Jim Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri. His birthday is October 26, 1971 and he is one of three children, with himself being the only boy. With the quick facts out of the way, we can get down to thanking the people we need to thank for his books, his family. Jims sisters, as recounted in the About the Author sections of his books, introduced him to both the Lord of the Rings and the Han Solo Adventures when he had taken ill with strep throat as a child. So ladies, let me thank you for not only setting a great author on the path but also for having impeccable taste.
Fast forwarding a few years Jim had made a number of attempts to break into the traditional fantasy genre. During these attempts he took some writing classes and in one of these he wrote the first book in The Dresden Files which was originally titled Semiautomagic. As an exercise! Prompted by his teacher and after much casting about for a publisher, we now have a monster of a series on our hands. Not one to forget his dreams though, Jim has also penned a traditional fantasy series; The Codex Alera.
The Dresden Files, for those of you who do not know, are an ongoing series about a professional wizard in modern-day Chicago. They came about from a fusion of the hard boiled detective genre and regular fantasy, when working on an exercise in a writing class. Since then they’ve been adapted into a television series, audio books, an upcoming rpg and two graphic novels. This reminds me, I really must buy the second. The Dresden Files book 12 “Changes” is slated for release in April of next year.
One new novel every year isn’t enough for some, and thankfully at the moment we actually get two. December sees the launch of First Lords Fury, Book 6 in the Codex Alera series. The Codex Alera follows the adventures and life of Tavi. From his simple life as an apprentice Shepard to … well it’s somewhat given away by the title. All in all a very enjoyable fantasy series.
Now then, time for a suggestion. If you fancy swords and sorcery, Codex Alera is best read in order, so go and grab a copy of Furies of Calderon. As for Harry Dresden, if you want a novel (sorry, couldn’t resist) way of breaking into the series, Storm Front is available as a paperback, an audio book and a brand spanking new comic.
Now this is the kind of literature I really like; breaking boundaries!
The first time you describe it to someone is always funny. “Wait..so he’s a wizard and a detective?”
I like Butcher’s stuff, but I’m glad he didn’t try to define the style as “wiztective”.
It’s a small internet all all. I just started watching the Dresden Files at Hulu.com last week end. Good stuff. Hulu.com is for people too lazy to watch T.V. I love it.
-NK
I’ve got them on dvd myself when Amazon had them too cheap to resist. However the books are different creatures and I’d have to say superior to the show. Even if it is entertaining in it’s own right. Still, your mileage may vary :)
I love Jim’s books. I can’t say if he’s my favorite writer, but he’s definitely in the top three. Not sure if anyone’s heard this story, but I was amused to find out that the Codex Alera series started out as a bet. Jim was trying to prove that a good storyteller could make an interesting story about even the most overused or lame ideas, you can hear him talk about it at a book signing in Dayton.