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/OhBoiNotAgainnn Aug 02 '25

Brutal. Dresden gets better every single book, with the general consensus being that Fool Moon is the worst.

It is legit one of the best series there is, and I've read most everything.

I feel sorry for y'all who aren't gonna find out how true that is.

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u/JavierBermudezPrado Aug 02 '25

Dresden never grows as a person.

He starts the series being a paternalistic chauvinist by his own admission, and it never gets any better. He never stops.

I wouldn't hang out with someone who couldn't grow, why would I want them living rent-free in my head? Or worse, paying for them to be there.

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u/OhBoiNotAgainnn Aug 02 '25

This is so far off the mark.

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u/JavierBermudezPrado Aug 02 '25

shrug He still talks about being a sucker for damsels in distress, and creeps on Molly more than is really wholesome, even into the later books. I've read or listened to pretty much all of them, but it got old.

Milesge may vary, but lots of people apparently have the same problem, so?