My favorite reads of 2018

There’s not a lot to recap as the calendar runs out on 2018. It was a slow and strange reading year for me. It was a year of less reading time and more DNFs than I can ever remember. I probably abandoned more books than I finished.

Wrapping up

Even some of those that I stayed with disappointed. A couple of series that I had enjoyed in the past came to very unsatisfying conclusions for me, but I felt I had to see them through. One bright spot in the series conclusions is also the first of my favorite reads of the year (not No. 1, mind you, just the first to be mentioned).

“Assassin’s Fate” by Robin Hobb. This was a very bittersweet book for me, so much so that I put off reading it for a long time after its release. I’ve known and loved FitzChivalry Farseer for more than two decades, and I felt certain this would be my last journey with him. It was not a perfect book nor the best in his tale, but it was, at least, a satisfying conclusion.

Freebies: "Christmas Eve" by Jim Butcher

Just in case you guys missed it like I did on Christmas Eve, Jim Butcher released a new Harry Dresden story in the spirit of the holiday season.

Still hopeful that we'll see "Peace Talks" in the coming year, but it's a really good story and some Dresden is better than no Dresden.

Read it here.

Review: "The Fantasy Fiction Formula" by Deborah Chester

I picked up Deborah Chester’s “The Fantasy Fiction Formula” ($19.95, Manchester University Press) about a year ago for the simple reason that it received such high praise from Jim Butcher, an author I admire greatly. He basically gave Chester credit for giving him the secret to success, which intrigued me.

I used to read “how to write” books with some regularity, but it’s been a long time since I cracked one. After a while much of the advice becomes repetitive and a bit boring. It seems there aren’t that many different ways to do it.

I started “The Fantasy Fiction Formula” about a year ago, and I wandered away from it. Mainly because in the early going there weren’t that many new ideas. It was all about planning your characters and knowing their motivations, desires and goals – things that have been covered over and over.

I recently picked it up again, this time determined to push through looking for some magical formula to help me get past my own personal block: I seem to be a natural novella writer. Every time I sit down to write a book, the finished product falls in the 35-45,000 word range. I’ve done it about five times now with the same result. In revisions, I end up trying to bulk it up to novel length, and I always feel that I’m just bloating it and the shorter version was much stronger. I was hoping for some sage advice to get me to that 60,000-plus word level.

My favorite reads of 2016

This past year was a busy one for me, so I didn’t get to read nearly as many books as I would have liked. Such is life these days, though, for many people, so who am I to complain?

Of the books I did get to read, there were some fantastic selections. Some of my own reading prejudices were also challenged in 2016 (actually, beginning in late 2015), and you’ll see more self-pubbed authors than ever before on my list of favorite reads.

As I do every year, I want to remind anyone reading this that it is not a “best of 2016” list. I read far too few books to make such judgments, and a number of the books that you’ll find on the list were not released in 2016. It’s simply a list of the books that I most enjoyed this year, and though I’ll admit the first few are my favorites, there is no particular order after that, so don’t read in any “rankings” that aren’t there. If you asked me to rank them 10 times from 1 to 10, you’d probably end up with 10 completely different lists.

“The Shepherd’s Crown,” Terry Pratchett. Published May 16. I’ll admit that this is a very sentimental pick for my favorite read of the year, but it will be my last visit to a world that I’ve been a regular tourist in for more than a quarter of a century. I waited a long time after Pratchett’s death to read this, not wanting to say goodbye, but I decided the time had come about mid-year. It was a fitting farewell, and fitting also that one of his most beloved characters went out with the author and the Discworld.

Review: "The Aeronaut's Windlass," by Jim Butcher

With “The Aeronaut’s Windlass” ($27.95, Roc) Jim Butcher introduces us to a very different world from the ones he’s worked in before.

In this world, people no longer live on the surface because it’s too dangerous. Instead they live in spires, which rise high above those dangers. Travel and trade between the spires is done in airships powered by lift crystals. One of those belongs to Captain Francis Madison Grimm, a disgraced naval officer of Spire Albion turned privateer. Grimm starts the story a bit down on his luck with a busted ship and limited ways to repair it.

