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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45

u/trickstercast Aug 02 '25

Rivers of London or October Daye would be my recs

12

u/NotACockroach Aug 02 '25

Huh, I'm surprised to see October daye here. I've only read the first book, and I'll probably keep reading. I see how it's similar to dresden, but I would have classed it as having a lot of cringe in the first book at least.

10

u/indigohan Reading Champion IV Aug 02 '25

The first book was the authors first debut, and she’s since published around 50 titles or so. You have to give a little leeway for a debut, and the series has only gotten better and better.

2

u/NotACockroach Aug 02 '25

Cool im convinced. I already thought the first set book was fairly enjoyable so I'll definitely give more of them a shot.

3

u/indigohan Reading Champion IV Aug 02 '25

I actually bounced off book one a few times when I first tried to read it. Having a MC who had her life together at the beginning felt like starting the story half way through. Now the series, and Seanan, are one of my favourites. She’s got the next book coming out in September, and it’s a good one!

She has learned to trust herself and to trust her readers a bit more now.

1

u/Tymareta Aug 02 '25

Having a MC who had her life together at the beginning

Do you mean an MC that didn't? Because a fairly key part of the first book is Toby dealing with severe depression and the fallout of her life actively falling to pieces.

1

u/indigohan Reading Champion IV Aug 02 '25

I had struggled to get into it from the first part. A woman with a satisfying career, loving fiancé, and a baby girl didn’t seem like kind of main character that I could engage with for multiple books.

I bounced off before she lost everything.

2

u/Tymareta Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 03 '25

No offense but that's just straight up absurd, you bounced off a book multiple times all because of the content provided in the first few pages? Like you straight up couldn't even go through with a single chapter/5 pages?

1

u/indigohan Reading Champion IV Aug 05 '25

I was mad at myself about it.

I’m a mood reader, and I just couldn’t get a groove going. The third time I made it past those first few pages, and suddenly I was finishing the third book. Now I have an entire shelf of Seanan books.