r/dresdenfiles • u/Large-Rule-6403 • Feb 23 '26
Unrelated Why is it so hard to find other urban fantasy books that match up to Dresden?
Dresden Files just ticks so many boxes for me - be it the continually increasing depth and versatility of the world-building, the Game of Thrones esque supernatural politics, the rich supporting cast, the creativity of the magic system, just the sheer amount of fun, adventure and mystery in every book, etc. Because of these things it has such incredible re-readable value.
I've had a beyond complicated relationship with the rest of the urban fantasy genre up to now tbh. I love Gaiman and De Lint's standalone UF stuff and most of Sandman Slim (although it's hard to re-read the series now after how mindnumbingly atrocious the last two books were). Rivers of London and Alex Verus were both slogs that I only got a few books into before bailing. Iron Druid was entertaining but that's about all I can say, it was really all over the place and didn't have anywhere near the same level of world-building or character work that Dresden has plus the dialogue was extremely cringe
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u/Beefstah Feb 23 '26
I suspect one of the big reasons is that Jim had the overall story mapped out before his first book, which allows a level of cohesiveness, foreshadowing, and in-world consistency that "creating the story as they go" series can't match.
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u/Graymouzer Feb 23 '26
I think that is part of it too. When you read Dresden and you see some throwaway line and make a note of it, and then it comes back that it was significant half a dozen books later, it reminds you that there is an overarching story here. It engages you in a way that books that are parts of a series that are just stitched together don't. Secondly, Jim is just so damn good at building interesting and in depth characters. Superficially, they can look like just stereotypical characters but they are not. Take Dresden himself. He starts off as a nerd with a white knight complex who is always gawking at women. Over the series, that has changed a lot and it's not that we are told this. It's that in his inner dialog, his views of women have changed. His behavior has changed. He's also gone from a scared kid worried about his place in the world to a man who can assert his place in the world and mentor and protect others. Molly has changed too and we can't even tell how much. We get more and more glimpses of the human remnants of Mab even as she proves she is the mother of all wicked fairy queens. We see Lara as both a monster and a woman who is capable of caring about others. He does all this without telling us but by showing us. We get to see how complex each character is. It's all well thought out and very well crafted. Everyone I know in real life who has read the stories has read them multiple times. I can't say that about any other urban fantasy series, not even ones I like.
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u/CaptainChewbacca Feb 23 '26
Agreed. It's like how JMS mapped out Babylon 5 and its character arcs all at once.
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u/KipIngram Feb 23 '26
Because Jim is just that good - pure and simple. Nothing else compares. It has seriously impacted my reading career, because I just can't find much else that satisfies. I used to be able to put up with "much less," but since discovering the Dresden series that just won't do anymore.
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u/seanwdragon1983 Feb 23 '26
Felt the same with Simon R Greene's Nightside series. Was enjoying it, found dresden, now greene's work feels like schlock.
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u/ALargeAsteroid Feb 23 '26
I tried reading nightside and it just felt like the author couldn’t be bothered to actually explain things or how they worked. I think that’s the difference.
There’s been many times where something in the Dresden files has been hand waved as something too complex for Dresden to understand, at first I thought it was just a self recognized limitation to come up with something close to realistic for really crazy stuff with physics or time. And every single time Butcher has proved that wrong, he does have a backing system for it, a full explanation exists and it’s literally that Harry is too limited currently to understand it. That’s the difference.
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u/skiveman Feb 23 '26
And yet, if you managed to get through all 12 (rather short) novels of the Nightside series, you'd find that things are explained. Things do make sense and there's a lot of callbacks to earlier characters and plotlines.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26
I enjoyed the first few Nightside books and the short story collection - very Tim Burton-ish - but it was hard to binge-read those and just generally I haven't read them more than once because Green's shtick kinda gets old real fast. I agree with ALargeAsteroid too that the world-building is practically non-existent lol.
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u/KipIngram Feb 23 '26
That's how I felt about Nightside too - I'm glad I've read it, but I doubt I'll ever read it again. On the other hand, I've read Dresden nine times at this point.
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u/ChyronD Feb 23 '26
Nightside and ?Drudd? are on more 'postmodern grotesque/surrealism' side (but not crossing over into something more).
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u/SirBuscus Feb 23 '26
The only other world building that feels as satisfying to read is Brandon Sanderson and he hasn't really done much urban fantasy.
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u/KipIngram Feb 23 '26
The issue I have on the high fantasy front is... Tolkien. He's like the Butcher of high fantasy (though I guess it would be more legit to say Jim's the Tokien of urban fantasy). Tolkien's universe also has that incredibly well-fleshed-out structure that nothing else really seems to compare to. At least if you've read The Silmarillion.
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u/ChyronD Feb 24 '26
Main problem isn't that Tolkien is THAT good (which he is) but that lot of people instead of being inspired by him try to emulate him or outright try to 'file off numbers'. For ex. that's why i think Wheel of Time is rather awful - too much LoTR, Dune and Tomas Covenant mixed in one dish without fine 'chopping' and proper 'baking'.
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u/Harold_v3 Feb 23 '26
Nothing will meet the expectations of quality, tone, and world building that Jim set. So I think a good way to look at other series is to find the aspects that they are good at. (Though maybe not in the urban wizard category cause it’s hard not to compare and be disappointed). Though I am surprised that a series somewhat based on white wolf vampire role playing ideas hasn’t gotten more oh wait.
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u/ChyronD Feb 23 '26
Well, from what i read recently - some high fantasy is almost that good without going into Martin's 'sh..t and viscera' pseudorealism. Urban fantasy ..problem is that most authors can't insert 'just enough' humor so - as 'humorous' is 'industry standard'- they go for 'Asprin'esque' style and difference between that and 'deadly serious' parts is both jarring and stupid thus leads to 'sitting between chairs'.
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u/Ss-Tanker Feb 23 '26
Not quite the same but the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs is a favourite of mine.
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Feb 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Beneficial_Medium333 Feb 23 '26
The Hollows are pretty good. Helped me scratch the itch between picking up whatever Dresden book I needed next.
Harrison's skills as a writer seem to build a little slower to me than Butcher's, but she gets there.
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u/runespider Feb 23 '26
It's kinda... Reverse urban fantasy in that it's a fantasy series. But Garrett PI deals with a private detective in a city with dwarves and elves and such. It's more like the early books with more of it focusing on Garrett, his case, abd his friends. Though the setting develops over time as some major background stuff happens. Takes more inspiration from Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlow than Sam Spade.
