The Dresden Files
Encyclopedia
The Dresden Files is a series of contemporary fantasy
/mystery
novels written by Jim Butcher
.
He provides a first person narrative of each story from the point of view of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden
, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago
. Butcher's original proposed title for the first novel was "Semiautomagic", which sums up the series' balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. In an interview, he mentioned that the best short description of the series was "Dirty Harry Potter".
In 2007, a television series based on the novels
aired for one season on the American Sci-Fi Channel
.
is real, along with vampire
s, demon
s, spirits
, faeries
, werewolves
, and other mythical monsters. Harry Dresden works to protect the general public, who are ignorant of magic and the dark forces conspiring against them. This makes it difficult for Harry to get by as a working wizard and private eye. The Chicago PD
's Special Investigation unit, when led by Karrin Murphy
, regularly employs Dresden as a consultant to help solve cases of a supernatural nature.
—books which the author has described as being "terrible". In 1996 he enrolled in a writing class where he was encouraged to write a novel similar to the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton
, rather than the more traditional high fantasy
that had been his focus in the past, as Butcher had previously stated that he enjoyed the Anita Blake series. Despite initial resistance, he wrote the first book that semester, closely following the instructions of his teacher, author Deborah Chester
.
The result was Semiautomagic, later to be retitled as Storm Front
. His writing teacher declared it to be publishable, and Butcher started hunting around to do just that.
Butcher failed to secure a publisher for two to three years. During this period he completed the second novel, Fool Moon
, and had made significant progress on the third, Grave Peril
. Deciding to focus on agents and editors who had already published similar novels, Butcher targeted Ricia Mainhardt, the agent representing Laurell Hamilton, and submitted a copy of his manuscript. It was not accepted. Finally, Jim Butcher met Laurell Hamilton at a convention, and was invited to lunch along with her agent (Mainhardt) and a second agent, Jennifer Jackson. Ricia Mainhardt agreed to represent him, and six months later The Dresden Files was sold to ROC, an imprint of Penguin Books
.
The first volume, Storm Front, was released in 2000 in paperback; the next two novels in the series, Fool Moon and Grave Peril, were released shortly thereafter, in January and September 2001, also in paperback. Subsequent novels in the series have been published annually since then, with the most recent novel, Ghost Story, published July 2011. Omnibus editions have been released by the Science Fiction Book Club, with each of the four volumes reprinting two or three of the novels in the sequence.
The series' first six novels were originally only published as paperbacks, but in 2007 ROC changed its strategy and began to publish hardcover reprints of books one to six. Volume six, Blood Rites, was released in July 2007. From book seven onwards, each new book was directly published as hardcover and paperback both.
Orbit Books
purchased the series for UK publication, and released the first novel, Storm Front in September 2005—five years after the initial US release. They then proceeded to publish two books per month. In November 2007, Orbit Books announced that they had purchased the rights to Changes, the twelfth novel, as well as the thirteenth Dresden novel, Ghost Story.
The first 12 volumes of The Dresden Files have been released as audio books narrated by James Marsters
. The cover art for the series was created by Chris McGrath
. Per a release on Jim Butcher's website on June 27, 2011, he reported that, "due to personal reasons", James Marsters
would be unable to voice "Ghost Story"; instead, the narration was performed by John Glover
.
. The Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) is reissuing the series in hardcover omnibus editions. So far, all of the audio books of The Dresden Files have been read by actor James Marsters
, with the exception of Ghost Story, which was read by John Glover
. The first four are produced by Buzzy Multimedia Publishing. The fifth audio book Death Masks
is produced by Penguin Audio
. The audio books for the remaining books of the Dresden Files were released in 2010 from Buzzy Multimedia with James Marsters reading. Proven Guilty and White Night were released in April 2009 alongside Turn Coat. Death Masks was released November 2009, and Blood Rites and Dead Beat were released April 2010. The next book in the series will be titled Cold Days, and the release date has not yet been confirmed.
Butcher is currently planning for approximately twenty books in the "case files" of the series, to be capped by a further "big apocalyptic trilogy".
At the Tyson's Corner Book Signing on August 1, 2011, Butcher hinted that the titles of the apocalyptic trilogy would be "Stars and Stones", "Hell's Bells", and "Empty Night", referring to curse words used by Harry and the White Court vampires, respectively.
is a novelette set in the "Dresdenverse", but narrated by vampire Thomas Raith. In the novelette, Harry is in danger and is unaware of it, and Thomas runs interference for Harry, trying to protect Harry without his realizing it. The novelette was published on October 31, 2008 by Subterranean Press
. It was also published in the novel of short stories, Side Jobs.
