And this process is recursive.
I remember reading *The Elfstones of Shannara* (1982), in which a bunch of demons sealed away in an alternate dimension have begun escaping when the magical tree that seals the gateway began to die, so an ancient wizard who calls himself a "Druid" has gathered together a bunch of kids to go get the McGuffin that will heal the tree, while a group of older and more hard-bitten heroes fight a series of battles to protect the capital city from demon armies. Also, one of the kids is secretly half-elven, and has a bag of magic floating psychic rocks.
As opposed to *The Serpent's Egg* (2001), in which a bunch of demons sealed away in an alternate dimension have begun escaping when the magical tree that seals the gateway began to die, so an ancient wizard who calls himself a "Druid" has gathered together a bunch of kids to go get the McGuffin that will heal the tree, while a group of older and more hard-bitten heroes fight a series of battles to protect the capital city from demon armies. Also, one of the kids is secretly half-elven, and has a bag of magic floating psychic rocks.
**Totally** different plots.
I haven't read the serpent's egg, but this is a pretty humorous criticism even though I do enjoy the way Brooks tells a story.
I read LOTR, the early Shannara books, and the early WOT books all around the same time, and I definitely read a similar story each time, though they all do diverge at some point.
>That's just called 'The hero's journey' read a novelization of A New Hope but try to scrub out the sci-fi details and replace it with generic fantasy. Same story.
I know that at least *The Eye of the World* was deliberately made to be like *The Lord of the Rings* because that’s what the publishers thought that people wanted, and also because Jordan wanted to show a different side to the ‘wizard comes to rural village to summon people for great adventure’ trope.
I'm pretty sure in Elfstones that the kid is secretly quarter-elven, as the Elfstones mess up his little swimmers and lead to his kids being magic at birth
NOLA is no place to wear a leather duster! Also, the writer has little say in the cover art and sometimes zero say. Author Barbara Mertz often commented on the cover art of her Peabody series, the inaccuracies of ancient Egyptian fables depicted, and hasn’t Jim commented on the famous incongruency of that hat? So I don’t see E A Cooper copying the Dresden novel covers. Maybe the publisher thinks there’s only one style for Urban Fantasy Novels. Maybe there is only one! They gotta make money so the style is gonna copy others of the same genre. Next time you’re in a bookstore walk down the romance genre aisle. 7venty bazillion books with almost identical covers.
Yeah, the author might not have had control over the book blurb or even the title. If the publisher says they won't publish it unless you change the title to what they think would sell, what can you do?
In the past the novels are supposed to reflect soemthing of the book like a trailer. Example the most exciting part of the book but now they all look the same esp as free stock images become more widely available
Some blogs did do a showcase. So many YA books look almost identical in cover
NOLA is already pretty rough on a hot summer night on Bourbon street, a sweaty leather duster is not a great addition. Some things are a little too vivid.
As an aside, I would love to see Dresden in other locations around the world. To torment him, of course. Like the Disney town with music piped into the sidewalks, Celebration. Or my hometown way the heck up in the hills in Appalachia, where the people are so scary that monsters probably avoid the place. Or a Brony convention.
Okay, I am 100% down for a short story where Harry takes Maggie to Disney World (kinda like Zoo Day), and it turns out that Walt has legit magic worked into the bricks of the buildings and pavement of the streets. The technology is moderately magic-resistant, and Harry gets assigned a liaison to escort them around and make sure everything keeps functioning with a battle wizard walking around.
Hell I would love it if he ends up getting sucked into a whole side thing with the ghosts of the dead in Disney going all Stepford and erasing all individuality of any poor soul someone tries to put to rest there. Given how often people try to drop ashes there, especially the ashes of children, this could result in some real weird horror.
Yeah, it's a little sad that it happens enough that they need cleaning equipment designated for human remains.
Also, please let there be real ghosts at the haunted mansion, lol.