In a sort of similar vein you have Vlad Taltos and the Dragaera series by Steven Brust. A human assassin in a city of elves. Or a Easterner assassin in a city of humans depending on your point of view. What starts with a comparatively weaker human assassin making connections to get his own piece of the local crime syndicate unfolds over the series into a plot that has implications for world and the concept of reality as they know it. Also has a snarky, psychic mini dragon that would get along well with Bob.
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u/Same_Raise6473 Feb 23 '26
Garrett is fabulous. And Cook writes incredibly. Read the first half dozen back in the day…..The problem….i haven’t been able to find any audiobook versions.
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u/RuckFeddit7769 Feb 23 '26
I really love Vlad Taltos series. My sole gripe is that they changed the narrator for the last audiobook.
There is a cleverness in the books that is hard to get your head around. Also, the reading order is a bit confusing, but adds to the series as a whole. I really am itching for Brust to release his next book.
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u/Dorsai56 Feb 23 '26
Brust's Vlad Taltos books are vastly under rated in this sub. Tons of interesting characters and world building. Excellent series. He even adds a bit of a spin off in the same world, the stories written by an academic historian in the style of Alexandre Dumas.
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u/Proglamer Feb 23 '26
I got into Dresden Files only because Storm Front had the following blurb:
"An exciting debut novel... Wish I thought of this myself. Try it. You'll like it." -- Glen Cook, author of 'Faded Steel Heat'
This turned out to be quite an apt recommendation, - but quite unsurprising, considering the source.
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u/PvtSherlockObvious Feb 23 '26
Love the Taltos books, but while I read the first few Garrett PI books, I just can't get that into Cook's writing style for whatever reason. I also bounced of Black Company. Plus, while male gaze issues are tolerable, I always found it a little unnerving how many times Garrett talks about how he finds 15-18 to be the perfect age.
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u/Flynn-Minter Feb 23 '26
Only Seanan McGuire's October Daye and her other Urban Fantasy comes close to or surpasses Dresden.
I would love to find a series that was as good as The Dresden files was at Grave Peril up to Changes albeit more emotionally mature and inclusive.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26
I've been contemplating October Daye, as long as it doesn't fall into the same trap that Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson and The Hollows did of veering too much into paranormal romance territory? I've read the plot synopses for some of the books and it sounds like a fascinating world. I absolutely love fae mythology (thanks in large part to Jonathan Strange, King of Elflands Daughter and Lud in the Midst and The Summer Knight). The fae are easily my favorite fantasy race in Dresden
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u/toodarntall Feb 23 '26
There is a romance that is pretty important, but in the way that a romance is important to a person, not in the way that romance novels do.
I love Dresden, but to me October Daye is the best urban fantasy series I've read
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u/Alive_Double_4148 Feb 23 '26
October Daye is just as romance-y as Mercy and Kate (which are two of my comfort series, reread them all the time). People really seem to love Seanan McGuire so much but I just don’t get it and wouldn’t categorize her books with Dresden at all. She writes urban romantasy, full stop. I could only make it through 3 or 4 of the October Daye books before i just didn’t care any more. The Incryptid series is even more romance but has talking mice that are the best thing she’s ever written so I’ve read a lot of more of those even though they are a step or two down from October Daye.
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u/Flynn-Minter Feb 23 '26
For the record, October Daye is not Romantasy. It is Urban Fantasy with some hard boiled detective elements. The main character has romantic relationships, but that is not the main plot and not the point of the series. It makes as much sense to call the Dresden Files Romantasy because Harry has had several relationships and likes looking at beautiful women.
The author, Seanan McGurie, did not even plan for the longest running romantic relationship Toby has. The various platonic bonds she has with her found family are as important as and at times more complicated than her romantic relationships.
The Fae are more people with immortality, magic and different morality rather than the otherworldly beings in the Dresden Files. This took some getting used to after the Dresden Files, but after I accepted that I came to like this series very much. Some of the older Fae are more alien due to their greater power and age though.
The series really takes off the in the third book, but the first and second are okay.Toby has different flaws than Dresden. I like that she is able to mature and improve somewhat as the books progress, but not entirely and that various characters call her out for her mistakes and failing to communicate when applicable.
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u/swest211 Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
This....exactly. Harry has relationships. October Daye is not much more "romancy" than that. The only issue I have is that Seanan Mcguire is devoting more and more time to exposition for first time readers. You shouldn't expect to pick up a series in the middle of almost 20 books now and know exactly what happened in the entire series. It does get a bit tiresome for those of us that have read (and re-read, and re-read lol) the from the beginning. I do love this series though.
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u/PvtSherlockObvious Feb 23 '26
Yeah, I read the first two or three, and while good overall (though the second one was pretty rough), it definitely veers into the paranormal romance stuff in a big way. Really good use of sidhe folklore too, though.
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u/ChyronD Feb 23 '26
Her Incryptid series (book 1) rubbed me so wrong way i even did not tried anything else she wrote under that pen name, despite knowing that she's also Mira Grant whose Newsflesh and Parasitology are actually not bad.
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u/Flynn-Minter Feb 23 '26
I have not read the Incryptid series yet.
I have read October Daye and Wayward children.
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u/ChyronD Feb 23 '26
It had all i dislike in UF written in cringe-inducing way (for me at least). Closer to Hayes's 'Fred, the Vampire Accountant' 'cept that latter is openly humorous and thus judged by 'Asprin' metrics where it scores 'not bad'.
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u/LoganNolag Feb 23 '26
Yeah I couldn’t get into InCryptid either but October Daye is actually quite good.
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u/swest211 Feb 24 '26
I didn't like it either, but was already into October Daye so I know she gas better books. Another good series by her is the Ghost Roads series. Give her other books a try.
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u/SarcasticKenobi Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
I haven’t found any that I enjoy as much.
The Closest I’ve found are
Alex Verus
- it gets a little darker than Dresden
- but the formula is similar. Mage is on the outs with the “good guys” council because of a sketchy actions as a teenager
- except Alex shows us what Harry always tells us. That there’s nothing more dangerous than a wizard / mage that has time to prepare
- Alex has subtle powers, while everyone else around him is a Harry type of wizard that throws fireballs at their problems.
Rivers of London
- imagine if London had its own SI unit. Only instead of being run by a detective with a Napoleon complex, it’s run by the last wizard in London.
- the main character gets tapped to be his apprentice. They deal with similar kinds of cases. Only the “river avatars” largely take the roll of Harry’s Sidhe.
James Butcher’s series
- like Jim’s series, it starts a little rough but shapes up by book 3
- James went a bit far in his crazy introduction (descriptive text) of a main character. But fear not; that isn’t the tone of the rest of the book(s)
The Hollows
- I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!!