Bridget Tagwynn is the last heir of a once-mighty family that has now fallen into obscurity. When she joins the Spire Guard for a year of mandatory service required for children of the aristocracy (along with her cat protector Rowl), she runs afoul of a son of a powerful family, and finds a pair of unlikely allies in Gwendolyn Lancaster and her warrior-born brother Benedict Sorrelin Lancaster, children of one of the spire’s strongest families.

My favorite reads of 2014

It's that time of year again when all the "best of" lists arrive. I do those over on my music site, but I do something a little different here.

Because my reading time is limited, and there's really no possible way that I could read every book in every genre that I enjoy, I don't believe it's really reasonable for me to say what the best books of the year are. Instead, I simply offer up my favorite reads of 2014.

Not all of them will be from 2014. There are a couple from 2013, one that's nearly 20 years old, and even one from 2015. They're also in no particular order. The first three or so stand out as the ones that had the biggest impact, but after that things get a little muddy and, if I rewrote this list 10 times, the order would likely change every time.

Enjoy, and I'll see you next year.

Review: "Skin Game" by Jim Butcher

Over the course of the past few books of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, wizard Harry Dresden has had quite the ride, but his assignment in “Skin Game” ($27.95, Ace) might be his most difficult and distasteful.

Harry has spent much of his time of late hiding out on Demonreach Island, learning how to be warden of his prison filled with evil beings and trying to figure out how to get rid of the parasite that’s growing within him. That isolation comes to an end as his boss, Mab, the Winter Queen of Faerie comes to call.

Mab has a job for her Winter Knight that will require him to leave the relative safety of his island and face, not only the dangers of the assignment, but the friends from which he’s largely been separated.

Things get worse for Harry when he realizes that Mab has hired him out to Nicodemus Archleone, host to Anduriel of the Order of the Blackened Denarius – a group of fallen angels bound to silver coins said to be those that Judas Iscariot received for his betrayal of Jesus.

Favorite reads of 2012

I’m going to try something new this year. I’ve been reluctant to do a year-end list for books because it’s such a daunting task. It’s fairly easy with music because I get tons of new music, I can easily listen to it on the go, and at the end of the year, I feel like I’ve at least heard all of the major releases in my favorite genres.

Books are tougher. In a good year, I figure I read 40-50 books. That’s not even a drop in the bucket as far as what’s released, even just in my favorite genres. Plus, I’m always dipping back a few years to pick up books that I missed or revisiting some classics that I either missed or haven’t read in years.

So this list certainly won’t reflect “the best books of 2012.” Instead, I’ll just call it my list of favorite books that I read in 2012. It doesn’t necessarily mean the book was released in 2012, and I’m not making it a Top 10 or putting any numeric requirement on it at all. If I read it and really liked it, it’s here. Beyond the first two, they’re in no particular order.

Review: "Cold Days" by Jim Butcher

After ending “Changes” with a jaw-dropping event that left readers wondering what was to become of their favorite wizard Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher followed up with the sort of strange “Ghost Story,” a tale that really didn’t live up to the previous volumes of The Dresden Files. The good news for those of us left scratching our heads is that with “Cold Days” ($27.95, Roc) that little bump in the road has been completely smoothed over.

Not only is “Cold Days” a return to form for Butcher and The Dresden Files after the lull of “Ghost Story,” it’s easily one of the best volumes in the series.

After his little jaunt through the spirit world, Harry wakes up in Arctis Tor, the home of the Winter Court of faerie. He’s made a deal with the Winter Queen Mab to take the mantle of the Winter Knight. Mab’s rehabilitation techniques are somewhat unique, but they leave Harry back in fighting form – somewhere he’ll need to be to deal with the treachery of the Winter Court. Not the least of his problems is Maeve, Mab’s daughter and the slightly insane heir to her throne. His introduction at court makes her the first of his problems.

Review: "Hounded" by Kevin Hearne

Just when I think I’ve had about all the urban fantasy that I can handle, along comes something like Kevin Hearne’s “Hounded” ($7.99, Del Rey).

 I picked up the book on the suggestion of a friend and fellow Jim Butcher fan, who described it as “Butcher-lite.” I’d say that’s a pretty fair description, and of all the “if you like Jim Butcher, you should try this” recommendations I’ve checked out over the years, “Hounded” is far and away the best of them.

