The Dresden Files (books, comics, & TV - here there be spoilers!)

Techparadox

The discussion over in the SciFi Channel (I refuse to call it SyFy) thread about the Dresden Files TV show prompted me to spark up a new thread for discussion. If you're going to break out spoilers in this thread, please white out your text accordingly.

First and foremost, I'll be blunt about it - the Dresden books aren't high literature. At best they're a quick summer read. They're a series pulp urban fantasy detective novels that just happen to have an over-arching plot behind them. They're cliched. And they're fun to read when you want something that isn't heavy-duty. What's not to like about a dude who is a private investigator, with a geeky sense of humor, that can sling around fireballs and has contacts in the court of the faerie?

I'll open with discussion of Storm Front, the first book. Harry is enlisted by his contact in the Chicago P.D. to look into the gruesome murders of a pair of people who apparently had their hearts ripped out while in the throes of passion. And from there things get even more strange as we are introduced to members of the Red Court of vampires, Gentleman Johnny Marcone (the local organized crime leader), and Warden Morgan (wizard of the White Court who would like nothing better than to see Dresden dead).

Anyone who has read the book want to chime in with thoughts? Any thoughts on Dresden in other media, such as the comics or the TV show?

Resources:
http://www.jim-butcher.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files_(TV_series)

OlympianZeus

I think that the TV show in no way did justice to the books. I agree that they are, at best, "popcorn" literature but they deserved a better treatment than that. The first book does a good job of laying the framework of the Dresdenverse and giving us a distinct pulp/noir style. What I love best looking back on the first book after having read all but the most recent one is how it captures you from the opening line and combines cheese with awesome in a why that is typical of the series.

JonathanDP81

It's been a few years since I read the first book, so my memories are rather hazy. I'm planning to reread them after I get finished going though the Discworld series.

I recently read the last book ("Changes"). It was one hell of mood shift and certainly lived up to its title. It still had humor, but what a grim ride and punch to the gut climax and ending. All the books have loose threads at the end for following volumes to sort out, but this last one was certainly a doozy.

Techparadox

Much like you, I haven't read the first few books in a couple years, so my memories of the exact plot points are a bit fuzzy. Unfortunately the majority of my books are in storage right now so I can't go back and reference them for specifics. With any luck my GF and I will be looking for a new place soon and it'll have enough space that I can claim a room as my library/geek cave.

The upcoming volume (Side Jobs) that collects the short stories from other compilations is supposed to include a novella that takes place immediately after Changes, so hopefully it won't be as much of a nail-biter waiting for the next book in the actual series. Plus, it'll be nice to have the short stories in one volume instead of having to hunt down all those other anthology books with crap by other authors I don't give a rat's ass about. I read Changes twice immediately after I bought it and still had a "WTF???" look on my face at the end of it.