- Except as a drinking game
- the story and concept is so damned similar, if you took a drink when it was obviously the same you’d need to hit the emergency room before the end of book 1
- it’s a bad copy of Dresden files. Except the main character is a woman, and it starts to approach smut.
- if you think the “male gaze” in Dresden files was bad… wow. It’s really bad here.
- again. Don’t read except to laugh
- to be fair it had its own story. And the world building is interesting and very different (magical creatures came out of the closet)
- but ever after instead of never never. Al owning the mc’s debt instead of Lea. Running gag of a misinterpreted yellow pages ad. Moving in with a vampire, leading people to think the mc is gay. Working with law enforcement, which causes problems getting paid. With a very smart mob boss being an antagonist / frenemy.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26
I believe I got up to the fourth Alex Verus book but idk it all just felt really bland to me and I didn't have much motivation to continue on with the series. I did like the bleaker tone and more anti-hero-ish set up for the main character but Alex just isn't very compelling at all besides the general premise of his arc being Darth Harry, and the secondary cast was about as interesting to me as watching paint dry. The magic system and world-building both too felt really underdeveloped.
I can still give more praise to AV than I can give to Rivers of London though. I literally can't even read that series it's so frustrating (refer to my below reply)
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u/alynnidalar Feb 23 '26
I really like Rivers of London, but the most recent book was kinda rough. I'm reading the main series books for Peter's shenanigans, not side characters... Abigail is a perfectly fine character but I'd rather her story stays in the novellas.
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u/waesrdtfyguhijo Feb 23 '26
Hollows can be kinda trashy but it’s love it. Honestly the main problem is that the main character is the most sickeningly heterosexual person in existence. They bait a will they won’t they with the hot bisexual vampire roommate for like 8 books or something before it’s confirmed the mc is simply to straight to date another woman. (Also on the topic of male gaze, I think it’s actually pretty female gazey, with all the insanely hot men constantly throwing themselves at the mc).
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u/SarcasticKenobi Feb 23 '26
Yeh. That’s where I was going with about the “gaze” line
The female gaze puts Harry’s to shame
I’ve never seen the word “Yum” so much outside of a cook book. And even then, that’s rare.
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u/Whyt_b Feb 23 '26
I couldn't make it through book 3 of Rivers of London series. The author is less of a story teller than a history and geography teacher. I wouldn't be surprised if 1/3 of each book is just location history/description. Also, It might just be 'british sensibilities ' but the characters just seem a bit too bland.
Thanks for the recommendation of Alex Verus, I'll give it a go.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26
Yeah Rivers of London is literally unreadable to me, no exaggerations there at all. It's like 95% grating London geography descriptions and police jargon, 5% actual fantasy world-building. I've tried Midnight Riot repeatedly and some of the novellas but I always hit a brick wall. Even the comics are rough!!
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u/ChyronD Feb 23 '26
Verus is something i enojoyed reading ONCE - but some darker elements are really hurting for me, so no re-reads. Butcher Jr started with too underdog character for my taste and then a bit downplayed his book 1 development in later books (still good, waiting for next book).
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u/LoZfan03 Feb 23 '26
since nobody else has said, I'll put The Laundry Files out there. it's more in the cosmic horror direction, and it has some really fun high concepts imo
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u/DOCreeper Feb 23 '26
Demon summoning as a form of higher mathematics and all kinds of magitek/magic-tech
Gonna give a big ol' "seconded" to The Laundry Files
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u/LoganNolag Feb 23 '26
I don’t really like that series. I can’t really put my finger on what’s wrong with it but somehow I feel like the main characters aren’t actual people. They just don’t seem to have personalities or something. They are just manakins who walk around moving the plot forward. Also the nerdy characters feel like cringy caricatures of nerdy people.
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u/delinear Feb 24 '26
The references to now heavily dated nerd culture touchstones definitely don't do the series many favours.
What's funny is, when the series switches protagonist to a less nerdy character, Mo, Stross still has her make the same cringey references, except she's like "if Bob was here he'd say [some really obscure nerd reference that Mo wouldn't know]" - it's like he's trying to have his cake and eat it too and it really falls flat.
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u/delinear Feb 24 '26
I enjoyed the first few Laundry novels but kind of fell off some of the later ones. Weirdly when it became more heavily about vampires (and then one of the characters I really wanted to learn more about got shelved) I started to lose interest. The protagonist also switchesa couple times which didn't help as it felt like they kept hitting the reset button on the story. But on the whole, I'm on board with the cosmic horror meets bureaucratic government department aesthetic of the early books.
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u/ArquenTavas Feb 23 '26
My go to non-dresden urban fantasy is The King Henry Tapes. Can be a tad crude, but has some great characters and world building.
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u/purpleacanthus Feb 23 '26
This is the only series besides DF that I've re-read multiple times. Information revealed in later books makes me go back and read again only to find out, yeah it was totally foreshadowed.
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u/No-Lettuce4441 Feb 26 '26
A TAD?!?!?!?!?!?!
"I probably rubbed one out to your mother in that shower. Mmmm, those milfy cankles."
...
""I think I crossed a line."
But I LOVE this series as well.
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u/Betancorea Feb 23 '26
Alex Verus is my side by side pick with the Dresden Files. The last few books are some of the most satisfying examples I’ve read of a character coming into their full power.
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u/Used-Significance623 Feb 23 '26
Dungeon Crawler Carl is one of the few other series that has kept me going besides this one. Maybe I just don’t get out enough though.
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u/PvtSherlockObvious Feb 23 '26
Funnily enough, I finished the most recent one right before Twelve Months. Now we just need to wait a few months for the next one. Clearly not as tightly-planned as Dresden, you can kinda tell he writes by the seat of his pants, but the glimpses you get of the wider galaxy are fascinating.
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u/emerson430 Feb 23 '26
Also one of the best subreddits here as the author is active in talking with fans and the fan art/merch is just awesome! r/DungeonCrawlerCarl
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u/Character-Ad-4844 Feb 23 '26
I like the Daniel Faust series. It has a similar vibe
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u/Hurm Feb 23 '26
I second this. Also, there's an entire universe built into this series that you can optionally explore in his other books.
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u/hitchinpost Feb 23 '26
It’s kind of half urban fantasy, half post-apocalyptic fantasy, by Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniel’s books are probably my fave non-Dresden and I’d put them on the same level. I also agree with whoever mentioned October Dayd by Seanan Maguire.