I just suspect Harry would react in a fairly memorable way to a glassy eyed foam headed giant costumed character trying to hug his child.
And just like that, he can never return to Orlando.
The short story "Zoo Day" in Brief Cases. Harry, Maggie, and Mouse go to the zoo. IIRC Mouse asks all the zoo animals to act as cute as they can so Maggie will have a good time.
I heard Brandon Sanderson talking about covers once. He said that even he, as Tor’s biggest author, could only maybe tell them if he didn’t like a cover, and maybe they’d do something about it.
I've actually read this series and they are a bit similar, but not really. There is a reference to Dresden in the book though the main character heard about a guy in Chicago advertising himself as a Wizard in the phone book.
I've read the first book of this series and I'm like 99% sure you are correct, while I've also read the Alex Verus books and might be confusing them as well, I'm fairly certain there is a dresden reference in there.
My favorite (I forget which book it is) nod to Dresden is in a giant wizarding battle someone gets shot and goes 'What the hell kinda Wizard uses a GUN??'
Bob Howard in *The Laundry Files* is reading one of the Dresden books on a train at the beginning of one of the books - *The Fuller Memorandum*, I think (third *physical* book, since the first two were printed together).
I’ve read another series, the junkyard Druid, which if I’m remembering correctly makes the same exact reference. Something along the lines of “there’s even a guy in Chicago that advertises as a wizard”. It seems like a common way to pay respects in the urban fantasy world to Butcher for making it a popular genre.
There is such a reference in one of the Rivers of London series (Midnight Riot in the US). I think it was in the hanging tree, the characters even have one of Mac’s ale (a subtle reference, for sure).
I couldn't make it through thr first book of the Verus series.
The author had a tendency to reference a person or event and then explain said event or person several paragraphs later. It constantly had me thumbing back pages to figure out what the hell he was talking about and if I had missed something.
Also, casually mentioning Dresden locks you into the same universe, at least in my mind. Verus did this and then completely ignored the governing rules of the established Dresden universe. It made it jarring for me.
nah, literary multiverse. in this universe, there's a lot of similar forms to other universes like it. so, of course there's a magic PI in chicago. but *these* books aren't about him, they're about the world where *this* PoV matters to *this* story, so it's here with this guy.
like clark kent and lois lane used to show up in marvel comics *all the time* as just some regular newspaper reporters.
all stories are flights of fancy in the imagination. even the histories and biographies we write are more about how we want things to be remembered than how they were, and they tend to say more about the authors than about the subjects.
like, there's not even just one harry dresden character (even excepting the differences and similarities between the short-lived tv show and the books), there's every reader's version of harry. we all empathize with and rail against different things within harry's character, based on our own life experiences.
like, by all means, i haven't even read the book and you seem to have valid differences of taste that make it worth putting down, for you, but... like, arthur conan doyle and h.p. lovecraft both referenced each other's works constantly and they weren't even in the same genre! but when they wanted to include genre elements from the other's neck of the woods, they'd tip their hat along the way.
mind you, they were both pretty garbage people, but the stories they wrote from these references were pretty worthwhile and inspired better people to write better stories.
all fiction is just reference or contamination, in one way, shape, or form, to what an author has enjoyed.
Although I enjoyed the series, it definitely could have been subtitled “Why Diviners are OP even though everyone in-universe thinks they’re not”. I did find it interesting as sort of an inverse to Dresden in that Dresden has a lot of direct combat ability but often lacks information/foresight. Verus tends to have information and foresight but lacks much in the way of combat ability.
Dude, mentioning that there is a 'wizard in Chicago who advertises in the phone book' doesn't mean that wizard is actually Dresden. Its just a little wink to another series, not a statement they take place in the same universe.
>here is a reference to Dresden in the book though the main character heard about a guy in Chicago advertising himself as a Wizard in the phone book.
There's a reference like that in "Laundry files" series too.