Butcher has also released all of his Dresden Files short stories except for Curses, AAA Wizardry and Even Hand in a single anthology, Side Jobs
. He has promised that all of his shorter works will someday be available in a collected format.
, and was canceled after one season. The stated reason was that the Dresden Files was the "biggest screen failure" of all time, despite being rated third in its time slot and outrating every episode of the popular Battlestar Galactica with its bottle episode, "Things That Go Bump".
would be producing a Dresden Files graphic novel series:
The four-issue mini-series
called Welcome to the Jungle
, ran as a prequel to Storm Front
from early to mid 2008. A compilation of that run was released as a hardcover graphic novel in October 2008. Storm Front was announced as the next adaptation, by the same creative team. The first issue was released in November 2008. Welcome to the Jungle was nominated for the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
.
Midway through the production of Storm Front, the title changed hands from Dabel Brothers to Dynamite Entertainment, causing a long gap between issues #5 and #6. Artist Ardian Syaf left the project to work for DC, and Brett Booth was brought in to finish the graphic novel. Issue #6 was slated for May 2010.
.
In January 2008, the project went into an early alpha phase of testing, and was in various beta testing phases throughout 2009. Pre-orders were opened up on April 4, 2010, and include immediate access to the pre-print PDF
, dubbed the "Early Bird" version. Evil Hat released the game between June 23–27, 2010, to coincide with Origins 2010. The RPG consists of two books, Volume One: Your Story, the core rule book, and Volume Two: Our World, a text describing the game universe. The game, which uses a modified version of the FATE system, emphasizes narrative structure over simulation of magical physics. It allows players to play a wide variety of characters, ranging from an ordinary humans such as Karrin Murphy
or Gentleman Johnny Marcone to magic users like Harry Dresden
or Molly Carpenter to powerful supernatural creatures along the lines of Thomas Raith
, all in the same game, with all the players able to make a contribution.
Contemporary fantasy
Contemporary fantasy, also known as modern fantasy or indigenous fantasy, is a sub-genre of fantasy, set in the present day. It is perhaps most popular for its sub-genre, urban fantasy.-Definition and overview:...
/mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novels written by Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher is a New York Times Best Selling author most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also wrote the Codex Alera series. Butcher grew up as the only son of his parents, and has two older sisters. He currently lives in Independence with his wife, Shannon K...
.
He provides a first person narrative of each story from the point of view of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden
Harry Dresden
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a fictional detective and wizard. He was created by Jim Butcher and is the protagonist of the contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files. The series blends magic and hardboiled detective fiction...
, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Butcher's original proposed title for the first novel was "Semiautomagic", which sums up the series' balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. In an interview, he mentioned that the best short description of the series was "Dirty Harry Potter".
In 2007, a television series based on the novels
The Dresden Files (TV series)
The Dresden Files is an American television series based on the books by Jim Butcher. It premiered January 21, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States and on Space in Canada. It was picked up by Sky One in the UK and began airing on February 14, 2007.The series ran for a single season of...
aired for one season on the American Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
.
Plot
In the world of The Dresden Files, magicMagic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
is real, along with vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, spirits
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
, faeries
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
, werewolves
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
, and other mythical monsters. Harry Dresden works to protect the general public, who are ignorant of magic and the dark forces conspiring against them. This makes it difficult for Harry to get by as a working wizard and private eye. The Chicago PD
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
's Special Investigation unit, when led by Karrin Murphy
Karrin Murphy
Karrin Murphy is a major character in Jim Butcher's contemporary fantasy series, The Dresden Files. The character also appears as Connie Murphy in the television series based on the novels.- Background :...
, regularly employs Dresden as a consultant to help solve cases of a supernatural nature.
Organizations
In The Dresden Files universe, each species (humans, faeries, vampires, etc.) has its own political and societal rules, and organizations. The human wizards depend on the White Council, while faeries may belong to either the Summer or Winter courts, or they are Wyldfae, a group of faeries beholden to no court. Vampires may belong to a number of courts, be it the White Court (emotional/psychic predators, the Red Court(able to assume a "flesh mask", drink blood to feed, and the Black Court "not able to assume a "Flesh mask", can not go out into sunlight, drink blood to feed).Publishing history
Jim Butcher decided to become a professional author at the age of nineteen. Subsequently he wrote three novels within the fantasy genre and one which he has classified as paranormalParanormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
—books which the author has described as being "terrible". In 1996 he enrolled in a writing class where he was encouraged to write a novel similar to the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is the author of two series of stories. Hamilton is known for her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake series, featuring a professional zombie raiser/supernatural consultant for the police as the protagonist in a world where...