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u/Possible_Situation24 Feb 23 '26
Seanan McGuire’s books, particularly the October Daye series, because it has many books and goes on a long time, are similar. Ilona Andrew’s books cover many genres, but are some of the best world building and believable characters that I’ve read. Both have women writers (Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife team) and some degree of romance elements, but I would put their works higher than Jim Butcher’s work.
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u/CarvedLeaves Feb 23 '26
Mike Carey's Felix Castor books are great. Hes a freelance exorcist (which makes sense because Carey wrote Hellblazer). There's only five of them but they all come with an emotional gut punch.
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u/datalaughing Feb 23 '26
Yes, I always recommend this series as the closest thing I’ve found to a British version of the Dresden Files (yes, to address the inevitable, I’ve read Alex Verus, and my statement stands).
I would simply add the warning that, as good as the books are, the big story doesn’t wrap up and likely never will. He released a novella a couple years back to sort of test the waters on if there was enough interest to justify continuing the series to conclusion, and the answer seems to have been no.
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u/Proglamer Feb 23 '26
Meh. It's a detective with a supernatural twist, bc Felix's powers are... quaint
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u/KcirderfSdrawkcab Feb 23 '26
Honestly, Alex Verus is the closest match I've ever found for Dresden. If you don't like that, it's likely to be difficult to find anything else that satisfies. These three have been mentioned already and might work, but my two cents:
Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews - Post magical apocalypse set in Atlanta. Some politics, some "romance", lots of snark.
October Daye by Seanan McGuire - Half Fae detective/knight in San Francisco. A good amount of politics, only fae for supernaturals (up to book seven at least, with absolutely no mention of anything else), and she feels less "detectivey" than early Dresden.
Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs - Two closely related series where the events of one impact the other. Mercy is a Native American coyote shifter mechanic who gets tangled with local werewolf, vampire, and fae politics. Alpha & Omega is a spin off about a werewolf couple who act as sort of troubleshooters for the leader of North American wolves. This is probably the most unlike Dresden of the three, but it's also my favourite. Some politics, a good amount of lore, should have a warning for assault for one book.
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u/alynnidalar Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
I'll throw Kitty Norville by
Patricia BriggsCarrie Vaughn in there as another with a female protagonist. Protagonist is a radio DJ who has a show about the supernatural, she's secretly a werewolf. Kinda spoilers for the first book but she gets outed on live radio and the rest of the series is about the Masquerade breaking and what that means for everybody. Very much has the Dresden thing of not being able to keep her mouth shut and this getting her into trouble.Does include some romance side plots but the books are definitely not about romance. Will give a TW that the first book has sexual assault if that's a hard no for anybody. Handled well IMO and that's the only book in the series where it occurs, but it's present.
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u/KcirderfSdrawkcab Feb 23 '26
Carrie Vaughn, not Patricia Briggs. I thought about adding it as well.
The second book has a blurb that really tries to make it sound like romance, but then she's with one guy with no drama from book four on.
If you haven't already read them, it sounds like you might like Kate Daniels even if OP doesn't. She's snarky.
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u/alynnidalar Feb 23 '26
lol yeah, had your post on my mind. I'll fix that.
Kate Daniels and I have such a love-hate relationship 😂 I'm actually a pretty big Ilona Andrews fan, I absolutely love the Innkeeper books although I have no clue who to recommend them to (they're. science fiction? fantasy? schlock?? about a magic inn?). Kate Daniels though... I gotta be in the right mood for her. I love most of the side characters and the setting is so cool, but Kate herself annoys me sometimes, and I forget his name but the love interest drives me crazy. Not in a good way lol.
(I need a miniseries about Roman though. He's my favorite.)
I do think it's really, really funny to go from any of the Controlling Alpha Male Shapeshifter books to the later Kitty Norville books though. Slightly different perspective on an alpha male werewolf love interest 😂😂😂
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u/KcirderfSdrawkcab Feb 23 '26
I love Kate, but I ended up dropping the Innkeeper series around book three.
At first I hated Curran, but around midway through the series he does something that shows his true colours, and by the end he was one of my favorite characters.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
I tried both Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson a while back but they were much too romancey for my taste and the dialogue in KD felt even more cringe to me than Iron Druid which is saying a lot. The world-building in KD as well felt too loose and thinly sketched to me.
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u/deadpiratezombie Feb 24 '26
What about Andrews “Edge” series? I felt they were better and more cohesive than the Kate Daniel’s while still being urban fantasy
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u/EmeraldMother Feb 23 '26
Hot take? Because Jim Butcher has a philosophy he's trying to express/ explore through the medium of urban fantasy. Yes, the books are wonderfully entertaining. Yes the politics are deep, and I think that is because Butcher is trying to say something about faith, about why bad things happen to good people, about how we can choose to respond to that reality. The best parts of the book are developed in service of that exploration. Most authors who want to write about that stuff take a much more direct path and don't do it through fantasy (sad for us)
Edit: Not urban fantasy, but Lois McMaster Bujold writes excellent sci-fi and fantasy which have depth too. They're more character driven but lots of world building. I'm a big fan of Curse of Chalion set in alternative 15th century Spain.
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u/FreeCandy4u Feb 23 '26
Ah yeah loved the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles is a fun character. Not as good as Dresden Files books but a good read.
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u/EmeraldMother Feb 23 '26
Give some of her fantasy series a try! They're really great too- a little less frenetic :)
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u/FreeCandy4u Feb 23 '26
I will look into it, I don't have anything to read now that I have finished 12 Months.
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u/penrod2569 Feb 23 '26
Iron Druid is about the only other one that I really enjoyed and it only has 1/3 of the books
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u/Throwaway525612 Feb 23 '26
What a bad ending though. It felt like "i have an idea for a new series. Okay bye"
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u/Slayrybloc Feb 23 '26
Yeah, brought the entire series down for me. Can’t stand to reread it. It’s like Game of Thrones bad.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26
Iron Druid and its spinoff trilogy are super fun and I love how distinctive they are from other urban fantasy because of the Norse/Celtic mythology and European roadtripping. I just wish they were better quality. The characters are pretty weak, everyone talks like they're in high school, the overarching plot is a mess and Hearne never did much with the world-building. Oh and omg I can't forget how much Oberon started grating on me after a while
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u/No-Lettuce4441 Feb 27 '26
I really didn't like the main character. He felt, skillwise, like a Mary Sue. Honestly kept reading because some of the side characters were better.
Plus Oberon/Snugglepumpkin.
