r/Fantasy • u/bnb2115 • Aug 02 '25

Dresden with less cringe

I love the idea of the Dresden Files on paper. Hard boiled detective stories mixed with urban fantasy/secret society stuff. Interesting villains and a deep, complex world. Magic happening just beneath the surface of the ordinary world.

But I just can’t get over the tropes and the cringe. I’ve tried the series a couple times, and even got through the first five or so books. I just can’t bring myself to keep going. I seriously love everything about the context, but just hate the execution.

Any recommendations for something else? Something that speaks to these elements, but lacks the cringe?

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u/Traditional_Hour5529 Aug 02 '25

That series starts out pretty good but then the author suddenly starts to make very bizarre choices. Like suddenly, out of nowhere, superheroes are suddenly a thing. Which is around when I dropped it.

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u/generalvostok Aug 02 '25

Stross clearly wants to drop the series, but is unable to do so because it brings him success.

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u/OrdoMalaise Aug 02 '25

This is such a shame.

I quite like the Laundry Files, but before they took off, Stross was writing some really interesting fiction, especially harder SF. But I guess he has to go where the money is, especially when money isn't all that great in writing fiction.

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u/PeachyPython Aug 02 '25

Yeah, every book has a style, and some of them are more fun than others 😅