Atticus O’Sullivan – or Siodhachan O’Suileabhain, as he’s known to those more than a few hundred years old – is a druid. Though most people would mistake him for a 21-year-old college student at Arizona State, he’s actually closer to 2,000 years old. He’s the last of the true druids, and he has some pretty interesting friends, including the Celtic goddess the Morrigan and a vampire and werewolf as his legal co-counsels. He runs a new age book and herb store in town, hunts with his Irish wolfhound Oberon and tries to keep a low profile with the fae and supernatural types, which is made easier by the Arizona terrain.

Review: "Ghost Story" by Jim Butcher

SPOILER WARNING: If you have not read the previous volumes in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, particularly the last book, “Changes,” don’t go any further if you don’t want to ruin the experience. There is a major surprise plot point at the end of “Changes” that I cannot write this review without revealing.

So, those of you left with me, I’ll assume know what happened at the end of “Changes.” We’ve spent a year now, wondering how the tale of Harry Dresden could possibly continue, and now we have our answer in the latest volume “Ghost Story” ($27.95, Roc.)

Harry ends up in a sort of limbo, a ghostly Chicago, where he meets up with the shade of Karrin Murphy’s father and is presented with a decision. He can go on to whatever comes next, or he can go back to the real Chicago as a ghost to try to solve the mystery of his murder and in doing so, possibly save the lives of several of his friends. For Harry, that’s no decision, so he ends up back home, but unable to use his magic, communicate or physically affect anything. It’s quite a challenge for a guy who tends to prefer action to deep thought.

Review: "Furies of Calderon," by Jim Butcher

I remember when I received Jim Butcher’s “Furies of Calderon” (Ace, $9.99) several years ago, and I was both excited and a little reluctant to read it. I was, and remain, a huge fan of Butcher’s Dresden Files, which follow the misadventures of Chicago’s only wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden. I was interested in his take on what he called “swords and horses fantasy,” but at the same time, I was mainly interested in reading more about Harry. I got started on the book, but for whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into it, so I put it down after a couple of chapters and moved on.

A few weeks ago, I was looking around for my next read and decided that, while I’m waiting on the newest Dresden book in July, I’d give this series another chance. I’m glad I did.

Review: "Side Jobs" by Jim Butcher

For those left hanging and wondering by the somewhat shocking end to Jim Butcher’s last novel of the Dresden Files, “Changes,” here’s a collection that will help hold you over until the next installment this summer when we can find out just what the heck is going on with Harry.

“Side Jobs” ($25.95, Roc) collects a variety of Dresden stories from various anthologies over the years, and also gives readers a look at two never-before-published stories. Those two will likely be of most interest to fans.

The first, “A Restoration of Faith,” opens the book and also happens to be Butcher’s first tale of wizard private investigator Harry Dresden as he saves a runaway girl (who really doesn’t care to be saved) from a bridge troll in Chicago. It was not published, and you can see why when you read it, though it’s not as bad as Butcher seems to think judging by his opening commentary. I’ve read worse stories that did get published.

Review: "Changes" by Jim Butcher

After a series goes on long enough, there inevitably comes a time when a drastic shift is needed to keep it from going stale. That time for Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files comes with its 12th book, “Changes” ($25.95, Roc).

The shift begins with the book’s title, which drops the two-word puns of the previous 11 volumes. It mirrors a shift in the demeanor of the books. Things are about to get much darker and much more serious for Chicago’s only wizard for hire.

Harry gets a gut-punch with the first line of the book where he’s informed that he has an eight-year-old daughter that he’s never known. The news is delivered by her mother, Harry’s old flame Susan, now a half-vampire member of a secret warrior society that hunts Red Court vampires. The child, Maggie, has been abducted by the vampires and, naturally, they have nasty plans for her.

Normally, Harry would have plenty of backup as the White Council of wizards and the Red Court vampires have been at war, but he’s unable to call on the aid because Duchess Arianna Ortega of the Red Court has sued the White Council for peace. The request has split the council, with many seeing a hope to end the war that has decimated their ranks and others seeing a trick by the vampires. It’s up to Harry and a handful of friends to rescue the girl, a task made even more difficult by vampire plots that have led to an FBI investigation into the destruction of his office building among other complications.

I say this book has a more serious tone, but fans of the series shouldn’t be worried about that. Harry is still the wisecracker that he’s always been, and it’s loaded with references to science fiction and fantasy classics like “Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Wizard of Oz.” There are plenty of chuckles and light-hearted moments to be had during a more intense story line. Despite all that’s going on around him, Harry is still Harry, after all.