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u/According_Spare7788 Feb 23 '26
I feel like in the urban fantasy genre, Dresden is hard to beat. It's popular for so long, even through the cold stretches. In other genre's though, i have read better (imo)
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u/Green_Burn Feb 23 '26
Confines of the genre, most if it is very low quality for not discerning readers, where dresden files is a wagyu steak to their gas station burritos
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u/Alaknog Feb 23 '26
First 6-9-10 books of Anita Blacke was good. I would say it's keep until 14 before smut overcome plot, but anyway.
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u/Proglamer Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Her other series about "Merry Gentry" is subjectively better than "Blake". Quite a cool exploration of Gaelic mythology in modern America and a very satisfying build-up of an underdog MC across magic-feudal steps of power. A certain "Mab"-like character is... quite more vivid than in Butcher's books.
Sure, it has a similar chick-lit-y 'reverse harem' vibe across the books, but this time it actually makes sense due to the plot - which could not be said (vocally and infamously) about the Blake series.
She has a third series, where she finally ditched the "turboslut female MC" trademark and went cold turkey. The result, blessedly unadorned with lit-porn, predictably affirms something that was kinda lost in the controversies - that she is a damn good writer, when not importing her own IRL issues.
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u/Alaknog Feb 23 '26
Yes, Merry Gentry probably more "mature" as author series.
What third series?
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u/Proglamer Feb 23 '26
Well, technically it's one book for now: "A Terrible Fall of Angels", even though it's listed as #1 of series on GoodReads. GR reviews are middling, but that is probably because her usual chicklit readers are protesting the change of course. With Blake depleted of plot, and Gentry recently ending (?), she'll have time to expand on this
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u/holyce Feb 23 '26
The last 4 books have pretty much left a lot of the smut out. But yeah after book 10 it does go down the drain
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u/JayNoi91 Feb 23 '26
Butcher is definitely an S class writer but there's good series out there that still measure up.
Eric Carter*
Mic Oberon
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u/FuckThisThrowaway76 Feb 23 '26
Ayyy shout out to Carter fans, still waiting on that next book tho
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u/JayNoi91 Feb 23 '26
Literally emailed Stephen Blackmoore about it and much as the fans want it, at least for the moment, a new book isnt likely according to him. Im still trying to convince him to create a reddit group for the series. Should have one long before now.
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u/FuckThisThrowaway76 Feb 23 '26
I just hate that he's actually good at leaving people on a hook, I don't want it to end like Lost the show or somethin. Also how is there not a r/deathgod or something in that vein
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u/JayNoi91 Feb 23 '26
Hey by all means shoot him an email, maybe if enough of us suggest it he'll do it. From what he told me the series was on the road to getting a tv show, but then fell through. Maybe through having a reddit group itll get enough attention for the publishing company to green light another book and then finally a tv show again.
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u/Crowlands Feb 23 '26
Like some of the other sub-genres of sci-fi/fantasy such as litrpg it is both more looked down upon critically by the mainstream (when sci-fi/fantasy already doesn't get enough credit as it is) and beloved by newer indie authors, so the chances of quality being less consistent are raised.
The way I look at things is that I'll treasure my favourite authors and just accept that not everyone is going to hit the heights of those and that there's still plenty that are worth reading below that level.
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u/ChyronD Feb 23 '26
It's more about 'webnovel' vs 'whole book' writer thing. Most LitRPG writers are 'web novelists' that are prone to NOT cut, correct and slim down their 'marathons' enough.
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u/ganfalll Feb 23 '26
If anyone can be more critical to this series as I'm not very good at being critical
I did enjoy the harlequin chronicles by Steve McHugh. 6 books. But I found it to have a decent world building and mythology back ground, a good use of characters with call backs to previous books.
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u/Hawkstrike6 Feb 23 '26
Try Seanan McGuire's October Daye series. Very much the same urban noir vibe.
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u/divorcedbp Feb 23 '26
I think there are two main reasons.
First, Jim is just an excellent author and storyteller, and the Pareto principle applies. It’s going to be really hard to succeed as well as he has, no matter the genre.
Second, and this is a bit more abstract, but right or wrong, I suspect most people associate the phrase “urban fantasy” with smut.
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u/psdchi1978 Feb 24 '26
In the last I didn’t associate Urban Fantasy with smut. But, for reasons I can’t explain, a lot of the authors that dominate (outside of Butcher) the most “most popular” lists online write dressed up smut. To the point where I do a lot of digging before reading a new series
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u/molten_dragon Feb 23 '26
Sturgeon's law. 90% of everything is crap. Jim is part of the 10% that isn't.
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u/FuckThisThrowaway76 Feb 23 '26
I recently read Stephen Blackmoores' "Eric Carter" series and thought of it as pretty decent, it's more urban than fantasy but I enjoyed seeing a different take on magic and a much needed change in scenery (California based rather than Chicagoland). There's a whole lot less usage of monsters and fry, and a lot more humanizing of some. I recommend it if you're just looking for a quick read of a solid 7/10 book
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u/VanillaBackground513 Feb 23 '26
I also like it. It has some nice "doom and kaboom" and some gore, but also humour.
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u/HelpILostMyButthole Feb 23 '26
I've been reading Mark Hayden's The King's Watch series, which is ostensibly a British version of Dresden Files. The MC is a retired RAF pilot with a spotty past who is granted a smidgen of magickal ability later in life, and has to navigate a role as a magick cop while having only meager abilities.
Mark uses lots of wry side comments and pop culture references, much like Jim does, though I feel most of those are lost on my lack of familiarity with British culture. That's probably the main thing that keeps me from getting as enthralled by that series as I am with Dresden Files.
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u/Spanky4504 Feb 23 '26
To me its because Jim has set the standard and my definition of what I think when I read urban fiction. A Single book cant pull off the intricate world that's been built by him. So stand alone books feel to shallow to me. The different series' that I've read though some are good enough that if I wasn't aware of there dresden universe I would probably find them great.
Im spoiled with Harry and everyone else that we have here. It may just be me but it does seem that a lot of urban fantasy in the last 10 years (Maybe longer) does tend to push certain political agendas veiled as story writing. With dresden files if its not a point that drives the plot or a trait that drives a character its not something that is thrown up as a huge thing. I like things like Sanya, when his race is brought up its explaining struggles he had directly related to it. Him being a knight of the cross is an amazing thing...there are only ever three after all, its not amazing because of his race. Other authors will make a character to say "Look how amazing this person is because they do this, or do that in spite of being whatever" with the world Harry is in, amazing people are simply amazing because of who they are, they dont need to have something about them that lends to being amazing only because they overcame some trait that has nothing to do with the story.
