Actually he is a wizard/gumshoe with the kind of do-gooder streak that is a cinch to cause trouble. In this volume Dresden is trying to solve a serial killer problem which seems to involve several different kinds of werewolves. These range from nasty people who think they are wolves right up to the honest-to-God tear-you-and-all-your-friends-to-pieces loup-garou. Inevitably Harry goes into each struggle well armed with wands, charms, and even guns. And inevitably he drops or loses all of them. In fact your first warning that Harry is going to get flattened again is when he points his magic wand.

One of Harry's skills is the ability to alienate almost everyone. So this time Harry is not only dodging werewolves, he is also being chased by Chicago's number one gangster and all of the local FBI. Nor are the local cops fond of him. After the FBI manages to capture the loup-garou and lock him in a police holding tank, Harry manages to not get to the police station quite on time. Before Harry can do anything most of the occupants of the building are dead. What does Harry finally do? He blasts an invincible werewolf straight through the station's walls and several nearby buildings before setting him down so that the wolf can escape. Not too bright is our Harry.

Sooner or later you give up and start chuckling. Despite Harry's continual insistence that he is one of the 12 best wizards in the U.S., only the gangster really wants Harry on his side, and that's because he thinks Dresden would make good wolf bait. Which is a mistake. Harry's real talent is sheer unmitigated luck, without which he would be a wolf dropping somewhere in the Illinois woods. Everyone else, however, has to fend for themselves.

Despite my sarcasm, this isn't a bad book by a long shot. It just isn't quite what one is lead to expect by the cover. If you can handle occult slapstick and a bit of grim humor you will find "Fool Moon" great light reading. The plot is non-stop, Butcher's narrative abilities have improved, and the characterization is what you would expect from this kind of work. I wish Butcher has spent more time on Harry's oversexed skull assistant, but there's always the next volume for that.


A Wizard and the Wolves   August 22, 2007
 25 out of 26 found this review helpful

Fool Moon (2001) is the second urban fantasy novel in the Dresden Files series, following Storm Front. In the previous volume, Morgan rescued Harry from the burning house. Police caught the Beckitts trying to escape and charged them with drug distribution. The Varsity restaurant burned to the ground in a mysterious fire, but John Marcone didn't lose any money since the structure was fully insured.

Murphy was in critical condition for three days, but then had enough energy to throw Dresden's flowers into his face. Bob the Skull came home more or less within the twenty-four hour limit, but disavowed all knowledge of a very wild party at the University. Susan Rodriguez got a headline article in the Midwestern Arcane from her date with Harry.

In this novel, Kim Delaney tries to learn about a particular arcane protective circle from Harry, but he refuses to tell her how to raise the circle. The spell is very difficult to do correctly. After Kim leaves in a huff, Karrin Murphy comes to take him to a murder scene with preternatural associations.

The moon is full and one of Marcone's bodyguards has been ripped up by a wolf-like creature within the newly reconstructed Varsity restaurant. There have been other similar crimes during the time of the full moon in the past month. The crime lab believes that someone is faking such kills using knives shaped like teeth, but Special Investigations is not sure. Harry checks the latest crime scene and purloins a bloody piece of glass. He tells Murphy that he is not well informed on werewolves and other such monsters, but will prepare a report for her by the next morning.

As they are leaving, FBI Agent Denton arrives with three more agents and disputes Murphy's right to be on the crime scene. Then Agent Benn tries to sucker punch Murphy and gets slammed into a wall for her misbehavior. The agent then takes a shot at Karrin. Things get very hot for a while before Murphy walks away from the scene, taking Harry with her.

Murphy drives Harry back to McAnally's pub and drops him off near the Blue Beetle. Harry performs a little bit of thaumaturgy and uses the blood off the window glass to make a homing compass. He then follows the path of car that had followed them from the Varsity. Inside an old, abandoned department store, Dresden followed the compass to a meeting of young geeks.

An older woman joins the group and the compass points toward her. She soon senses the wizard's presence and kills the lights. Harry follows the sound of the departing group, but is bowled over by a large, furry animal. He gets one good whack on the beast with his blasting rod, but the thing tears the rod from his hand and tosses it away.

Murphy is waiting out back of the department store when he finds his way outside. She had turned the tables on the driver of the car following them, tailing the car to the back parking lot. Still, the kids and the furry beast are gone.

In this story, Kim Delaney is found dead outside a protective circle that had been broken from within by a wolf-like creature. Murphy is very upset with Harry since she knows that he has talked to Kim about that specific circle. Harry tries to explain, but can't help feeling guilty over Kim's death.

Bob gives Harry a briefing on wolf-like preternatural creatures. He states that there are several kinds, most of which are not much like the popular perception of werewolves. The Loup-Garou are the most like movie werewolves, cursed to change to wolf-form during the full moon and susceptible to certain types of silver bullets.

