A review by laurenleigh
Storm Front by Jim Butcher

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I can’t believe this kind of genre mashup hasn’t been done more frequently! Storm Front is seemingly a typical detective novel: gritty noir vibes, CSI style procedural plot lines, big city mob bosses, a sexy reporter trying to get a lead, a gruff male investigator lead character…except our detective is also a wizard! I like when a magic theme has to play within some strict realism confines. This type of magic is all about the natural elements and concentrating energies. The potion-making scene was especially interesting, with bonus points for being hilarious. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) narrates the audiobook, which is quite fitting. Buffy could totally exist within Butcher’s world here. I liked Marsters’ style, but the audio quality was dated, and I could hear too much of his breathing and sighing in the background, which definitely distracted me. Though the “please insert the next disk” voiceovers crack me up!
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