Wizards Named Harry

There's just something about a hero who faces insurmountable odds that draws me into a story. Apparently, if you give him a magic wand or a staff, I'll read the entire series and be bereft when it ends. I fear that nothing will ever top J.K. Rowling's work, but Jim Butcher's Harry has instituted himself in my heart.

Harry Dresden has definite echoes of Harry Potter. He was orphaned, and he has a very small circle of friends. Okay-other than being a wizard-they don't have a great deal in common beyond those two details. And Butcher has written fifteen Harry Dresden books, with more to come.

But none of that explains why I so enjoy this character. If I'm going to "list" reasons, I'll have to start with his sense of humor. He generally quips when he's in dangerous situations, but even in casual conversation, you can expect a line like this: "Gandalf never had this kind of problem." In addition, Harry's friends always have his back, even when things are most desperate and he feels completely alone and isolated. None of us can ask for much more in life-that those who care about us always have our backs, or at least offer words of encouragement when most needed. Couple that with the thirty pound cat named Mister, and the mystical, giant foo dog Mouse, and I'm reading cover-to-cover as rapidly as possible.

I also love that Harry changes over the course of the series, and so do his friends. Butters is one of my favorite secondary characters. He is obviously terrified by the things he learns about the world, but he always throws himself into danger in order to help save his friends (and the world). No spoilers, but Butters becoming what he becomes in the last book is the most satisfying literary moment I've experienced in a long time.

At one point, I was disappointed with the seeming resolution of one storyline. It just didn't feel finished to me, and I kept expecting it to reappear. In Skin Game Butcher brought that storyline back in magnificent form. It explained an issue of seeming irrelevance that occurred over and over  in the last several books, and I was astounded by this author's planning and execution of the plot line.

Butcher published Skin Game, book 15, in 2014, and he's started a different series. I'm pleased to read anything he writes, but I'll be thrilled when he brings Harry and his friends back for the next installment.