However, other wolf-like creatures -- e.g., werewolves, hexanwolves and lycanthropes -- are not especially susceptible to silver bullets and can be damaged by normal weapons, yet they usually heal more quickly. Werewolves and hexanwolves are not limited to the full moon, but can turn at any time. Lycanthropes only have the souls of wolves and cannot change shape at all.

Needless to say, Harry soon runs into all kinds of wolf-forms. At least the werewolves are not after his blood. And one wolf-form is not exactly a werewolf.

This story is another rush of action, blood and sleep-deprivation. The Special Investigations building will never be the same. Of course, Harry saves the day, but at a cost to himself and others. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Butcher fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of supernatural and preternatural creatures, magical powers, and a stubborn wizard.

-Arthur W. Jordin


A Wizard Named Harry & A Special Investigation Unit   March 12, 2002
 24 out of 30 found this review helpful

Well, not exactly the wizard at the top of the children's reading list - closer to X-Files with a bit of humor. However, this is an imaginative spin on the ever after battle of good vs. evil, with the wizard Harry Dresden (who isn't really 'nother one Harry grown up). Unique and darkly magical, the author
obviously has a grand time weaving a scary spell of a story, having license to throw in ... unexpected elements. Harry Dresden walks a fine line between the Nevernever and the criminal

side of Chicago, practicing his idiosyncratic magical talents within the boundaries and principles of each world. Will he forfeit his own mortality for the greater good? Humorous or seriously scary, the adventures of this wizard named Harry are close enough to life to make you wonder at times. Haphazard and hard on electronics, Harry has issues with cars, computers, as well as a fat cat named Mister (that the author gets Just Right with the "mrow" and the wizard tumping shoulder butt) and a nasty minded skull named Bob. Alchemy and potions, demons and handcuffs, maybe a little too much - but clever. I enjoyed it and look forward to Fool Moon.


Cry Wolf   February 9, 2001
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

There are many kinds of wolves in the world, and not all of them are human. Not even those that walk on two legs.

Someone, someTHING, is shredding people in Chicago, leaving behind huge doggy footprints painted in the blood of the victims. Oh, and of course, it's round about full moon time. Reluctantly Karrin Murphy, Director of Special Investigations for the Chicago P.D., has had to call in Harry Dresden, professional wizard. Not that she trusts him much anymore after the way he left her hanging the last time they worked together. But he's the only with the knowledge and special skills she'll need if she has to deal with a werewolf on the loose.

In this second volume of his exciting new "Dresden Files" series, Jim Butcher has packaged up another action-filled detective story with a mystical twist. Like any good gumshoe thriller, "Fool Moon" has a plot full of peril, false leads, near misses, and all the usual (and unusual) suspects. Like any good fantasy tale, it has a believable, well-developed mythology. The reader comes away with an arcane education--werewolf lore, potion-cooking, demon-summoning. As narrator, Harry Dresden lets his audience in on all the little trade secrets of the practicing mage. Now, if only he could learn to be so candid with his colleagues and friends....

In the final analysis, "Fool Moon" is more about learning to trust than about foiling werewolves, more about self discovery than arcane knowledge, more about the demons in Harry's heart than those in his summoning circle. In other words, it is about Harry Dresden himself, a hero of pure intention, tremendous power, and courage in the face of unspeakable danger, who just happens to be afraid to meet his own eyes in the mirror. He infers the blackness of his own soul from the reactions of others brash or foolish enough to meet his gaze. And he fears that the kind of knowledge that has so blackened him will be at least as destructive to others. Harry's struggle to come to terms with himself and those he cares about, his faltering advances and all-too-frequent backslides, are what really keep the reader turning the pages. They are also what keep Harry half a step behind the villains until it is almost too late.

If you like action, mystery, magic, or just watching the growth of a compelling character, you'll want to read "Fool Moon."


so well constructed, so fun to read, a real nail biter   August 3, 2006
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

I liked Storm Front well enough that it didn't take a lot of convincing to get Fool Moon, too - I do remember, however, that somebody told me that the series gets better with each new installment and so I opened up #2 in the Dresden Files ready to do a comparative analysis.

And it really is better. The voice is stronger, the difficulties more insurmountable, every last character is human, the setting of Chicago and the description of the magic are equally palpable.

Butcher maintains a pitch of tension throughout the novel which is positively excruciating. You know how in most books the tension builds and builds and then things come to a head, there's a climax, then a nice neat denoument? Fool Moon hits the crisis point at about page 10 and stays that way until the bitter end. It's incredible.

Plus, Butcher hasn't at all lost his sense of the absurd. Dresden's outfits are even more ridiculous than in Storm Front (which sounds impossible enough already) and the book is peppered with witty banter throughout.

Lastly, and maybe this is just me, but there's something kind of touching about a male author who writes these books in the first person about a tough old dude who has feelings and notices a girl's haircut. It's sweet.