The Dresden Files….Please leave Harry alone…
Wizard for Hire...and maiming?
I enjoy reading the Dresden Files. It is a hard-boiled detective series, with a touch of the supernatural to liven things up. I think the writing is witty, the relationships and the characters well developed and the typical creatures (vampires, werewolves, etc) unexpected in their development. The endings to each book seem well thought out and there is always something to build on for the next book.
All that being said, I have a problem with The Dresden Files.
Harry Dresden (the main character) is thoroughly beaten, mangled, exhausted and generally maltreated in practically every book. I know this can be a good thing. It creates a sense of danger, which helps build the suspense as Harry searches for the killer in each book. Will he survive this time? It makes the consequences real for Harry and reminds the reader that magic in a real world scenario is as bad as a gun or a grenade. However, this violence is a double edged sword.
Every time I pick up one of these books, I fell like I am personally inflicting pain and torture on Harry. As I continue the story with him, as we search for answers, I force him to be kicked, or burned, or stabbed, or bitten so he can find the killer, and the resolution, for me, the reader. Sometimes I feel like putting down the book, just to make it stop. (Selfishly, I always pick it back up again). At the same time, I care more about him as a character as I read on. It is sort of like falling in love with someone while using them as a shield in a war zone. You use them for your own purposes, and you regret it more and more with every step you take.
I am not very far along in this series yet. I have only just finished reading Summer Knight. It is taking me a while to get through them, because I keep interupting the flow to read something light and cheery; Shojo manga…Terry Pratchett…Christopher Moore…anything that will cleanse my palate, and remind me there is more in the literary world than darkness and pain that I sadistically inflict on the poor main character.
The Dresden Files satisfies my literary craving for mystery, intrigue, cynicism, fantasy and often (surprisinly from this review) laughter, but it always leads to a seperate craving, to read something that is almost complete fluff and sunshine. Perhaps that is healthy, and it definetly widens my range as a reader. All I can say is read the Dresden Files…but have something ready to cheer you up after and alliviate your sense of guilt… maybe a good Disney movie.
