When I’m reading multi-volume episodic series with continuing plot lines — Honor Harrington, Miles Vorkosigan, whatever — there comes a certain point when the series grabs me completely. Before that point, I can reflect detachedly on the virtues and weaknesses of the books; after that, all I can do is try to keep up as I tear through the series with rabid addiction.
About halfway through Jim Butcher’s Grave Peril is when I hit that point in the Dresden Files books. I’m hooked on Butcher’s increasingly solid world-building, fascinating characters, and developing storylines. The way this is going to play out, based on past experience, is that I’ll read through the ten books (so far) in this series as fast as I can; when I get to the end, I’ll be pissy that there aren’t more, and so immersed in the Dresdenverse that I won’t be able to read anything else for a while, and will probably end up reading a giant pile of comic books as a palate cleanser.
At any rate, it’s safe to say that I highly recommend these books. And I want to say that you should read them if you like supernatural mystery or noir or urban fantasy or whatever — but I hate all that stuff, and I still love these, so I’m not sure what the real criterion is. Anyway, onward to the fourth book...
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