A Beginner’s Guide to The Dresden Files

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is one of the most popular adult urban fantasy series out there, and there’s a good reason for that – these books are amazing! Before reading these books, I wasn’t sure if urban fantasy was a sub-genre I liked, having read some series I disliked, but I was quickly proven wrong.

Here is a beginner’s guide to The Dresden Files, so you can dive right in and enjoy this incredible series, without worrying about missing an entry or having no idea what you’re getting yourself in for!

Premise

This series follows Harry Dresden, the only Wizard in the phone book. He is a P.I. and consults with the police on crimes that look a little… supernatural.

As the books go along, the urban fantasy world of The Dresden Files grows with compexity and depth, with monsters, allies and events that will blow your mind. As so many people said to me when I started book 1, Storm Front, “just you wait until Changes“… they weren’t wrong!

Publications and Reading Order

There are currently 17 main books in The Dresden Files series, and these books in order are:

Storm Front (2000)
Fool Moon (2001)
Grave Peril (2001)
Summer Knight (2002)
Death Masks (2003)
Blood Rites (2004)
Dead Beat (2005)
Proven Guilty (2006)
White Night (2007)
Small Favor (2008)
Turn Coat (2009)
Changes (2010)
Ghost Story (2011)
Cold Days (2012)
Skin Game (2014)
Peace Talks (2020)
Battle Ground (2020)

A novella called The Law was released in 2022 which takes place after the events of Battle Ground.

There are also a few collections of short stories, including:

Side Jobs (2010) – Read this after Changes
Working for Bigfoot (2014) – Read this after Skin Game
Brief Cases (2018) – Read this after Working for Bigfoot

Upcoming Books

Two more books in The Dresden Files have been announced and given titles:

#18 – Twelve Months
#19 – Mirror Mirror

There will be 25 books in the series overall, “capped with a double-length apocalyptic trilogy” – so that’s very exciting! There is no better time to catch up with the series and excitedly await the latest releases.