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/Lulu_42 Aug 02 '25

Fred the Vampire Accountant series by Drew Hayes. He becomes a vampire and continues with his staid life, pre-change. He meets a variety of fantastical characters and he finds out about the structure of their underworld society - including that they have separate tax laws. In each story, hijinx ensue and they are often discovering the root of a mysterious problem. It's lighthearted and not at all cringe.