinion is quite enough for me to abandon the Iron Druid series from my TBR. I was just asking more opinions about the Secret Histories by Simon R Green, and the Demon Wars Cycle by Peter Brett.

In fact I'm in process of reducing my scary TBR list of 1400+ books, and any negative opinions about them are more than welcome.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by drjd

In fact I'm in process of reducing my scary TBR list of 1400+ books, and any negative opinions about them are more than welcome.

Well, if you don't mind straight fantasy with a lot of travel on horses with religious magic, then you might want to consider The Cycle Of Arawn trilogy on your TBR. There is one thing that shows up as negative on the reviews which you need to kindly ignore. Many claim that it is YA, but that is only if you look at the age of the protagonists (one starts at 16, the other at 15 1/2, both would be in their late twenties at the end ). After a while they start acting more adult than their age would suggest. Another thing you have to like is travel - lots of travel, very big map. Like it is copied right out of Lord of the Rings, but without all the poems (the map itself is different, of course). Lots of twists and surprises, usually a journey doesn't go as planned - many travel destinations never get reached due to mini quests that cannot be ignored. If unsure if you like how it is written I suggest getting a sample of the omnibus (the one that is linked) rather than buying seperate (more expensive). Another warning, each book is quite long, making the omnibus also long to read.

Oh wait, you wanted to reduce your TBR. My bad.

[Toxaris]

I read an update from Benedict Jacka yesterday (from the Alex Verus series). The next installment is expected in April 2017 and he will start writing the next book somewhere this month.
The first revision is done and sent to the publisher The normal time from finishing the first draft of the book to publishing is around 9 months...

[drjd]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Oh wait, you wanted to reduce your TBR. My bad.

Never mind, I am getting the sample of The Cycle Of Arawn, and I will be happy to add further 30 books to my TBR after even deleting 20 from it, its an irresistible phenomena.

Thanks for your recommendations, DuckieTigger.

[alansplace]

Hmmm...as UF recomendations go and especially for Jim Butcher folks, here are my top choices (in alphabetic order by author):

1. The Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.
2. The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.
3. The Monster Hunter series by Larry Correia.
4. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison.
5. The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka.
6. The October Daye series by Seanan McGuire.
7. The Kara Gillian series by Diana Rowland.

[AlbertaCowboy]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Hmmm...as UF recomendations go and especially for Jim Butcher folks, here are my top choices (in alphabetic order by author):

1. The Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.
2. The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.
3. The Monster Hunter series by Larry Correia.
4. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison.
5. The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka.
6. The October Daye series by Seanan McGuire.
7. The Kara Gillian series by Diana Rowland.

I'll gladly second Peter Grant, I hammered through them one after another not too long ago, when Alan first recommended them here. Being a fan of British Cop Novels, I had no trouble with the slang or the coptalk differences, but they might be a bit unclear to others not familar with the genre.

I very much enjoyed Monster Hunters as well. It's certainly not Shakespeare, though it never, ever takes itself too seriously. It's fun.

The Hollows I quite liked in the beginning, but found that it really started to drag on for me by the end, kind of a "sigh, they should have stopped in Season Five before the series dipped" kind of feeling.

Alex Verus I really liked, but I need to reread to get back into it before I pick up the next one, as it takes (in my opinion) a bit of a mindshift to "get" how the magic works, and it can feel jarring almost.

I tried the October Dayes, but just couldn't get into it, although I think it's because I had a real lack of time to read at the time. I'll probably jump into it again at some point.

The others, I haven't tried.

As for The Iron Druid, I detested Atticus immediately, and I gave up within the first third of the book. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style either.

[alansplace]

Guest of Honor:
Jim Butcher



Author of Codex Alera, Cinder Spires, and oh yes,The DRESDEN FILES!

That’s right! Author Jim Butcher is our featured Guest of Honor for the Myths and Legends Convention 2016!

MALCon fans have been asking for a focus on the Dresden Files for a few years, and this year we’re doing it in style, bringing in the creator of the curmudgeonly yet well-loved wizard private investigator. Now if only we can get Main Events to look like McAnally’s Pub…

[alansplace]

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Spoilers All to those at Malcon Jim Q&A self.dresdenfiles

submitted 1 day ago by douskar86

Anyone attending Jim's Q&A we should get a post going of questions to ask Jim for those like my self who can't go.