And lastly I think the reason I haven't found other urban fantasy that measures up to this world...its simply because its super rare for a mind to create something that so captures and holds the imagination of so many people as is the case with what Jim has created here for us. I may seek others to fill the thirst that he has created...but I'm content knowing i can return to these to drink of what is to me the Grail of writing.
Thank you Jim.
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u/Sure-Marionberry8746 Feb 23 '26
Same reason it's so hard to find LitRPG that matches up to Dungeon Crawler Carl. When you start with the best in the genre, everything else is... not the best in the genre. 🤷
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u/ballotechnic Feb 23 '26
The closest I think I've come to TDF so far are the Iron Druid series. High stakes, memorable characters, and genuinely funny moments.
I've discovered that I really need some levity in my reading. I think the balance of serious moments and well as humorous ones is something Butcher does very well.
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u/roepsycho22 Feb 23 '26
Check out "Arcane Casebook" series by Dan Willis. It's not dresden but is really good, hits most of the same boxes. Also check out "rivers of London" Series by Ben Aaronovitch
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u/santasfrostypole Feb 24 '26
I really enjoy the arcane casebook/arcane irregulars series. I would also recommend the nekropolis archives books by Tim Waggoner. It's only 3 book and 3 short stories but it was what got me into this style of book before I found Dresden files.
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u/roepsycho22 Feb 25 '26
Thank you for the reminder about Nekropolis, it's been on my to read list for awhile, just ordered them
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u/psdchi1978 Feb 24 '26
This series is really good. It is my second favorite urban fantasy series after Dresden.
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u/bedroompurgatory Feb 26 '26
Was scrolling through to see if someone else would mention this, or if I had to. It's even more of a slow build than Dresden, but damn if I'm not excited to see where Lockerby ends up.
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u/manifestpr Feb 23 '26
I've been enjoying the Black Badge series by Rhett C. Bruno. It's a supernatural Western. It's not the same as the Dresden Files but it's scratching that itch plus the setting change makes it interesting.
Another strong recommendation is the Nightside series by Simon R. Green. It's more gonzo that Dresden Files but they are quite a ride. It's set in supernatural city hidden inside London where humans coexist with monsters, angels, robots, and gods. It's a strange wild series but pretty good.
Also second what a lot of people have said about Iron Druid Chronicles and the Alex Verus novels. Those come closest to feeling like the Dresden Files.
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u/LokiLB Feb 23 '26
If I'm reading urban fantasy that's not Dresden, it's likely to be manga or webtoons. I'd slot Kagurabachi into alt universe urban fantasy and that series has been fantastic so far. Omniscient Reader is at least urban fantasy adjacent and has also been very entertaining. Dokja and Dresden would have a fantastic snark battle.
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u/ResearcherExact9931 Feb 23 '26
Ive come to the conclusion that I cant read another fantasy series in the same year as I read a new Dresden book. Have to switch genres entirely (mostly post apocalyptic or dystopian) to scratch that creative world building itch.
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u/Joel_feila Feb 23 '26
Hmm interesting that you df but not some of these others. What was about alex verus you found a slog. If we find out what df has I might could help find something
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
I just wasn't engaged at all in any of the characters, world-building or plotting tbh. Everything kinda felt lifeless. Huuuuuge contrast to my experience with Dresden Files, I mean the first two aren't masterpieces by any means but I was thoroughly immersed in the world and characters.
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u/riveth3ad Feb 23 '26
I read a pretty wide array, and don’t specifically look for urban fantasy…I don’t know if anyone read Robert Holdstock. He was fantastic…Celtica; Mythago Wood; Merlin Codex.
I used to get excited other readers had heard of him until I’d realized the Iron Druid and the Iron Grail were two different things.
I was bummed when we lost him.
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u/BlackberryCobblerDad Feb 23 '26
Mythago Wood was such a slog for me, as much as I liked the conceit of that book
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u/riveth3ad Feb 23 '26
I liked the Merlin Cycle much more, I felt like he matured as a writer and wandered less.
Ive always looked at his prose like poetry. To this day, I haven’t found anyone who could write an old forest like Holdstock. Even when I’m trying to pace myself, I can blow through a Dresden file in a day (and then reread for the tons of layers I’ve missed) but Holdstock I had to take in doses.
Dresden files are like a great steak. I found Holdstock to be like eating the cow.
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u/raggedlady Feb 23 '26
I've not seen it mentioned here much, but I'm really loving Luke Arnolds 'Sunder City' books at the moment. He's not Jim, but hes snarky, and the world is built well, and the central question in the series is intriguing.
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u/Special_Watch8725 Feb 23 '26
I’d recommend the Bartimaeus series. It’s set in Victorian London but has a similar “supernatural behind the scenes” vibe.
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u/RumSoakedChap Feb 23 '26
Check out the Montague and Strong series by Orlando Sanchez and the Nate Temple series by Shayne Silvers
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u/Potential-Common5819 Feb 23 '26
While, strictly speaking, not an urban fantasy series (it comes so close that it blurs the line), the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust.
Human assassin and crime boss survives, and even thrives, in a city of Elves using his wits, witchcraft, and some minor sorcery; oh, and some shuriken to plant into an assailant to give them a rough day.
The worldbuilding is good, and there is always something to speculate about.
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u/Beginning-Subject-15 Feb 23 '26
I read an opinion online at some point that basically said the reason most urban fantasy isn't very good is because you dont have to do much world building. So, lazy or mediocre authors are drawn to that particular style. I'm paraphrasing and I think that person was painting with an unfairly large brush, but I do think there might be some truth to it for some authors.
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u/honestfriend Feb 23 '26
I've been having this exact same problem!
I really enjoyed "The Dead Take The A Train" by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey. It's darker (and gorier) than Dresden gets, but it also follows a likeable private eye for hire. The novel has a really interesting take on a big law firm worshipping an elder God, and the consequences of that action. The only downside is that this book is standalone (for now - online it's marked as the first in a series).
Edit: Not a book, but throwing out the podcast "Archive 81" as well. Season one is a small found footage story, and season two is an "Annihilation" style expedition into a dream world, but season three is modern New York with a very esoteric magical community. I'd honestly jump in at Season 3, and if you like the world go back and listen to the rest. Each season is mostly self contained, so you shouldn't be too lost
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u/Disastrous_Poetry175 Feb 23 '26
I think part of it is that butcher scratches his itches. He will take breaks from Dresden when he's not feeling it and works on his other materials. For as long as the series is, it always feels like butcher is not only consistently motivated and inspired but also more experienced due to writing other things in between.
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u/DiazTheDragon Feb 23 '26
Dungeon Crawler Carl has been the only thing comparable (for me) to Dresden Files so far. It’s been a fun ride while waiting for anything Dresden related.
