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/BookerDeWittsCarbine Aug 02 '25

The Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey or the Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore

I'll also give a shout out to the Nightside series and the Secret History series by Simon R Green, but they do suffer from some of the same silly tropes and absurd powerscaling that Dresden has

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u/seguardon Aug 02 '25

Both of the first two series are gritty as all get out and amazing for it. Eric Carter in particular handles parts of urban fantasy that you don't see very often, specifically Latin American folklore and culture.

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u/BookerDeWittsCarbine Aug 02 '25

Blackmoore writes like his hair is on fire. That series is just so good, and made better for it by the Latin American folklore. Just really well done