, rather than the more traditional high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
that had been his focus in the past, as Butcher had previously stated that he enjoyed the Anita Blake series. Despite initial resistance, he wrote the first book that semester, closely following the instructions of his teacher, author Deborah Chester
Deborah Chester
Deborah Chester is an American author of over 35 books, primarily science fiction and fantasy novels. She currently holds the John Crain Presidential Professorship at the University of Oklahoma, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses on writing style and structure in the Gaylord College...
.
The result was Semiautomagic, later to be retitled as Storm Front
Storm Front (novel)
Storm Front is a 2000 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard.-Plot Summary:...
. His writing teacher declared it to be publishable, and Butcher started hunting around to do just that.
Butcher failed to secure a publisher for two to three years. During this period he completed the second novel, Fool Moon
Fool Moon (novel)
Fool Moon is a 2001 contemporary fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the second novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.-Plot:...
, and had made significant progress on the third, Grave Peril
Grave Peril (novel)
Grave Peril is a 2001 contemporary fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the third novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.-Plot:...
. Deciding to focus on agents and editors who had already published similar novels, Butcher targeted Ricia Mainhardt, the agent representing Laurell Hamilton, and submitted a copy of his manuscript. It was not accepted. Finally, Jim Butcher met Laurell Hamilton at a convention, and was invited to lunch along with her agent (Mainhardt) and a second agent, Jennifer Jackson. Ricia Mainhardt agreed to represent him, and six months later The Dresden Files was sold to ROC, an imprint of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
.
The first volume, Storm Front, was released in 2000 in paperback; the next two novels in the series, Fool Moon and Grave Peril, were released shortly thereafter, in January and September 2001, also in paperback. Subsequent novels in the series have been published annually since then, with the most recent novel, Ghost Story, published July 2011. Omnibus editions have been released by the Science Fiction Book Club, with each of the four volumes reprinting two or three of the novels in the sequence.
The series' first six novels were originally only published as paperbacks, but in 2007 ROC changed its strategy and began to publish hardcover reprints of books one to six. Volume six, Blood Rites, was released in July 2007. From book seven onwards, each new book was directly published as hardcover and paperback both.
Orbit Books
Orbit Books
Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...
purchased the series for UK publication, and released the first novel, Storm Front in September 2005—five years after the initial US release. They then proceeded to publish two books per month. In November 2007, Orbit Books announced that they had purchased the rights to Changes, the twelfth novel, as well as the thirteenth Dresden novel, Ghost Story.
The first 12 volumes of The Dresden Files have been released as audio books narrated by James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
. The cover art for the series was created by Chris McGrath
Christian McGrath
Illustrator Christian McGrath has created the covers for all of the Menagerie books as well as all the books of The Dresden Files, thus far. He was born in the Bronx in 1972 and became interested in art and illustration as a small child...
. Per a release on Jim Butcher's website on June 27, 2011, he reported that, "due to personal reasons", James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
would be unable to voice "Ghost Story"; instead, the narration was performed by John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
.
Books in the series
All the books are published by ROC, an imprint of Penguin BooksPenguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. The Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) is reissuing the series in hardcover omnibus editions. So far, all of the audio books of The Dresden Files have been read by actor James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
, with the exception of Ghost Story, which was read by John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
. The first four are produced by Buzzy Multimedia Publishing. The fifth audio book Death Masks
Death Masks (novel)
Death Masks is a 2003 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the fifth novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard....
is produced by Penguin Audio
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
. The audio books for the remaining books of the Dresden Files were released in 2010 from Buzzy Multimedia with James Marsters reading. Proven Guilty and White Night were released in April 2009 alongside Turn Coat. Death Masks was released November 2009, and Blood Rites and Dead Beat were released April 2010. The next book in the series will be titled Cold Days, and the release date has not yet been confirmed.
Butcher is currently planning for approximately twenty books in the "case files" of the series, to be capped by a further "big apocalyptic trilogy".
At the Tyson's Corner Book Signing on August 1, 2011, Butcher hinted that the titles of the apocalyptic trilogy would be "Stars and Stones", "Hell's Bells", and "Empty Night", referring to curse words used by Harry and the White Court vampires, respectively.
