First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher

First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher - 465 pages

For Gaius Octavian, life has been one long battle. Now, the end of all he fought for is close at hand. The brutal, dreaded Vord are on the march against Alera. And perhaps for the final time, Gaius Octavian and his legions must stand against the enemies of his people. And it will take all his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher

Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher - 386 pages

Tavi of Calderon, now recognized as Princeps Gaius Octavian and heir to the crown, has achieved a fragile alliance with Alera's oldest foes, the savage Canim. But when Tavi and his legions guide the Canim safely to their lands, his worst fears are realized.

The dreaded Vord - the enemy of Aleran and Cane alike - have spent the last three years laying waste to the Canim homeland. And when the Alerans are cut off from their ships, they find themselves with no choice but to fight shoulder to shoulder if they are to survive.

For a thousand years, Alera and her furies have withstood every enemy, and survived every foe.

The thousand years are over… 

Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher

Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher - 451 pages

After two years of bitter conflict with the hordes of invading Canim, Tavi of Calderon, now Captain of the First Aleran Legion, realizes that a peril far greater than the Canim exists--the mysterious threat that drove the savage Canim to flee their homeland. 

Now, Tavi must find a way to overcome the centuries-old animosities between Aleran and Cane if an alliance is to be forged against their mutual enemy. And he must lead his legion in defiance of the law, against friend and foe--or no one will have a chance of survival . . .

Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher

Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher - 442 pages

The power-hungry High Lord of Kalare has launched a rebellion against the aging First Lord, Gaius Sextus, who with the loyal forces of Alera must fight beside the unlikeliest of allies-the equally contentious High Lord of Aquitaine. 

Meanwhile, young Tavi of Calderon joins a newly formed legion under an assumed name even as the ruthless Kalare unites with the Canim, bestial enemies of the realm whose vast numbers spell certain doom for Alera. 

When treachery from within destroys the army's command structure, Tavi finds himself leading an inexperienced, poorly equipped legion-the only force standing between the Canim horde and the war-torn realm.

Academs Fury by Jim Butcher

Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher - 704 pages

For centuries, the people of Alera have relied on the power of the furies to protect them from outside invaders. But the gravest threat might be closer than they think.

Tavi has escaped the Calderon Valley and the mysterious attack of the Marat on his homeland. But he is far from safe, as trying to keep up the illusion of being a student while secretly training as one of the First Lord's spies is a dangerous game. And he has not yet learned to use the furies, making him especially vulnerable.

When the attack comes it's on two fronts. A sudden strike threatens the First Lord's life and threatens to plunge the land into civil war. While in the Calderon Valley, the threat faced from the Marat is dwarfed by an ancient menace. And Tavi must learn to harness the furies if he has any chance of fighting the greatest threat Alera has ever known . . .

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher - 504 pages

For a thousand years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive and threatening races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the furies - elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal. 

But now, Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, grows old and lacks an heir. Ambitious High Lords plot and maneuver to place their Houses in positions of power, and a war of succession looms on the horizon. 

Far from city politics in the Calderon Valley, the boy Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps. Yet as the Alerans' most savage enemy - the Marat - return to the Valley, he will discover that his destiny is much greater than he could ever imagine. 

Caught in a storm of deadly wind furies, Tavi saves the life of a runaway slave named Amara. But she is actually a spy for Gaius Sextus, sent to the Valley to gather intelligence on traitors to the Crown, who may be in league with the barbaric Marat horde. And when the Valley erupts in chaos - when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies - Amara will find Tavi's courage and resourcefulness to be a power greater than any fury - one that could turn the tides of war.

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

Brief Cases: More Stories from the Desden Files by Jim Butcher --- 437 pages, including brief introductions to each of the twelve stories.

Harry Dresden fans have been more-or-less-patiently waiting years now for the next Dresden novel, tentatively titled Peace Talks.  But in the meantime, Jim Butcher has produced this compilation of eleven previously published and one all new story with a common theme of parenthood connecting them.

This anthology includes Butcher's wonderful trio of "Bigfoot" stories, two stories centered on Harry's apprentice Molly Carpenter learning to cope without her mentor; and the best-for-last new story, "Zoo Day," told from multiple points of view as Harry tackles fatherhood up close and personal.

If you are a longtime Dreden fan, you'll enjoy these all over again; if you are just meeting Harry for the first time, it's an intriguing introduction to the life and times of Chicago's only professional consulting wizard.

Click HERE to see Jim Butcher answering questions at a recent book signing in NYC.

Click HERE to read a review from the Den of Geek blog.

Click HERE to read a review from the Hidden Cases blog

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

 Storm Front by Jim Butcher, 372 pages

For Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name...

