The Dresden Files > DF Books

Alternatives While We Wait

<< < (4/9) > >>

LordDragonFire:
Try "Dead Man" by Domino Finn
"Strange Magic" by James A Hunter
"Fated" by Benedict Jacka

Those are all pretty good urban fantasy in my book!!

Nightfall:
<i>The Monster Hunter Files are a collection of stories by a whole bunch of really amazing authors, set in the Monster Hunter universe.  I think we got something like nine New York Times bestsellers in here.

There are stories from <b>Jim Butcher</b>, Faith Hunter, Jonathan Maberry, Jody Lynn Nye, John Ringo, Sarah Hoyt, Mike Kupari, Jessica Day George, John C. Wright, Maurice Broaddus, Brad Torgersen, Quincy Allen, Alex Shvartsman, Kim May, Steve Diamond, Julie Frost, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, and me.</i>
"Me" being Larry Correia

For that matter, the Monster Hunter series by Larry Correia Is good. Mercenaries who's job is to stamp out monster infestations, so much money per head (or whatever they use for one).

Also recommended, "Hard Magic" also by Larry Correia, the first book ends with a zeppelin boarding another zeppelin starting a pirate versus samurai and ninja plus magic fight Really, what more do you want?

Nightfall:
Somewhat less like Dresden alternatives, but good and at least somewhat like (some Dresden like elements):

The (only 4, so far) "Unexpected Enlightenment" books by L. Jagi Lamplighter. Rachel Griffin goes to college (at 13) to learn magic (easier when you have perfect memory), immediately runs into a murder plot which turns into a much bigger plot (sorta Dresden-like), and basically has more things happen in just her first five days (*whew*)  than even Harry Dresden usually sees. This has been described as "Harry Potter meets Narnia", but it is more than that, as you will see below.

This takes place at a Harry Potter type school, but the school seems more real than Potter, since it is based on a unique, real life college that the author went to, takes place on the real Roanoke Island (which, conveniently, no one is allowed to visit), has many critters taken from legends of the Hudson Highlands (as well as elsewhere), has a magic system much more well thought out and believable than in Harry Potter, and characters that are both unusual yet seem more real than seems possible, because they are taken from a very long role playing game the author played in, thus, they are real, or as real as the players were (the authors husband played Sigfried the Dragonslayer, who isn't exactly a dragonslayer, but you'll find out). After you read this, Potter books will seem dry and dull and not fleshed out (I tried the first Potter book after this, the movies are better).

Also, 3 books by John C. Wright (also known as Sigfried the Dragonslayer< husband of above author), "Daughter of Danger". A young women finds herself dead (usually not a good sign), and is hastily revived/resurrected, and is told the rush is because she is about to be killed again. She wakes up in a hospital with total amnesia, barely has time to discover she is wearing a magic ring, has yellow skin (Japanese), that she is not Japanese, and then two werewolves and a seven foot goat guy with a trident come in and try to kill her. She uses the kung fu she did not know she had, escapes, and now must find out who she is (little things like her name, who were those guys and why, how did I get to be a superhero, etc). To be followed by a book about her boyfriend (now fiance) called "Mad Scientists Apprentice". While testing his new spaceship, he sorta made a new crater in the moon, which he named (after her) Yummy Cutie crater, she told him NEVER to say that again.

Oh, and Lamplighter also wrote 3 books about Prospero's children, starting with Prospero Lost, kinda Dresden like, the 500 year old daughter of the Shakespeare wizard Prospero has to go and rescue him, picking up her siblings on the way to help, magic and mayhem follow. In some ways, it's like Skin Game.
 

wardenferry419:
Thank you. Good summaries, too.

Nightfall:
It was not the being dead that I minded, it was the hours.

That is the first line from a John C. Wright short story in The Book of Feasts and Seasons (short stories). The story can be described as Ghost Story like, but shorter (of course).

Gotta be the best opening line I have ever seen.

The series he wrote is:

Swan Nights Son, The Green Knights Squire book 1 (yes, that green knight)  a modern (older) teenage boy (and his, er, dog, who talks, well, to the boy, who speaks animal) discovers his never seen father is a knight of King Arthur (despite Arthur being, uh, mostly dead), with the court of the Elves (pretty much the same elves Dresden fans are used to), he is, uh, "trained" as a knight to start by a, er, unusual trainer, which works surprisingly well, has adventures many of which are surprisingly funny,  and things go on from there for 2 more books, followed by...

Daughter of Danger, book 1 of The Dark Avengers Sidekick, superhero'es sidekick wakes up in hospital with amnesia, picks up odd friends on way to learning who she is and whats up (such as a faerie who is cursed to always be happy and carefree regardless of the situation, and who naturally decides she wants to be a hard boiled detective type, despite being completely temperamentally unsuited to the job, she does surprisingly well despite her total naivety), three books.

To be followed by Mad Scientists Apprentice, 3 more books.

There is also, by the above author, SOMEWHITHER, an older teenage boy ends up in a parallel world (of several) which is the oddest most far out world the author thinks he can make believable. We are talking way out here, yet it works. Example, one of the worlds never had a Crucifixion, result, no crosses, result, it is overrun by vampires, makes sense, right? The author plans another book, but there is only the one right now, the next is in production.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page