On the other hand, there are events that happen in the book that will, necessarily, change things for Harry forever. I won’t give those events away, but they make it very hard to believe that he’ll come out of this as the same low-rent, high-powered private investigator that he’s been for the better part of the first 12 books. He’s now entangled with far too many greater powers in the supernatural world, and those entanglements promise to make things even more treacherous for him.

The strength of Butcher’s stories continues to be the fast pacing and fascinating characters that he’s delivered throughout the series. The centerpiece of “Changes,” though, may be the final battle which is more grand and sweeping than anything we’ve seen before in the Dresden series. It pays homage to his love of more traditional fantasy and delivers a spectacular finale to the story.

Serious “Changes” are definitely coming for our old friend, but having given me some of my favorite tales over the last decade or so, I’ll trust that Butcher will take the the stories in an even better direction.

Review: "Turn Coat," by Jim Butcher

What do you do when a long-time rival turns up on your doorstep looking for help? That’s the question that faces wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher’s latest, "Turn Coat" (Roc, $25.95).

Donald Morgan, the warden of the White Council who has hounded Harry for years for his suspected use of black magic, shows up at his apartment, seriously injured and on the run. Morgan has been accused of the murder of a senior member of the White Council, and the evidence against him is pretty convincing. Morgan was, in fact, found standing over the body, holding the murder weapon, only moments after the wizard was killed. Then, he wounded three wardens in his escape. He’s being hunted by the other wardens (though some, like Harry himself, have not been notified of the man hunt), and there’s a bounty that’s drawn all manner of supernatural creatures to try to bring Morgan in.

His own experience tells Harry that Morgan is not the kind of man who would turn against the White Council, and he suspects there’s more than meets the eye. Due to their past animosity, it’s the last place Morgan’s hunters would expect him to go for help, and Dresden offers him shelter and aid. The gesture puts him on a path that’s likely to get him killed along with his old rival if he can’t find the real killer before the White Council finds Morgan.

I’ll admit that I’m a complete fanboy of Butcher’s Dresden Files at this point. I can’t remember the last time that I still found the 11th book in a series as entertaining as the first. While most series are losing steam, Butcher’s is shifting gears. The action in "Turn Coat" brings readers to a new chapter in Harry’s story. The events in the book will give him new status and perhaps a slightly altered outlook on life, as both he and members of the White Council are forced to take a hard look at their values.

But the added inner struggle doesn’t detract from what has always been the hallmark of the Dresden Files -- interesting characters and fast and furious action. We get plenty of both here as we get a little more insight on some of the council members who have been a bit mysterious through the first 10 books. There’s also a new baddie -- a skinwalker from Native American legend -- and a battle between the beast and Native American wizard Joseph Listens-to-Wind is spectacular.

At a point in the series where I’m usually calling for the author to retire his hero and move on, Butcher and Dresden continue to excite. Here’s to 11 more books just as good as the first 11.

Review: "Proven Guilty," by Jim Butcher

Editor's note: You'll see a few reviews like this pop up in my housecleaning over the coming weeks. When I posted my review of Jim Butcher's latest book "White Night," I stumbled across this review of his last book "Proven Guilty," which I had never posted to the old site. Some of the info is now dated, but the opinion on the book is the same. Enjoy.

Whenever a new installment in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files arrives on the shelves, it's bad news for the books in my to-be-read stack. They're all going to get bumped down a spot.

Since discovering Butcher's wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden with 2001's "Fool Moon," the tales of the modern-day magician have consistently entertained me more than any other writer in the past five years. His latest, "Proven Guilty" (Roc), is no exception.

The secret war between the Red Court of vampires and the wizards' White Council is heating up, and Dresden, a newly named Warden, has been given a covert mission to find out why the Summer Court of the fey isn't aiding the wizards. But Harry's got bigger problems on his plate. He's fighting an inner battle against the fallen angel Lasciel, who is trying to tempt him to unleash her power. More pressing, he's just gotten a report of some big-time black magic going down in his hometown of Chicago.
When fans at a horror convention suddenly start becoming targets of the big-screen monsters they're celebrating, Harry is on the case. But when he discovers the source of that magic, it hits Harry close to home and may force him to further stretch his already strained relations with the White Council.

