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The Dresden Files
''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/Mystery fiction, mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, ''Storm Front (The Dresden Files), Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are written as a first-person narrative from the perspective of private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago. Butcher's original proposed title for the first novel was ''Semiautomagic'', which sums up the series' balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. As of January 2024, Butcher has written 17 novels set in the ''Dresden Files'' universe, as well as a number of short stories (some of which are collected in the anthologies ''Side Jobs (anthology), Side Jobs'' and ''Brief Cases;'' others remain on his website). The series has also been released in audiobook format, mostly narrated by James Marsters. Oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary Fantasy literature, fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971. He is the youngest of three children, having two older sisters. He has one son, James J. Butcher, who is also a fantasy writer. Career While he was sick with strep throat as a child, Butcher's sisters introduced him to ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Han Solo Adventures'' novels to pass the time, beginning his fascination with fantasy and science fiction. As a teenager, he completed his first novel and set out to become a writer. After many unsuccessful attempts to enter the traditional fantasy genre (he cites J. R. R. Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander, and C. S. Lewis, among others, as major influences), he wrote the first book in ''The Dresden Files''—about a professional Wizard (fantasy), wizard, named Harry Dresden, in m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brief Cases
Besides the novels of ''The Dresden Files'', author Jim Butcher has written several shorter works appearing in the same universe. Most are told from the point of view of Harry Dresden, as are the novels, but some take the point of view of other characters. Works "Something Borrowed" While getting fitted for his role as best man to William Borden as the latter marries his long-time girlfriend Georgia, Harry Dresden discovers that Georgia has gone missing, and goes looking for her. With the help of Karrin Murphy, he manages to bring her back to the wedding, unconscious and under a spell, only to find that Jenny Greenteeth has taken Georgia's place at the wedding. Dresden manages to convince William to awake his rightful partner, to disastrous results for Jenny Greenteeth. Set between '' Dead Beat'' and '' Proven Guilty'', ''Something Borrowed'' was published in ''My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding'' (October 3, 2006, ). "It's My Birthday, Too" On Valentine's Day, Harry Dresden rem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wizard (fantasy)
A magician, also known as an archmage, mage, magus, magic-user, spellcaster, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices Magic in fiction, magic derived from supernatural, occult, or wikt:arcane, arcane sources. Magicians enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore, and are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games. Character archetypes People who work magic are called by several names in fantasy works, and terminology differs widely from one fantasy world to another. While derived from real-world vocabulary, the terms: ''magician'', ''mage'', ''magus'', ''enchanter/enchantress'', ''sorcerer/sorceress'', ''warlock'', ''witch'', and ''wizard'', each have different meanings depending upon context and the story in question. ''Archmage'' is used in fantasy works to indicate a powerful magician or a leader of magicians. Enchanters typically practice a type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads them to arrest criminals and enable them to be convicted in court. A detective may work for the police or Private investigator, privately. Overview Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is a licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, by examining and evaluating clues and personal records in order to uncover the identity and/or whereabouts of criminals. In some Police, police departments, a detective position is obtained by passing a written test after a person completes the requirements for being a police officer. In many other police systems, detectives are college graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed officers. Some argue that detectives do a compl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, municipal police department in the United States, behind the New York City Police Department. As of 2023 CPD had 11,703 sworn officers on duty, and in 2020 had more than 948 other employees. Tracing its roots to 1835, the Chicago Police Department is one of the oldest modern police departments in the world. The Chicago Police Department has both a past & recent-present history of police brutality, racial profiling, Police misconduct, misconduct and Police corruption, corruption, and at one point, Jon Burge, tortured multiple people in custody in the 1980s. In 2017, the United States Department of Justice, US Department of Justice criticized the department for poor training, lack of oversight, and repeated incidents of excessive force. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masquerade (trope)
A masquerade is a literary trope that is used to conceal the identity and certain characteristics of a figure. This concealment has the effect of highlighting some unique or noteworthy aspect of a character or situation, despite its suggested intention of subtlety. There exists the true nature of a character or situation alongside the image that is outwardly displayed and perceived by others in that universe, which can create a layered complexity that adds depth and dimension to the narrative. Common examples include preventing non-magic users from discovering the existence of magic in a setting, or hiding the existence of vampires or werewolves from most of humanity. The historical traces of this term extend deeply throughout history and its influence on the texts in which appears becomes increasingly more dynamic and a variety of genres take advantage of the masquerade trope. It's popularly employed in the fantasy and superhero genres, but there are other instances in which it c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction, often a bite or the occasional scratch from another werewolf, with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon. Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy, are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228). The werewolf is a widespread concept in European folklore, existing in many variants, which are related by a common development of a Christianization, Christian interpretation of underlying European folklore developed during the Middle Ages. From the early modern period, werewolf beliefs spread to the New World with colonialism. Belief in werewolves developed in parallel to the belief in Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy
A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic mythology, Celtic, Slavic paganism, Slavic, Germanic folklore, Germanic, and French folklore, French folklore), a form of Supernatural#Spirit, spirit, often with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian mythology, Christian tradition, as deities in Paganism, Pagan belief systems, as Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits of the dead, as Prehistory, prehistoric precursors to humans, or as spirits of nature. The label of ''fairy'' has at times applied only to specific Magic (su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in Kardecist spiritism, spiritism as a ''séance''. Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, haint, phantom, poltergeist, Shade (mythology), shade, specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon, and ghoul. The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of Spiritualism (beliefs), spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods which they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century. Vampiric entities have been Vampire folklore by region, recorded in cultures around the world; the term ''vampire'' was popularized in Western Europe after reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria of a pre-existing folk belief in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Eastern Europe that in some cases resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Local variants in Southeastern Europe were also known by different names, such as ''shtriga'' in Albanian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic (supernatural)
Magic, sometimes spelled magick, is the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed in the belief that they can manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces. It is a category into which have been placed various beliefs and practices sometimes considered separate from both religion and science. Connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history. Within Western culture, magic has been linked to ideas of the Other (philosophy), Other, foreignness, and primitivism; indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference" and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised groups of people. Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), a British occultist, defined "magick" as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", adding a 'k' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