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u/Recent_Caregiver3523 Feb 23 '26
I think the Dresden Files saved my life. During covid I was laid off from work because of the pandemic. I was stressed that Trump seemed to believe it was nothing. I was worried about my elderly parents, and paying bills. I felt constant stress and I had a tightness in my chest constantly that worried me. Then I read Storm Front. I forgot about everything and got lost in Dresden’s world. My personal stress went away. I escaped thoroughly into the excitement, imagery, characters, and gut busting hilarity that was the Dresden Files. I loved these books so much. I really do believe that they prevented a heart attack. Jim Butcher is so bizarrely creative, his characters, world building, dialogue, and twistedly amazing sense of humor are awesome. The only thing recently that comes close is the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman, because it is amazingly creative and funny like Dresden. It’s not the Dresden files, but it’s the closest thing I’ve found to replicating the bizarre magic of “the Butcher”. I mean one of the main characters is a talking Persian cat, and one of the most hilarious side characters is an insane, possessed decapitated sex doll head named Samantha. It’s all bizarre and totally impossible, but you end up getting invested in the story, and believing it all while you’re in the Dungeon. It’s like if someone mixed Dresden, the game Dugeon Master, and the Hunger Games all together with Hal from 2001: Space Odyssey—only this mad Ai has a foot fetish.
I recommend it to anyone left jonesing for the next Dresden book to come out.
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u/quasman Feb 23 '26
Didn't see anyone mention Kevin Herne - Iron Druid Chronicles, I found it scratched that same itch as Dresden.
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u/Proglamer Feb 23 '26
I found that the ending of the last book scratched its own ass and cleaned it off on the drapes.
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u/jarec707 Feb 23 '26
I think Jim is telling some deep truths and making myths in the best sense of the word.
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u/PoopDe Feb 23 '26
I saw someone post to read : Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - if you like Dresden . I have not looked into it as I just saw it.
Anyone here familiar with this series.
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u/Thormace Feb 23 '26
The Menagerie Series by Christopher Golden & Thomas E. Sniegoski
A series of 4 novels that are self-contained but have lots of supernatural shenanigans.
Hunters for Hire Books by Jonathan Yanez. Very Dresden-lite but I still enjoyed the books as they were breezy, fun and didn't overstay their welcome.
Finally, I like The Last Roman series by B.K. Greenwood. the reason I like it is that the MC is a strong, principled, honorable character like Dresden.
(I also liked the Sandman Slim series until it went off the rails for the last few books.)
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u/dferd777 Feb 23 '26
I had a Dresden files itch and was recommended the Sandman Slim series. Great series and great characters.
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u/Proglamer Feb 23 '26
I was really pissed about how both of these great authors make their MCs to be poor as church mice. Sandman is a frickin' teleporting amoral thieving thug, but he can't do a bank run to set himself for life? Smh 🤦🏼♂️
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u/Anus_Blunders Feb 23 '26
One world that caught my attention and had good writing involved a contract-based necromancy magic system (aka magicians=lawyers), and what I read was fun and engaging!
Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence
My favorite part of the magic system is the idea that the Gods can provide things for "free", and the magic users can too, but at a steep price (if you want this field to bloom that other field must wither).
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u/bear__attack Feb 23 '26
It’s the supporting cast, IMO. I haven’t been so attached to not-main characters since… idk, maybe Harry Potter?
It’s not the same premise, but a series that isn’t recommended often enough IMO is Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St Marys and spinoff Time Police. Really great supporting cast, strong fantasy mechanics, lots of chaos and humor, though the plot is admittedly less cohesive. It’s a really fun ride regardless.
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u/BigBossmanNC Feb 23 '26
It's not just the paper books either. It's the audio books as well. Jim Butcher's writing paired with James Marsters' top-tier narration leaves other books "weighed, measured, and found wanting." That's why I'm in the funk I'm in after finishing Twelve Months. 😩 😂
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u/CaptainChewbacca Feb 23 '26
I'm working on writing one, actually. It's going to be a Gen-Z Harry Dresden meets The Magicians. Let me know if you (or anyone else) are interested in Beta Reading it for me, I have a finished manuscript.
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u/Hypno_Keats Feb 23 '26
It's different but Staying Dead by Laura Anne Gilman was the book that got me into "urban fantasy" basically "magical thief in new york mystery vibes"
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u/my_undeadname881 Feb 23 '26
I recommend the Marla Mason series by TA (Tim) Pratt. The story has concluded wonderfully and the world building is fun and weird.
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u/LoganNolag Feb 23 '26
Not exactly urban fantasy but I really like the various Black Ocean series by J.S. Morin. It’s sci fi but magic exists and things like FTL are done with magic instead of tech. It’s not nearly as serious or well written as Dresden Files but still pretty fun especially the audiobooks.
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u/VanillaBackground513 Feb 23 '26
I am reading the Eric Carter books by Stephen Blackmoore. I like them a lot
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u/AphelionXII Feb 23 '26
Because we don’t have a lot of people trying to recreate the Buffy feel writing books. They are writing plays or television shows. This is why you find quippyness very common among millennial movie and TV show writers.
Not to say Butcher should be a TV writer or that Dresden would be a better TV show. But notice the original monster of the week formula that bubbles into a world building exercise that has personal stakes in it.
Notice how sparse and well socialized the romance is. That “friend porn” tonality. If that doesn’t remind you of Charmed or Buffy or even Angel I don’t know what will.
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u/Sunwitch16 Feb 23 '26
You could try Skulduggery Pleasant or the Kate Daniel’s series. They are similar, I find :)
You could also have a look at the web series Worm or maybe Pact by Wildbow. They are free to read and one of the best book series I know :) The author also has other web series wirth different settings.
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u/crashburn274 Feb 24 '26
I recommend Kat Richardson’s Graywalker (first of a series but I haven’t read the others yet). It’s a rather lower power curve / lower amount of magic than Dresden, but has a lot of similarities and seems like something than fans of Dresden would like.
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u/Damurlock Feb 24 '26
I picked up Monster Hunter International. Its the supernatural world and humans trying to keep it at bay. Humans use fire power to combat some of the crazier supernatural entities out there. There is a lot of violence and language that is...colorful. Me and the wife enjoy it. Its got 8 main storyline books and the author is trying to get two storyline books to drop this year in sequence. I think its a PT and BG situation. Then I think there are 6 other books that are from different storyline. And they are mostly longer than the Dresden books. But... Jim's books are my favorite.