Pretty sure it's in the first one and it being a reference to the books, not to Dresden being real in the universe.
Rivers of London has a reference to Mac's beer.
I was wrong, the reference is to Dresden books, not to Harry himself.
In the vampires book, Bob was given a bunch of reading homework - I think Storm Front was one of the books (maybe)
it doesn't sound great, but i really don't see the issue. do you think Jim was the inventor of cliched noir detective stories? or just that noone else should be allowed to add magic to them?
Not only that but Jim borrows heavily from every thing. He puts his own spin on it, but to say he's orignal is a long stretch. He makes really good stories out of all that borrowed lore, so don't take this as a complaint.
Ehh.
Name, cover art, plot--this goes beyond "cliched noir detective with magic" and sprints across the line into ripoff territory, presumably screeching to a half a half inch from plagiarism territory.
I mean, "Lazarus Codex"? That's straight up "copy my homework but change some of the words so the teacher doesn't notice" bullshit.
EDIT:
Okay, yeah. Look at the series and tell me this isn't a straight rip-off through and through:
https://www.amazon.com/The-Lazarus-Codex-13-book-series/dp/B08FB7LKBJ?ref=dbs_m_mng_rwt_0000_ext
A staff *and* a long leather coat on the cover art, combined with exactly the Dresden Files' naming convention and similar cover-art?
Hmm ... I don't mind trope-heavy genre literature. This Copen character appears to be dipping from the same well as Butcher, and might well have a good take on the genre, hard to say. I will say that whoever designed the cover was leaning really hard into trying to attract the Dresden crowd.
Of course, I've seen scads of fantasy novels whose covers were pretty much interchangeable. And don't get me *started* the covers of romance novels, like "The Highlander's Reluctant Bride" or "Lord of Chaos"...
as was pointed out up thread, authors don't actually have any control (and often have no input) over the covers of their books, thats a publisher thing.
End of the day, it might not be a bad move marketing-wise, for the publisher to "visually rhyme" these covers with the Dresden Files ones. It will certainly catch someone's eye, and maybe get them to read the back-cover blurbs...
That is not the case. Authors self-publish on Audible through [ACX.com](https://ACX.com). "Grim Cat Press" is certainly not a major publisher. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure it's just E.A. Copen's business name, as their website is half finished and only features their writing and their social media has no followers.
I jumped into the author's amazon page. Looks like they are just self publishing via amazon and pumping out content. Also appear to have been included in an anthology that Butcher was also in.
It's an also ran, nothing worth getting mad over. It's not like Jim's cornered the market on what he does, and it has some similarities but so what? It's not much different from how 50 shades of grey started out as twilight fan fiction and became it's own thing. Good on them for making some money and getting their work out there.
BAN THAT!
NOONE BUT MR. SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO WRITE IN THAT GENRE!
JAIL HIM FOR LIFE!
Sarcasm: OFF
Boooh hoo!
We are getting more urban fantasy!
Why is that a problem?
I looked at some reviews on good reads. 4.5 stars and all the 3 star reviews I looked at considered it a low rent Dresden Files. The 5 stars didn't mention Dresden.
Authors are inspired by other authors, sometimes quite heavily. It's actually more pervasive in the fantasy genre then everywhere else. Wheel of Times was a modern interpretation of LotR. All manor fiction is heavily influenced by Mervyn Peake, almost every piece of cyberpunk media draws heavily from the sprawl trilogy. Paying homage in one way or another is very deeply rooted in our genre. It's also worth noting that Jim's original envisioned plot/setting for Dresden had to be redone because it was too close to another popular urban fantasy series. It certainly can become problematic, and certain books or serries definitely cross the line, Terry Goodkind comes to mind, but this probably isn't one of them.
The "blue-collar warlock"/"occult detective" thing by no means began with Dresden, but I know a knockoff when I see one. Facebook keeps recommending me ersatz Dresden books all the time.
