Storm Front

The Dresden Files, Book 1

By: Jim Butcher

Narrated by: James Marsters

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under Wizards. Believe it or not, I'm the only one there.

With rent past due and a decent meal becoming an issue of some importance, Harry needs work, and soon. A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt. Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters to vampires, while he himself is under suspicion of the crimes.

©2000 Jim Butcher (P)2002 Buzzy Multimedia

Smack, Slurp, Swallow, Sigh---Repeat

My first Dresden book, I almost thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hard to get past the various mouth noises by the narrator, which my have been by design--I'm not sure. After I heard that first "smacking" noise I couldn't NOT hear them.

However, I really liked the overall story. Harry, the good Wizard who likes to read and has a fabulous sense of humor, and fights crime! I can see why these stories have such a large following.

If you enjoy off-beat crime/fiction with some fantasy thrown in, I recommend it.

Awesome start -- bad production.

Love the series, love James Marsters, love Jim Butcher, Harry Dresden is my favorite fictional character ever... But Buzzy Multimedia did a horrible job producing this. They left in every extraneous sound (swallows, pauses, lip smacks, etc) that I've never heard in any other production or James Marsters performance. Please re-record professionally!

Love the book and the narrator

Can't wait to get more Harry Dresden. James Marsters' narration is very good. Another reviewer did not like his breathy sighs, but I found them to be completely in character for Harry and not at all distracting.

good, but flawed performance

Would you consider the audio edition of Storm Front to be better than the print version?

Marster's does an excellent job of giving the story the right noir/gum-shoe feel. Like a fantasy Phillip Marlow

What was one of the most memorable moments of Storm Front?

The scene where Dresden confronts Biancha was tense and had a cinematic feel.

What about James Marsters’s performance did you like?

Marsters' acting ability was well suited to the first-person narration. He was an excellent choice. Unfortunately there were semi-frequent places where he might mess up the inflection, breathe at the wrong time- things that should have been re-recorded but made it feel like it was rushed and they couldn't be bothered. It detracted from the experience, but not enough that I wouldn't recommend listening.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, the chapter breaks were well placed for tension and length.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to hearing more in the series, hopefully the director/editor will have done his job and not make it feel slightly low-budget or amateurish.

Fun Modern Magic

What made the experience of listening to Storm Front the most enjoyable?

The reader's tone, the disclosure of magic and past without divulging everything in one book was great. Makes me interested to hear more.

Have you listened to any of James Marsters’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first. Great voice, but he really should've spit the gum out before reading. I would love to hear more of his stuff. He was Dresden's voice to perfection. Just please, lose the gum.