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all 16 comments
sorted by: best

[–]
-EG- 7 points 1 day ago*

I'd love to know if Odin's work at Chicken Pizza, where he created two different Ways, was a result of his own power or perhaps a special trait of Gungnir...maybe a twisty tie in with the bifrost either way?

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[–]
kaiser1245 5 points 1 day ago

I don't remember Odin working at a pizza place, was that in one of the sort stories? ;-)

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[–]
-EG- 6 points 1 day ago

All-Father Pizza Parlor. Delivery in 30 eons or less.

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[–]
OdinVadderclaus 3 points 23 hours ago

Where you can buy the Za lord special.

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[–]
Eiyran 3 points 23 hours ago

I really want to know more about Odin in general... He's obviously a big player in a lot of places, and the mythology about him is so multifacted and damned interesting.

I have this pet theory that he has a secret identity of a mortal wizard on the council, possibly someone we've met before. But I have nothing to back that up but a hunch.

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[–]
-EG- 1 point 23 hours ago

Presumably the Gatekeeper due to the eye thing?

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[–]
Eiyran 6 points 22 hours ago

Well, possibly. Though I feel like if Odin was secretly a part of the council, he wouldn't be on the senior council. The guy's so busy already, he wouldn't have time for all of that, honestly.

I have always found the Odiny parallels that Rashid and Harry have displayed rather interesting though. Harry also has a bad scar over one eye that almost resulted in him losing it... and in Summer Knight, Rashid finds Harry having hung himself from a tree accidentally. Something about that always seemed symbolically important to me, but I've never been able to really figure out how.

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[–]
-EG- 5 points 22 hours ago

Chalk it up to competency. Rashid seems to be the most 'clued in' on the Council as to what is really out there right? Other than Dresden. And Odin hung himself on the tree for knowledge. So for Rashid to stumble upon Harry up in a tree, full of fresh knowledge on the whole plot in Summer Knight btw, does indeed seem to show that symbolism.

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[–]
GamermanZendrelax 2 points 13 hours ago

In addition to what u/-EG- said, Rashid and Odin are both in Harry's camp, so to speak. They're both wiser, more experienced individuals who are willing to share what they know with Harry without charging anything for it. They're kind of "secondary mentors" in a way.

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[–]
AoO2ImpTrip 1 point 23 hours ago

Do you mean Odin is pretending to be mortal on the Council? I'm entirely of the opinion that actual gods don't have mantles. They can take on a mantle, but Odin is just Odin.

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[–]
Eiyran 3 points 22 hours ago

Yeah, that's what I meant. I mean, Odin is basically the Ur-wizard in mythology. Gandalf is based on him for goodness sake. I feel like if anybody would want to keep an eye on what the mortal wizards are up to, it would be him.

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[–]
HamSandLich 2 points 22 hours ago

Why does Lasciel know 112 recipes for pancakes?

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[–]
Zabuk2 2 points 21 hours ago*

Why would she not know? She has been observing Humanity since ever. We spent a good chunk of time eating or making food. So... Besides, maybe she likes it.

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[–]
AoO2ImpTrip 1 point 23 hours ago

Should probably mark this thread as Spoilers All

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[–]
Jedi4Hire 1 point 18 hours ago

"Can you tell us about how Harry and Michael first met and their first case together?"

I've given it so much thought and that's the question I would ask.

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[–]
Iamhighlife 1 point 6 hours ago

Never thought I'd see a NSFW post in this sub.


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[alansplace]

Jim Butcher had a packed audience when he was one of the speakers in the Writing the Supernatural panel. The well-known author had some pretty awesome advice. “Write the book that you’ve always wanted to read that nobody’s ever written,” he advised. To keep thoses stories believable, Butcher added to “write with one part fantasy and two parts reality. All three authors had some great advice for writing horror stories. They agreed that monsters cannot just sparkle and become vegans. According to Butcher, “ultimately monsters are outsiders; those who feel ostracized from society.” Author Sam Knight encouraged writers to “come up with a creature that’s different & unique and think of how things would be like.” Amity Green reminded authors to make the reader be in the moment with the character, and to “sustain the fear throughout the story.” All too true was the observation that the ‘Dresden Files’ author added was that in regards to human nature, “individuals can be smart, but as a group, people can be dense.”

August 14, 2016 nerdalertnewsblog

[alansplace]

[alansplace]

Jim Butcher is a New York Times best selling author best known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files.

Good4Utah caught up with Butcher at Salt Lake Comic Con 2015.

Butcher says his experience at Salt Lake Comic Con might be the most fun he's had at any con.