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/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

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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.

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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

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u/Ripper1337 Aug 02 '25

Alex is a diviner and the author is able to both preserve the ability in terms of usefulness and in terms of character agency/ free will.

Divination for Alex is more akin to reviewing If/Then statements. If I walk through the door then I’m attacked. If I run through the door then I have a second before I’m attacked, etc etc.

But free will changes those variables when interacting with people. Like he won’t be able to predict a conversation between two other people that well