**I tried this on a few Facebook friends' recommendations and it was ok. I'm not a huge science fiction fan so I had a hard time getting through all of the fairies and wizards. Won't continue the series, unfortunately. 

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

The Aeronaut's Windlass: The Cinder Spires Book One by Jim Butcher --- 630 pages

Jim Butcher, best-selling author of The Dresden Files Series and The Codex Alera Series now introduces his new series with a whopping big book in which he gives his own unique take on Steampunk, a gritty Victorian alternative technology genre. Only in Butcher's vision, the technology isn't steam but crystals, which channel etheric energies to power flying ships.

Due to some as yet unspecified catastrophe that has rendered the world lethally uninhabitable for humans, the Builders created the Spires, soaring towers of impregnable spirestone, which contain the Habbles or habitats shared by the sentient species of humans, warriorborn and cats.

I won't go into more detail than this in order to avoid spoilers. But if you are a fan of Butcher, or steampunk, or Horatio Hornblower, or cats, you will want to check out The Aeronaut's Windlass.

Click HERE to read a preview from tor.com

Click HERE to read a review from geeksofdoom.com

Click HERE to read a review from agentsofguard.com

Working for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher

Working for Bigfoot: Stories From the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher --- 129 pages

This collection of three novellas follows the story arc of Chicago wizard Harry Dresden's involvement with "Strength of a River in His Shoulders" and his half-human son, Irwin Pounder, as Irwin grows from child to young man dealing with the challenges of being a scion or child of half-human, half-supernatural blood.

The thread that ties the stories together is River Shoulders' reluctance to meet his son. He thinks by keeping away he is giving Irwin a chance for a better future, but Harry knows from his own experience what growing up without a father can do to a kid. It's that kind of subtext that makes the ongoing adventures of Harry Dresden something more than just another sex and sorcery series.

Click HERE to read a review from the San Francisco Book Review.

Click HERE to read a review from the fanzine sfsignal.com.

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Skin Game: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher --- 454 pages

This is the sixteenth book in Butcher's series about Chicago wizard Harry Dresden, and the series just keeps getting better.

Now Harry is back from the dead, he's the Warden of Devilspawn, a malevolent island hidden in the fogs of Lake Michigan. But as part of the desperate deal that he struck to save his daughter Maggie from the Red Court Vampires, Dresden is also the Winter Knight for Mab, the Faerie Queen of Air and Darkness. And Mab, devious and scheming and utterly without scruple, has just awarded her Knight's services to his worst enemy, Nicodemus Archleone, leader of the Black Denarians (Fallen Angels) to pay off a debt.

The ostensible job is to steal the Holy Grail from the Vaults of Hades, Lord of the Underworld but --- knowing Mab and knowing Nicodemus, Harry suspects there are multiple possibilities for doublecross involved and all of them aimed at him. Nicodemus and his crowd want Harry dead again, this time permanently, and as for Mab --- she wants him on her terms for as long as he lasts, and the life expectancy for Winter Knights is traditionally brutish and brief.

Harry worries what will happen if Mab succeeds in bending him to her will --- but as his friend Michael warns, what Harry really needs to worry about is what Mab will do to him if he doesn't bend.

One of the best urban fantasy series around. Jim Butcher lives in Independence MO. In addition to The Dresden Files Butcher is also the author of The Codex Alera fantasy series and is working on a new Steampunk trilogy The Cinder Spires (first volume tentatively scheduled for publication in 2015 --- fingers crossed).

Click HERE for an Youtube video of an interview with Butcher at Dragon.com last year, and click HERE for an interview on Ain't It Cool.com with Butcher where he talks about his endgame for Harry Dresden, his new steampunk series and his fascination with fantasy game-playing.

Strange Brew edited by P.N. Elrod

Strange Brew edited by P.N. Elrod, 371 pages

Since these are all short stories, to say anything would give too much away. So I'm just giving my impression of each:

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs -- excellent story and unusual twist. Loved the most with a witch and werewolf as the main characters.

Last Call by Jim Butcher --  completely lost.

Death Warmed Over  by Rachel Caine-- a whole new look at "raising the dead."

Vegas Odds by Karen Chance - my second favorite story in the book. Well written with a shock a the beginning, middle and the end.

Hectate's Golden Eye by P.N. Elrod - There is more than meets the "eye" in this story. It's up to a vampire to figure it out.

Bacon by Charlaine Harris - the title had  me curious until the end. Then it made perfect (and hilarious) sense.

Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter - lulled me to sleep.

Ginger by Caitlin Kittredge -- if you haven't read her stories, this is apparently a novella of one and you'd be completely lost like I was.

Dark Sins by  Jenna Maclaine -- A vampire witch but then something more.