What if Harry Potter was set in a noir-esque world of hard-boiled crime fiction? You’d have the Dresden Files, a series of novels by Jim Butcher.
Set in a modern-day Chicago, Harry Dresden is a private eye with magical powers. From Wikipedia: In the world of The Dresden Files, magic is real—as well as vampires, demons, spirits, faeries, werewolves, outsiders and other monsters—while the supernatural is widely discredited. Additionally, large portions of the globe (such as much of Central and South America) are largely under the control of supernatural factions. The White Council is an organization of human wizards, noted to wield significant economic power in the world, along with their supernatural power. Each species in the series (humans, faeries, vampires, etc.) has its own political and societal rules and organizations. The human wizards depend on the White Council, while faeries mostly belong to either of two Faerie Courts, or none at all (Wyldfae). Vampires belong to any of the four mentioned vampire courts. Other non-human creatures from a range of mythology make appearances.
He coordinates with a special division of the Chicago Police Deparment – think Law and Order: Special Magical Unit – who work on supernatural cases but come up with realistic, semi-plausible causes that the public can stomach. The head of that department is Karrin Murphy, who is his love interest and foil. She can hold her own with the magical world.
He’s the son of a real witch and a stage magician, and his grandfather is his Jedi-Master like mentor. His half-brother is a white court vampire – think succubus. There are also red court vampires – think Dracula, and black court – think the type that is always in the shape of a bat.
IF magic was real, I can absolutely see it working like it does in this series. No fluff is given, and real consequences play out. He works with Bob, a horny magical spirit who serves as his encyclopedia of magical things, and serves as a helper. He also has the help of a group of pixies, who help him in exchange for pizza.
There are all kinds of creatures that are given realistic roles in this world, while being grounded enough in reality.
This is a MUST for fans of detective fiction and magic. There are currently seventeen novels, two short story collections and plans for five more novels.
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