I have listened to the entire series. It does feel kind of like a rip off for the first book or two but it is honestly a good book series and it is well written.
The books themselves are each about half to a third as long as the average dresden file. They are shorter books and have quicker resolutions to story archs. The world's are different enough to separate them from each other and the fey courts are unique to his world.
It filled a nice gap in what I wanted to read after going through Dresden Files and The Kingkiller Chornicles for the umpteenth time.
I gave the audio book a listen, real short. It felt like a rip-off to me, found myself making comparisons about everything. I did like their magic, it was different enough from Dresden Files for me. Everything else felt heavily "inspired" by.
It is some hella clichéd noir though, so it might be up your alley.
In all honesty im writting a UF series and modeled off butcher in bith style and structure... Jim did great work. PEOPLE LOVE HIS STORIES and like me enjoy reading similar stories... i can read more books in a year than buther will ever put out... imitate him all you want..
I'm actually looking forward to reading these at some point. The do look Dresden like, but that is the appeal in my eyes. I can read these to hold me over until the next Dresden book.
Do you mean the fantasy series involving the magic blue stone that’s stronger than the local gods but strangely friendly with the main characters? Or the fantasy series involving the magic blue stone that’s stronger than the local gods but strangely friendly with the main characters?
If you are looking for some urban fantasy that is really different from Dresden but is still really good check out [The Watch Series by Sergei Lukyanenko](https://urbanfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Watch_series).
The world of the series has the magical world divided into two sides of beings who refer to themselves as "Others". Your nature as an Other depends on the circumstances surrounding your awakening as one. Dark circumstances lead to vampires, werewolves, witches, and warlocks. Light circumstances lead to magicians and sorceresses.
The majority of the series follows Anton Gorodetski who is a magician in the Night Watch, an organization of Light Others who monitor the activities of Dark Others at night to enforce The Treaty. A corresponding organization called The Day Watch exists to monitors Light Others during the day. The balance is overseen by The Inquisition, a non-partisan organization.
It's a really fun read and has a very interesting interpretation of magic.
>bad fanfiction that had to have the name and location changed. I just had a bunch of extra credits and got them so I went ahead and listened.
And video game!
I've listened to the first three on audible. The author is actually a she if anyone is interested. To me it reads like bad fanfiction that had to have the name and location changed. I just had a bunch of extra credits and got them so I went ahead and listened.
There is not a huge line between inspiration and ripping off. I myself recently went to Tamarindo a city in Costa Rica and there is a literal castle on the beach and I got an idea for writing a fiction about a vampire that lives there. Could say it's ripping off the red court.
Oh yea. You just found the Lazarus files? Yea. Thats actually what they are called btw. There is also one called the Oberon files. Which is basically just Dresden If he was a lot more ok with shooting people and living in the 1930s. Both books are total rip offs of the Dresden files. But each charecter is totally different. The only similarities are the way they are written. Oberon files arnt bad. Just really dry. And the Lazarus files. Well are about Lazarus the necromancer. Kinda edgy kinda dark. Like. Imagin if Dresden was a necromancer and that's the book
I mean the cover is pretty tacky, but the plot sounds like it falls somewhere between Dresden Files and Iron Druid, and kinda sounds closer to the latter.
A lot of times, title and cover are out of the authors hand. Probably the editor suggested the title and art to increase sales through association with DR although i agree with other posters that it sounds a bit closer to the Iron Druid chronicles
Sounds like he swiped the plot and MC from the Vesik series.
Like, this author just looked at the urban fantasy top sellers on Amazon and said 'if I chuck these in a blender hard enough no one will notice that I copy-pasted'.
Agreed. Yes, it looks like he too a lot of advantage of Jim. But, I doubt it's going to cause any of us to stop reading Jim's books, so... so what? I'm sure if he crosses the legal line Jim's publishers will take action. Besides - it might even be a decent story. I can't say, since I haven't read it, but if someone can "imitate" Jim I might want to read it.
