Word Crack

illustration by Chistian McGrath

I'm finding myself completely and hopelessly addicted to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. I've told anyone who will listen that these books are so good, I call them "Word Crack." I knew I had a real problem when Paul said this morning "You know you need to get off the crack and come to bed earlier." My head hit the pillow last night at about 1:40am today, but I just couldn't put the darn book down!

I eased into The Dresden Files by way of discovering the DVD set from the single season that Sci-Fi produced. Paul and I found it at Target several months ago. We ate through that and then was slammed with the fact that Sci-Fi wasn't going to do a second season. ARGH! Canceled before we even knew it existed! What a bummer.

But then I discovered that the series is based from of a set of books. There's a series of 6 (Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites) and then several novels after that (Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night and then Small Favor - due out in April 2008) I picked up the first one at Barnes and Noble and devoured it in a two days. I went back to the dealer for the next three. A couple days later I was back at the help counter to order the rest of the series just like a good junkie. I'm telling you - WORD. CRACK. Right now I'm on book 6 - Blood Rites - the last one in the series. But I still have a buffer of a few more novels after that. I'm already worried about withdrawal symptoms. I know I'll have to slow down when I order White Night - its still in hardback. But then I'll have Small Favor to look forward to this coming April.

Think of Harry Potter with a seriously adult twist of Guy Noir and a hell of a lot of good vs. evil action, told completely in first person, which is really quite refreshing. Toss some great good guy/bad guy characters - mobsters, vampires, faeries, hired guns, various spirits, demons, Chicago PD investigators and you've got Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. HIGH-ly recommended if you're into that kind of thing. My dealer (B&N) even gives discounts. 10% off if you're a part of the Word Crack Discount Club.