I really enjoyed the first book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, so when the second installment reached the top of my TBR pile, I wasn’t exactly heartbroken by the development. I read Fool Moon it in a couple of days, with considerable enthusiasm.
Was it as good as the first?
I would say it was close. That first book was a tough act to follow. But in this case, close is really, really good. The formula of a first-person, world-weary private detective (in this case a magical one) works for all kinds of books, and it works equally well in fantasy as it does in traditional noir. It’s just something fun to read…
This one, as the title suggests, is infested with werewolves. What sets this one apart from other werewolf tales is the sheer variety of types of werewolves found in the plot. Not content to have one kind, the book explores all the different ways people can become werewolves… and all the ways those different werewolves would act.
The action is nonstop, the formula of tossing the protagonist into ever-deeper amounts of trouble works well and, at the end of the day, Harry Dresden is a reasonably likable hero… even if he comes off as a little less tough and a little more whiny than my ideal noir private eye. Still, he’s a badass when he needs to be, which is what counts.
I will continue reading this series. It’s fun, it’s noir and it’s creative when it needs to be. What’s not to like?
Gustavo Bondoni’s latest novel is a dark historical fantasy entitled The Swords of Rasna, in which the Etruscan armies attempt to hold the Roman legions at bay… by any means necessary. You can check it out here.
Classically Educated 