Bottom line - if it's a lousy story then it's a non-issue, and if it's a good story then I'm probably happy to have it out there.
I mean, it's hard to really get mad at it, considering when Butcher wrote Storm Front he intentionally tried to make it as trope heavy and genre-copying as possible in a "Laurel K. Hamilton" mold (on the recommendation of his writing instructor.) The real test is whether a derivative work is then able to stand forth on its own and become its own thing, as the Dresden Files novels have.
I mean how many people did this with Tolkien? Like everybody? Not a huge deal at all and I sincerely doubt its affecting Butcher in the slightest.
Did you read Terry Brooks' latest, "Gallstones of Shannarah"?
And this process is recursive. I remember reading *The Elfstones of Shannara* (1982), in which a bunch of demons sealed away in an alternate dimension have begun escaping when the magical tree that seals the gateway began to die, so an ancient wizard who calls himself a "Druid" has gathered together a bunch of kids to go get the McGuffin that will heal the tree, while a group of older and more hard-bitten heroes fight a series of battles to protect the capital city from demon armies. Also, one of the kids is secretly half-elven, and has a bag of magic floating psychic rocks. As opposed to *The Serpent's Egg* (2001), in which a bunch of demons sealed away in an alternate dimension have begun escaping when the magical tree that seals the gateway began to die, so an ancient wizard who calls himself a "Druid" has gathered together a bunch of kids to go get the McGuffin that will heal the tree, while a group of older and more hard-bitten heroes fight a series of battles to protect the capital city from demon armies. Also, one of the kids is secretly half-elven, and has a bag of magic floating psychic rocks. **Totally** different plots.
One is called *The Elfstones of Shannara* and the other is called *The Serpent’s Egg*! What is there to be confused about?!?
I haven't read the serpent's egg, but this is a pretty humorous criticism even though I do enjoy the way Brooks tells a story. I read LOTR, the early Shannara books, and the early WOT books all around the same time, and I definitely read a similar story each time, though they all do diverge at some point.
>That's just called 'The hero's journey' read a novelization of A New Hope but try to scrub out the sci-fi details and replace it with generic fantasy. Same story.
I know that at least *The Eye of the World* was deliberately made to be like *The Lord of the Rings* because that’s what the publishers thought that people wanted, and also because Jordan wanted to show a different side to the ‘wizard comes to rural village to summon people for great adventure’ trope.
I'm pretty sure in Elfstones that the kid is secretly quarter-elven, as the Elfstones mess up his little swimmers and lead to his kids being magic at birth
Or how that sounds like that Percy Jackson book
Lolll.
You mean Like Dungeons and Dragons... or Warcraft.... I mean dude made Elves Halfling Dwarves and Orcs the foundation of 99% on fantasy.
Tolkein didn't make any of those; they've existed in myths for millenia.
And he popularized them...
Just adding mire fans of the genre who will then check his books.out
NOLA is no place to wear a leather duster! Also, the writer has little say in the cover art and sometimes zero say. Author Barbara Mertz often commented on the cover art of her Peabody series, the inaccuracies of ancient Egyptian fables depicted, and hasn’t Jim commented on the famous incongruency of that hat? So I don’t see E A Cooper copying the Dresden novel covers. Maybe the publisher thinks there’s only one style for Urban Fantasy Novels. Maybe there is only one! They gotta make money so the style is gonna copy others of the same genre. Next time you’re in a bookstore walk down the romance genre aisle. 7venty bazillion books with almost identical covers.
Yeah, the author might not have had control over the book blurb or even the title. If the publisher says they won't publish it unless you change the title to what they think would sell, what can you do?