Novelettes
Backup: A Story of the Dresden FilesBackup: A Story of the Dresden Files
Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files is a novelette set in The Dresden Files universe, Jim Butcher's continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. This book is unique in that the story is told from the of view of Thomas Raith, Dresden's older half-brother...
is a novelette set in the "Dresdenverse", but narrated by vampire Thomas Raith. In the novelette, Harry is in danger and is unaware of it, and Thomas runs interference for Harry, trying to protect Harry without his realizing it. The novelette was published on October 31, 2008 by Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction...
. It was also published in the novel of short stories, Side Jobs.
Short stories
- "Restoration of Faith" (short story)
- "Publicity and Advertising" (vignetteFlash fictionFlash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category...
) - "Something Borrowed" (short story), published in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (October 3, 20062006 in literatureThe year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...
, ISBN 0-312-34360-4) - "It's My Birthday, Too" (short story), published in Many Bloody Returns (September 4, 20072007 in literatureThe year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...
, ISBN 978-0-441-01522-1) - "Heorot" (short story), published in My Big Fat Supernatural HoneymoonMy Big Fat Supernatural HoneymoonMy Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, edited by P.N. Elrod, is the 2007 sequel to the 2006 book My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding. Honeymoon is an anthology of honeymoon stories contributed by several authors such as the author of the Otherworld series Kelley Armstrong, the author of The Morganville...
(December 26, 20072007 in literatureThe year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...
, ISBN 978-0312375041) - "Harry's Day Off" (short story), published in Blood Lite (October 21, 20082008 in literatureThe year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi , Jenny Uglow , Peter Vansittart and Debjani Chatterjee are all rewarded for "services to literature".*June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times...
, ISBN 1-4165-6783-6) - "The Warrior" (short story), published in Mean StreetsMean Streets (novel)Mean Streets is a 2009 anthology of four urban fantasy stories written by science fiction and fantasy authors featuring protagonists from their series.1) "The Warrior" featuring Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher...
(January 6, 20092009 in literatureThe year 2009 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*8 October - Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature....
, ISBN 978-0451462497) - "Last Call", published in Strange BrewStrange Brew (book)Strange Brew is an urban fantasy short story anthology, edited by P.N. Elrod. It reached the NYTimes extended bestseller list in July 2009.-Stories:#"Seeing Eye", by Patricia Briggs#"Last Call", by Jim Butcher#"Death Warmed Over", by Rachel Caine...
(July 7, 20092009 in literatureThe year 2009 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*8 October - Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature....
, ISBN 978-0312383367) - "AAAA Wizardry," published in Volume Two: Our World of The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game (June 15, 20102010 in literatureThe year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....
, ISBN 978-0977153480) - "Even Hand", published in Dark and Stormy Knights (July 20, 20102010 in literatureThe year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....
, ISBN 0312598343) - "Aftermath", published exclusively in Side JobsSide Jobs (novel)Side Jobs is an anthology book set in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series, an ongoing series about wizard detective Harry Dresden. It contains the following short stories:...
(October 26, 2010) - "Love Hurts", published in Songs of Love and Death (November 16, 2010, ISBN 1439150141)
- "Curses", published in Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy (July 5, 2011, ISBN 978-0312385248)
Butcher has also released all of his Dresden Files short stories except for Curses, AAA Wizardry and Even Hand in a single anthology, Side Jobs
Side Jobs (novel)
Side Jobs is an anthology book set in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series, an ongoing series about wizard detective Harry Dresden. It contains the following short stories:...
. He has promised that all of his shorter works will someday be available in a collected format.
Television
The Dresden Files was adapted to television in 2007 by the Sci-Fi ChannelSci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
, and was canceled after one season. The stated reason was that the Dresden Files was the "biggest screen failure" of all time, despite being rated third in its time slot and outrating every episode of the popular Battlestar Galactica with its bottle episode, "Things That Go Bump".
Graphic novels
In October 2007, Jim Butcher announced on his website that Dabel BrothersDabel Brothers Productions
Dabel Brothers Productions is a U.S. publishing company of comic books and graphic novels. It was founded in 2001 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia...
would be producing a Dresden Files graphic novel series:
"Working together with Dabel Brothers Productions, the Dresden Files are going to be translated into a graphic novel format. The current plan is to lay out the Dresden Files storyline at the rate of one of the novels every twelve to sixteen monthly issues, with occasional side-trips and independent stories thrown in. (Ever wonder what happened in Branson the month before Storm Front? How about what somebody saw in the lake in Minnesota between Storm Front and Fool Moon? Maybe I’ll get to tell those stories now! How cool is that?)