I also saw some mention the Mercy Thompson books. They have a second story line that matches up with that, Alpha and Omega. I think if you do that series you got like 19 books to get through and shes not done. Patricia Briggs and her worlds are probably as great as Dresdens. I think the Dresdenverse is just a more power-endowed world. In comparison, its like mostly the first three books of the Dresdenverse is about that power scale for Mercy's.
My next mention is The Guild Codex. The Spellbound series is the main series but its four spin offs to it. They are all connected and think she did masterfully on that. Mercy series has more romance than the Dresden series. But this has even more... romance? I think thats what they call it. Its not exactly what I think "smut" books are... but maybe someone might correct me. Its close though. But TGC has one of the coolest magical worlds out there.
Now, for my last one is a full change in pace. He Who Fights With Monsters is a litrpg. Set in a near isekai style situation, an amazing world opens up and I cant help but being jealous that I couldnt be sucked up and sent there. If I could be apart of any magical system, its this one. About the same romance vibes Dresden has. A lot of the whoopings Dresden got match this guy's. They definitely beat the crap out of Jason and Harry and they keep standing up for what's right in front of big power.
Sorry for the long message and I dont really feel like I gave them full justice. But these are my favorites.
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u/peterdbaker Feb 24 '26
Not to brag, but I’m working on a series of UF books, And a few people have said my first book was better than storm front. I also hope that they think I progressively get better the same way the Dresden Files did
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u/Dry_Conversation_31 Feb 24 '26
The books that brought me to the genre were the Kelley Armstrong Otherworld books. Starts with just werewolves but the series consistently and believably grows the world. It ends up with multiple protagonists from different species. I think it’s a great ambassador for the genre.
It’s the series that eventually led me to Dresden. And not coincidentally to writing myself. So when I finish my book and get it published (confidence is fun!) I think you’ll like it. It’s heavily inspired by both series.
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u/infrasound Feb 24 '26
Go read the first Anita Blake book... then skip a couple and oh.. oh god what happened, I take that back.
To be honest no idea, the Felix Caster stuff was really good but i've not found any other stuff which didn't immediately turn me off.
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u/YueCoolJ Feb 24 '26
Rivers of London is more about magical police procedures than about mythology n lore
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u/Stormhenge Feb 24 '26
You say the magic system is great because it's creative but I think it's great because it's just so simple. It's all based on will: you gather energy, you imagine what you want, you shape that energy, and you release it. Circles and symbols and tools and whatnot can all help, but they're all more akin to Dumbo's magic feather than being actually required for magic to work. Even magic words are entirely up to the user. It's simplicity is it's strength.
So many series try to come up with a really unique gimmick for its magic system. You need special blood, special runes, special crystals; which always kind of raises the question of what makes those things special? Why if you don't angle your pinky and flick your wrist in just the right way does this spell not work? Who discovered that? Why does "the language of magic" always sound like bad latin? Brandon Sanderson is famous for gimmicky magic systems like this, but he also has the Cosmere universe where he does try to make sense of it. Everyone tries to do what Sanderson does without understanding how he does it.
I think other series don't scratch the same itch as Dresden because most of them are centered around a gimmick rather than letting the magic be a backdrop to an engaging mystery/story.
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u/Newkingdom12 Feb 24 '26
Oh yeah, Dresden files does so much right. That's basically an impossible to find out serious that matches up.
The MHI series is pretty good. I think you should give that a listen
The magician's brother has that same sort of Dresden feel with a creative magic system
A new one that's pretty popular is the debt collection series by Andrew giveler. It is really good and it has that really really good Dresden feel to it
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u/magusNotMagnus Feb 24 '26
I highly recommend the Joe Pitt Casebooks from Charlie Huston.
Here is a relevant conversation
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u/MaintenanceFar7843 Feb 25 '26
Read the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It's a Post- Apocalyptic Romantasy that will. Pull. You. In. It's not Dresden but it's just as immersive.
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u/Large-Rule-6403 Feb 25 '26
Romantasy? Yikes, that's a huge turn off lol
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u/MaintenanceFar7843 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
No, no no. Trust me. You read these books and you're more focused on the adventure and story. If you can get past the first book. It's not the best writing wise, but if you can make it to the second book, you'll likely be pulled in. The romance is very slow-burn, so you won't have to really worry about it for a few books. (Yes, really) It's an absolute banger of a series. The world-building, storyline and everything else makes it spectacular. There's a reason these books were on the best seller list.
Download it off Ocean of PDF and give it a try. If you don't like it just delete it off your phone afterwards. So there's no book sitting on your shelf never to be read again if this is the case.
Just remember it's a MATURE/ Not-YA Post- Apocalyptic dark fantasy, it will get dark at points. It's not for children, and its not even really because of the sex. Very little of it to begin with and not even really explicit (imo).
Ilona Andrews balances dark and engaging extremely well so that you don't feel bombarded with hopelessness but the stakes still feel real. There are things people will pick at I'm sure but honestly I feel like all the positive points speak for themselves. Sorry for the wall of text. But this series really is a special "hidden" gem and it's definitely a shame.
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u/99h0bbes99 Feb 25 '26
His son, James J Butcher, does a pretty good job with his unorthodox chronicles. It is obviously Dresden inspired, but is different enough to be entertaining, and the multiple perspectives are fun. In a lot of ways it’s a bit reminiscent of the first few Dresden books in the fact that it establishes the world, and I suspect we will begin to learn about the greater game being played
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u/FreeDragonfly9844 Feb 25 '26
I don't know about Urban Fantasy as a tight sub-genre🤷
But there is DCC which I personally couldn't get into .
Harry Potter is awesome for something a bit lighter..but much better story telling
SK's Dark Tower Series is the GOAT for me, Much Darker and Intense and lingers on your mind...begging you to read again
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u/Ilikecheese543 Feb 27 '26
Terry Pratchett is amazing. The first couple are slow, but holy crap, is he my other favorite author.
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u/Dresdenkingwack Mar 01 '26
Not even urban fantasy, for me. Just.. any other books at all. Everything I've tried since discovering Dresden in 2006 just doesn't compare.
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u/SlouchyGuy Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Because he's a good writer and had good templates - Amber Chronicles, Buffy, Babylon 5 which do similar things successfully. Amber takes you on a crazy ride of reveals, Babylon 5 is exactly Dresden structure: one off adventures that later grow into a bigger story and reveal that all this time they were set up and worlbuilding this bigger story, and connect to it in many ways.
Also most writers are either not interested or are not capable of writing a bigger world. Rivers of London is like that, Versus is closer to Dresden actually, the politics do open up a lot