Storm Front

Really enjoy this series; fun, smart-ass kind of writing; book noir with a side of fantasy - elves, demons and the like ( )

I read this book because a young relative loves it and has read the whole series. I’ve been enjoying reading some of the books that my friends and family strongly recommend. It tells me more about them and makes me feel more connected to them and also has me reading things that I might not otherwise have read. So far I have enjoyed all of them to one degree or another – [[Precious Bane]] by [Mary Webb] is a childhood favourite of an old friend, and my sister in Australia really liked [[All the Rivers Run]] by [Nancy Cato], for instance, and I loved both.

I had to take three runs at the present book, however, having twice decided not to finish it. The writing was capable and the story interesting enough, but the sexist stereotypes really started to get up my nose. This was published in this millennium, but they seem no further ahead, no more enlightened by the author's having reflected on them, than they were decades ago when I was reading books of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I kept hoping he was going to shift them somehow, but he never did. So I would not have finished this book if I hadn’t really wanted to give my nephew’s recommendation a good chance. Life is too short for unquestioned stereotypes.

What it does raise for me is the question of how do I respond to him? He wants to know how I like the book. But I also suspect that most of us who love a book don’t want to hear that it’s sexist or racist or otherwise oppressive. We want to hear that our friend likes it as much as we did. Or at least I do, which is why I don’t go recommending books to my friends very often — because we all have different tastes, for heaven sake, and we aren’t going to feel the same way about almost anything.

If I was doing a critique for the writer I would talk about it strong points and what I consider it’s weak points. But again, that’s not what he’s asking for. Do I not mention what put me off? I confess that this is my inclination because I don’t think me saying that a book he read several years ago is sexist is going to accomplish any consciousness-raising for him. But I also don’t feel comfortable saying nothing at all. I know I’ll figure it out, so I’m not concerned about it. I’m just chewing it all over.

Apart from the sexist stereotypes, the book is okay. I can see how people would enjoy it, but there’s nothing really about it that lifts it above the pack. ( )

I liked Harry Dresden. He's a cool wizard detective. Hell, he is the first wizard detective I have ever read about (so far). I liked the humor and the action in the book. But I was not overly captivated by the story, it wasn't a book that I devoured and when I finally finished it I had to have the next. Although I want to and I will read the rest of the series in the future. ( )

Eh.

It's rare that I can say that the TV series/movie was better than the book. Well, it's true for James Bond and it's true for Harry Dresden. But the book was entertaining, and I'll probably read the next ones in the series because I have nothing better to do. ( )

While I liked this first instalment well enough, I cannot find it in myself to invest my time in a never-ending series.
Because - in all honesty? - it wasn't that good. ( )