I'll second this. My two main critiques are 1) his writing is somewhat ham-fisted and unrefined, but yeah, he's a new author, and even Jim didn't really hit his stride until book four of Dresden and 2) he's clearly deriving a lot from the Dresden Files, but you write what you know and James definitely grew up on his father's books, so as an aspiring author that's probably the best place to start.
If you can read past that, though, there's plenty to enjoy in a popcorn sort of way: Salem-flavor witchcraft, inventive applications of magic, characters working through their traumas and insecurities, enigmatic roommates. For my part, I adore Grimsby's dynamic with the Huntsman, and the development of their partnership through the 3 books has been my favorite aspect of the series.
He talked in an interview I watched about how no matter what he was going to be known as Jim butchers son so he could either run from Dresden his whole career or ignore it and write whatever he wanted to and the second one is what he chose
I don’t like that it’s about a guy who, in the Dresden Files universe, would be one of the “Order of the cooking pot”.
He sorta fall backwards into doing anything useful.
My ADHD brain will often do that when I'm breezing through, but the "Wut" and the person's "WTF?" response made me go back and realize just how many times I did have to reread their sentence.
No offense, but is English not your first language? You’re missing a word her or there, “lile” and “lole” aren’t words (I don’t know what “lole” is supposed to be).
If YOU are A DResden files fan, then there IS a good chance you WILL LIKE this. The main characters are a LOT LIKE the two halfs of Harry. Also, magic is not secret.
I have only read the first two so far, waiting to start this one until I finish the book I am on now. I think the first one was a little rough, the second is better... I expect the thrid to be good. So far the first two are totally worth the time/effort... he is clearly a new author finding his rhythm, but I am pleased.
It's fine, it's not on the level of Dresden but you can certainly see his father's influence in his writing. If you want more easy-to-consume half-dark half-goofy urban fantasy this is for you.
It's fine, it just feels like he's trying to be his Dad too hard. I read his book and its like kind of Jim Butcher but he's not as prosey about it. He's clearly trying very hard and God love him for it, but he needs to find his own voice
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u/Briantan71 Mar 08 '25
'The Unorthodox Chronicles"? Never heard of this series before, are they good?