Hi again! So today I'm going to take a break from Magic to talk about one of my favorite long-running book series: The Dresden Files. The Dresden Files are an urban fantasy series revolving around Harry Dresden: a wizard turned private eye living in modern day Chicago.
There's two main things I love about this series: the worldbuilding/variety of fantasy elements, and the character development.
There are a very large number of fantasy creatures in the Dresden Files: vampires (white, red and black), the Fae (including pixies, goblins and the Winter and Summer queens and ladies), werewolves, and a plethora of others. These races are introduced throughout the books (of which there are currently fifteen), and are provided more in-depth character development as time goes on. Each race has a variety of customs, cultures, and political structures. It's a pretty complex fictional universe, especially given that the books take place in a major modern day city.
The character development in the books is also pretty impressive. There are several minor characters in the first few books that, later on, become major characters and forces to be reckoned with in their own rights. Waldo Butters is a medical examiner who loves polka and helps patch up Harry when he gets injured in battle. Later in the series, he becomes much more relevant, and develops into an interesting character who overcomes many of the weaknesses he had early on. The same can be said of many of the other minor characters, including a pack of college-age werewolves and a worn out cop who occasionaly works with Dresden on cases.
These books are pretty quick reads, but highly enjoyable. I've read the whole series three times, and each one only took me a few days - I enjoyed them so much I couldn't put them down.
That's all for now! See you next time!