The many reasons I’ve been occupied lately are the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. I’d incidentally run into them so many times while perusing Amazon.com in addition to having heard about the series on TV that I had to find and read them. (You can’t see books so obviously in line with your own tastes so frequently and decide to ignore them. Darn Amazon.com and its ridiculously accurate marketing ploys. Though for my own sanity/wallet, I have been getting them all from the library. Yes for public libraries!)
Before I even started the Harry Dresden books, however, I read Butcher’s Codex Alera series — all of it to date, all four — in about 5 days. This was in May, I believe. I was so consumed with those books I could barely breathe afterward. THWWWP much?! They are amazing. A-MA-ZING. Really. Action-packed, character-driven, really well-written and well-paced… I really can’t say enough how much I enjoyed them. I could launch myself here on a tangent of epic, plot-spoiling proportions, but I won’t. Suffice it to say that I called most of the major plot points (ker-pow! I strike again with the calling-of-the-hero’s-true-destiny thing!) though I still managed to be amazed and surprised by turns. Few authors can both surprise me and give me the heady joy of having figured out the plot early on. (Do you get what I mean? BAH.) Read them.That’s all I will say. You have to read them. I think they’re on my “Top Fantasy Series I’ve Ever Read” list, somewhere. Actually, that’s a list I should probably write down somewhere. I might also entitle it “Books You Must Read If You Ever Want Me to Think You Are Awesome.” First on that list would have to be The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley…
Tangent: At what age do I begin the indoctrination of my children with fantasy chapter books? Four? Five?
BACK ON TOPIC: Then, having gotten addicted to Butcher’s third person POV epic fantasy series, I went to his first person POV urban fantasy series about Chicago wizard/private detective type Harry Dresden. Having read six so far, I can honestly say those books are great, too. Not in the same category of great, but great. They have none of the annoying bits of a lot of urban fantasy (the drama drama drama of relationships that TAKE OVER THE PLOT, ugh) but enough of that that I’m satisfied. The adventures are straightforward and serialized for the most part, though there’s enough of personal subplots and backstory enriching subplots that you’re hooked on more than one level. The audiobooks read by James Marsters (Spike of Buffy fame) are also amazing, so check those out, too.
I cannot believe that the fifth Codex Alera book comes out in DECEMBER. BAHHHHHHHH. ME WANTS IT NOWWWWW.
In other news, Bryan and I are going on a quasi-vacation this week, to his folks’ place. It’ll be amazing, I expect, the whole getting-out-of-the-city-ness of it. I also plan to read the remaining 3 Harry Dresden books sitting on my “from the library” shelf over the course of the Amtrak trips. Yay!