"Proven Guilty" turns out to be one of the best installments in the series so far, as it shows the series maturing, with plots and character motivations digging deeper than just battling the bad guys. It tackles some tougher emotions and questions about good and evil, graying a line that's been fairly clear in the previous installments.

There's also a lot more fun to be had here as Butcher tosses out pop culture references a little more easily than in past volumes. While he often doesn't use the real names of the Hollywood baddies, horror fans will recognize a lot of popular monsters, and even a few obscure ones, here.

We're eight books into the Dresden Files now, and instead of running out of steam, the series seems to be getting stronger with each volume. With a two-hour Dresden Files pilot directed by Nicolas Cage set to air on the Sci-Fi Channel this summer, it's a safe bet we'll be seeing a lot more of Harry Dresden. (Editor's note: The series was delayed after I wrote this, and of course, has now aired its first season.) That sounds like good news to me.

Review: "White Night" by Jim Butcher

It's not often that the ninth book in a series is still as lively and engaging as the first. It's even rarer for a series to be continually getting better over the course of that many books. But Jim Butcher has managed it with his supernatural detective series The Dresden Files. The latest, "White Night" (Roc, $23.95), is one of the best.

The books center on Chicago's only wizard for hire, Harry Dresden. He's part Mike Hammer, part John Wayne and part Merlin, with better wisecracks than any of them. He's also surrounded by a cast of characters just as colorful as he is, from the cute but tough-as-nails police sergeant Karrin Murphy to the ruthless and despicable, yet somehow likeable, gangster "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone.

This time around Harry gets the call from Murphy to investigate what appears to be a series of suicides, but some of the facts don't add up. When Harry discovers a magical message, Exodus 22:18's "suffer not a witch to live," left at the scene of a couple of the suicides, Murphy's fears are confirmed. There's a serial killer in town, targeting witches. Making matters more difficult, the suspected killer has been seen wearing the gray cloak of a Warden of the White Council, the magical police force that Harry just happens to be a member of, and several of the women have been seen in the company of a man matching the description of Harry's brother Thomas.
Oh, and don't forget the ongoing war between the White Council and the Red Court of vampires, or Harry's struggle to reign in his headstrong goth girl apprentice, or the reappearance of another wizard for hire who happens to be Harry's ex, or the fallen angel Lasciel, who is trapped in Harry's head.

So, yes, there are a few things going on in the book, but Butcher, as always, juggles them well, weaving all the threads into a cohesive story that includes some thoughtful observations on human nature among the magical battles and zaniness that surrounds Harry.

Dresden recently received the TV treatment from the Sci-Fi Channel, as the first season of "The Dresden Files" ended, but the show has little to do with the books other than the main characters. Butcher's version is far better.

Review: "Dead Beat" by Jim Butcher

It's about time Harry Dresden appeared in hardcover.

"Dead Beat" ($23.95, Roc) is the seventh installment in Jim Butcher's series based on the wizard private eye, and the first in hardcover.

The book follows Butcher's hardcover debut late last year with "The Furies of Calderon" ($23.95, Ace), which introduced his high fantasy series "The Codex Alera." While that book was well-written and entertaining, it wasn't nearly as much fun as the Dresden books.

This time around, Harry finds himself in another pickle courtesy of the Black Court of the vampires - the old school, rotting flesh branch of the vampire world. Mavra, queen of the Black Court, has photos of Dresden and his partner, police detective Karrin Murphy, taking down a den of vamps (see the last Dresden book, "Blood Rites," for details). Since most of the world denies the existence of vampires, the release of those photos of a bloody, shotgun-wielding Murphy blowing away human-like creatures would mean pretty bad things for her.

Mavra presents the photos to Harry and says she'll release them unless he can bring her the "Word of Kemmler," a lost work by an evil necromancer. The problem for Harry - other than the power that Mavra could gain with the book, of course - is that several of Kemmler's disciples have arrived in town, also searching for the "Word." And there's an even bigger twist on the way for everyone's favorite wizard.

After seven books, most series start to get a little stale, but "Dead Beat" is just as much fun as the first installment of "The Dresden Files." The reason is that Butcher continues to find unique characters and twists that keep the story moving forward.

These books never pretend to be anything other than what they are, a fun adventure story loaded with magic and ghouls of all stripes. The action begins from the first page and doesn't let up for the next 387.

