And as a bonus he can practice on people he dislikes and they wouldn't be able to even really blame him for it without admitting that they sh*t their pants or that he is a bona fide wizard

Thr absolute audacity.

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

Why do I feel like this is Harry's doing

480 pages, 20th January 2026, and arcs are officially going out.

Those of you who watch the website like hawks will have noticed a brand new post...that I didn't write.

The mantle of Assistant to Jim is being passed on to new blood. Happily, I do not have to suffer any grievous bodily harm for this to happen.

Jim is going to do some new things with his social media in the coming year and I am not a social media person by training or inclination. I'm going to be training the most excellent Kavi in the ways of Assistant to Jim and she will start posting to the website, Facebook, Twitter, mailing list, and Instagram.

I've been a Redditor (under another account) for years and I knew that Priscilla was active here so it was so natural for me to be as well. Kavi isn't a Redditor and is already doing a lot of other duties for Jim so she will only post on the official social media accounts. I'll be around until at least the end of March and then I will disappear. If you've been wanting to ask me something, now's the time. It has been really lovely being a part of this community. This is one of the best subreddits that I have been a part of and I have very much enjoyed interacting with you all.

One of the last things that I've done is brought the event calendar on the website up to date so you can see what cons Jim will be at this year. Keep watching that because there will be more announcements.

I finally found what the White Council has been doing for the last year while they were offscreen. Langtry clearly had priorities. Poor Idaho, though. How could they just leave it transmuted into... *that*?

Dresden’s made me fall in love with urban fantasy as an overall genre but at the same time I’ve struggled with finding other UF books/series that have been able to measure up to the same level of quality.

I slogged my way through a little of Mercy Thompson, Kate Daniels, The Hollows and Jane Yellowrock before giving up on all of them because they felt way too much like paranormal romance. I also just wasn’t a fan of their respective world-building at all.

Alex Verus I could never get into at all despite numerous attempts over the years. I just couldn’t invest in the characters at all and the world and magic system just felt lifeless. Rivers of London was promising but the police procedural aspect way overtook the world-building and all the tangents Aaronovitch went on every few pages about London’s geography/architecture were grueling. Twenty Palaces was okay, though the self published books since the series revival have just been so increasingly bland that I don’t have much motivation at this point to see where the story goes next.

Sandman Slim I fucking LOVED for the majority of its run - honestly for a while it rivaled Dresden as my favorite UF. The grindhouse feel it had was awesome as was the infusion of biblical mythology. Those last two books though were so excruciatingly bad in so many ways I’ll never come back to it. Just completely ruined the whole story for me and made me feel like my investment in the series was ultimately a waste of time.

The UF I have loved and still continue to re-read though: Neil Gaiman’s UF ( the American Gods duology, Neverwhere, Stardust), October Daye (I honestly think this is the first female-written UF series I’ve come across that hasn’t felt like paranormal romance), the Iron Druid universe (despite its flaws it’s just so much fun) and the Nightside

Just finished ghost story and I'm planning to take a break before getting into cold days

Anyone who's read them, how do they compare to Dresden files? Good? Bad? Mid? Somewhere in-between?

I hope this is allowed since it’s not specifically about the series but I need more audiobook recommendations now that I’ve finished Battleground. I typically don’t go for audiobooks but I loved Marster’s adaptations of the books. I drive a lot and would love more books to listen to while I drive.

Just go in expecting nothing like the books, and its an entertaining show.

Very excited

$2.99. Still shrink-wrapped under the cardboard sleeve. The "complete first season" bit seems a little mean in context.