"I will be assisting with the writing of the comics, and am also involved in the design and approval of the characters, art, tone, and so on. This is an actual hand-in-hand project in which I have full creative input and influence, and I’m friggin’ giddy about it. I mean, come on! Comic books!"
The four-issue mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
called Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome to the Jungle (graphic novel)
Welcome to the Jungle is a 2008 hardback graphic novel written by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher and illustrated by Ardian Syaf. It was written as a prequel to Storm Front. It was nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Graphic Novel category.-Plot:A brutal mauling at Chicago’s...
, ran as a prequel to Storm Front
Storm Front (novel)
Storm Front is a 2000 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard.-Plot Summary:...
from early to mid 2008. A compilation of that run was released as a hardcover graphic novel in October 2008. Storm Front was announced as the next adaptation, by the same creative team. The first issue was released in November 2008. Welcome to the Jungle was nominated for the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
The Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
.
Midway through the production of Storm Front, the title changed hands from Dabel Brothers to Dynamite Entertainment, causing a long gap between issues #5 and #6. Artist Ardian Syaf left the project to work for DC, and Brett Booth was brought in to finish the graphic novel. Issue #6 was slated for May 2010.
List of Graphic novels
| No. | Title | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome to the Jungle Welcome to the Jungle (graphic novel) Welcome to the Jungle is a 2008 hardback graphic novel written by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher and illustrated by Ardian Syaf. It was written as a prequel to Storm Front. It was nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Graphic Novel category.-Plot:A brutal mauling at Chicago’s... (prequel to Storm Front Storm Front (novel) Storm Front is a 2000 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard.-Plot Summary:... ) |
October 2008 |
| 2 | Storm Front Storm Front (novel) Storm Front is a 2000 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard.-Plot Summary:... , Volume 1: The Gathering Storm |
June 2009 |
| 3 | Storm Front Storm Front (novel) Storm Front is a 2000 novel by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher. It is the first novel in The Dresden Files, his first published series that follows the character of Harry Dresden, professional wizard.-Plot Summary:... , Volume 2: Maelstrom |
February 2011 |
| 4 | Fool Moon Fool Moon (novel) Fool Moon is a 2001 contemporary fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the second novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.-Plot:... , Volume 1 |
November 2011 |
Roleplaying game
Jim Butcher has spoken openly about a pen and paper roleplaying game released in 2010 based on the Dresden Files universe. The game has been produced by Evil Hat ProductionsEvil Hat Productions
Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games. Chief among them is the free indie RPG, Fate, which has won numerous awards. In 2005, the company began producing a series of commercial role-playing games using an updated version of the FATE system, each focusing on a different...
.
In January 2008, the project went into an early alpha phase of testing, and was in various beta testing phases throughout 2009. Pre-orders were opened up on April 4, 2010, and include immediate access to the pre-print PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
, dubbed the "Early Bird" version. Evil Hat released the game between June 23–27, 2010, to coincide with Origins 2010. The RPG consists of two books, Volume One: Your Story, the core rule book, and Volume Two: Our World, a text describing the game universe. The game, which uses a modified version of the FATE system, emphasizes narrative structure over simulation of magical physics. It allows players to play a wide variety of characters, ranging from an ordinary humans such as Karrin Murphy
Karrin Murphy
Karrin Murphy is a major character in Jim Butcher's contemporary fantasy series, The Dresden Files. The character also appears as Connie Murphy in the television series based on the novels.- Background :...
or Gentleman Johnny Marcone to magic users like Harry Dresden
Harry Dresden
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a fictional detective and wizard. He was created by Jim Butcher and is the protagonist of the contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files. The series blends magic and hardboiled detective fiction...
or Molly Carpenter to powerful supernatural creatures along the lines of Thomas Raith
Thomas Raith
Thomas Raith is introduced as a vampire of the White Court in Grave Peril of the contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. It is revealed in Blood Rites that Thomas is the half brother of Harry Dresden, the protagonist of the series, and, until Changes, Harry's only known...
, all in the same game, with all the players able to make a contribution.
External links
- The Dresden Files Series at Jim ButcherJim ButcherJim Butcher is a New York Times Best Selling author most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also wrote the Codex Alera series. Butcher grew up as the only son of his parents, and has two older sisters. He currently lives in Independence with his wife, Shannon K...
's website - Buzzy Multimedia—Publishers of the audio books