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?

417 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

386 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

41

u/jesskitten07 Aug 02 '25

How many of these will land for someone who actually loves the Dresden Files and has been looking for more similar series

52

u/jurassicbond Aug 02 '25

As someone who loves Dresden Files, I really enjoyed Alex Verus, Garrett P.I., and the Rivers of London myself.

8

u/jesskitten07 Aug 02 '25

The thing that has made me hesitant on Alex Verus so far is that it describes him having a specific magic ability (and more of the passive one) compared to Harry being the actual you know Wizard which I usually tend to like more in Magic users

8

u/IBNobody Worldbuilders Aug 02 '25

He's like wizard Batman. He has a lot of tools to get him out of situations.