Butcher admits that what he calls the "swords and horses fantasy" of the "The Codex Alera" is his first love, and the second volume of that series is due out this summer. But here's hoping that he doesn't drop "The Dresden Files" any time soon. These books are far too much fun to be forgotten.

Review: "Blood Rites" by Jim Butcher

Chicago's only wizard-for-hire, Harry Dresden is back, and not surprisingly, he's in hot water again in "Blood Rites" ($6.99, Roc), the latest in Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" series.

Harry's trying to make a living while laying low. The vampire courts still have a price on his head. Then he gets a job offer from an interesting source. Thomas, a white court vampire that Harry has worked with in the past, asks him to take on the job of finding out who has put on entropy curse on his producer friend Arturo Genosa. Of course, Harry gets more than he bargained for when Genosa turns out to be an "adult" movie director with three ex-wives who were stars in his movies.

Harry soon finds out that the plot is thicker than a couple of spurned exes, and he finds himself in the last place he wants to be - in the middle of vampire politics.

"Blood Rites" is the sixth installment of the "Dresden Files," and though a number of very good authors have tried the ghosts and ghouls in the real world formula, Butcher's is the only series that's been able to keep me consistently entertained through this many books. It's due in part to the focus on action and humor and his avoidance of the overwrought emotional introspection that comes along with most of these tales.

Though Harry Dresden is certainly a prime candidate for that kind of over-the-top tortured hero treatment, Butcher bypasses the wallowing-in-misery thought sequences and keeps the story moving. He packs so much in that I often wonder if he'll run out of story line possibilities soon. I hope not because thus far, the Dresden books have been incredibly entertaining.

If you haven't read the past tales in the series, though, "Blood Rites" is probably not the place to start. Most of the characters in the book have been introduced before and have backstories with Harry that are alluded to, but not addressed directly here. You might find yourself a little lost, and you'll certainly miss some of the references to previous stories.

Butcher also does a good job of setting up future installments of the series, dropping a few possibilities into the mix with a stowaway puppy from a supernatural rescue mission and a revelation about Harry's past. Here's to the continuing adventures of Chicago's premier wizard.

Review: "Death Masks" by Jim Butcher

Settling down with the latest installment of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" is becoming a pre-Halloween tradition for me.

The tales of a wizard private eye are the perfect books for the haunted season. They've got plenty of creeps and nasties, but they're more fun than frightening. His latest, "Death Masks" ($6.99, Roc) continues the trend.

This time, Harry Dresden's in a world of trouble (as usual). The war between the Red Court of vampires and the White Council of wizards - a war that Harry was at least partially responsible for starting - continues. Harry is given a chance to end the war by fighting a duel with a representative of the Red Court, a cunning vampire named Ortega.

As he prepares for the duel, he gets a visit from a representative of the Vatican. The Shroud of Turin has been stolen and is suspected to be in Chicago. The priest has contacted the police, but doesn't trust them and has been pointed toward Harry. The problem is, a lot of other people are looking for the Shroud, including Harry's friend Michael Carpenter and two other Knights of the Cross, the local crime lord and some really nasty demons.

Could anything else go wrong? You bet it could. In the middle of all of this Harry's old girlfriend, now half-vampire, saunters back into his life.

As you can probably tell, this tale of Harry Dresden is far from boring, but it's not nearly as chaotic as it sounds either. Despite everything that's going on, Butcher still makes the story flow and manages to tie it all together.

But most importantly, the stories are a blast. Butcher doesn't mind poking fun at his own genre, even at a master of it. Consider a scene where Dresden is caught somewhere he shouldn't be - an art auction run by the local mob boss where Harry suspects the Shroud will be sold. The mob boss confronts him by saying he didn't realize Harry was an art collector. The rest of the conversation goes like this:

"`I am the foremost collector of velvet Elvii in the city of Chicago,' I said at once.

"`Elvii?' Marcone inquired.

"`The plural could be Elvises, I guess,' I said. `But if I say that too often, I start muttering to myself and calling things `my precious,' so I usually go with the Latin plural.'"

If that passage gives you a chuckle - or a good belly laugh if you're a Tolkien fan - there are plenty more where it came from.

With most ongoing series like this, I find my interest waning after four or five books, but five books in, I still love the "Dresden Files." They're fast, they're fun, and I'm looking forward to the next one.