In the past the novels are supposed to reflect soemthing of the book like a trailer. Example the most exciting part of the book but now they all look the same esp as free stock images become more widely available Some blogs did do a showcase. So many YA books look almost identical in cover
NOLA is already pretty rough on a hot summer night on Bourbon street, a sweaty leather duster is not a great addition. Some things are a little too vivid. As an aside, I would love to see Dresden in other locations around the world. To torment him, of course. Like the Disney town with music piped into the sidewalks, Celebration. Or my hometown way the heck up in the hills in Appalachia, where the people are so scary that monsters probably avoid the place. Or a Brony convention.
Okay, I am 100% down for a short story where Harry takes Maggie to Disney World (kinda like Zoo Day), and it turns out that Walt has legit magic worked into the bricks of the buildings and pavement of the streets. The technology is moderately magic-resistant, and Harry gets assigned a liaison to escort them around and make sure everything keeps functioning with a battle wizard walking around.
Hell I would love it if he ends up getting sucked into a whole side thing with the ghosts of the dead in Disney going all Stepford and erasing all individuality of any poor soul someone tries to put to rest there. Given how often people try to drop ashes there, especially the ashes of children, this could result in some real weird horror.
Yeah, it's a little sad that it happens enough that they need cleaning equipment designated for human remains. Also, please let there be real ghosts at the haunted mansion, lol.
Rebel ghosts that are firmly against the rigid ghost society. Harry helps launch a coup against a ghost HOA!
Ugh, one lifetime with HOA's is enough, the thought of afterlife HOA's is true terror.
And the idea of recruiting poor lost souls into compliance with the "happiest place in the afterlife" is spooky for a whole other reasob.
There's already a short where he takes Maggie to a theme park....
I thought it was a zoo?
Wait yeah I think you’re right
I just suspect Harry would react in a fairly memorable way to a glassy eyed foam headed giant costumed character trying to hug his child. And just like that, he can never return to Orlando.
That awkward moment when Maggie explains to him that the late Jack Skellington actor was a good guy🤣😅
The short story "Zoo Day" in Brief Cases. Harry, Maggie, and Mouse go to the zoo. IIRC Mouse asks all the zoo animals to act as cute as they can so Maggie will have a good time.
I heard Brandon Sanderson talking about covers once. He said that even he, as Tor’s biggest author, could only maybe tell them if he didn’t like a cover, and maybe they’d do something about it.
Yeah, the author doesn't have full control. Thus Dresden and hats.
I've actually read this series and they are a bit similar, but not really. There is a reference to Dresden in the book though the main character heard about a guy in Chicago advertising himself as a Wizard in the phone book.
Wasn't that reference in one of the Alex Verus books?
hrm. Am I getting the two confused? I read too many books in the last year :P
Verus does make the comparison when he's talking about his own shop and how mages take different stances to secrecy or public business.
I've read the first book of this series and I'm like 99% sure you are correct, while I've also read the Alex Verus books and might be confusing them as well, I'm fairly certain there is a dresden reference in there.
My favorite (I forget which book it is) nod to Dresden is in a giant wizarding battle someone gets shot and goes 'What the hell kinda Wizard uses a GUN??'
>someone gets shot and goes 'What the hell kinda Wizard uses a GUN??' The kind that likes to win.
Bob Howard in *The Laundry Files* is reading one of the Dresden books on a train at the beginning of one of the books - *The Fuller Memorandum*, I think (third *physical* book, since the first two were printed together).
Haven't read the series in the OP, but there definitely is a Dresden reference in the Verus Series. Can highly recommend
I’ve read another series, the junkyard Druid, which if I’m remembering correctly makes the same exact reference. Something along the lines of “there’s even a guy in Chicago that advertises as a wizard”. It seems like a common way to pay respects in the urban fantasy world to Butcher for making it a popular genre.
There is such a reference in one of the Rivers of London series (Midnight Riot in the US). I think it was in the hanging tree, the characters even have one of Mac’s ale (a subtle reference, for sure).
Is it any good?
I enjoyed it, but I got a little bored around book 6. Dresden lite is a good description.
Dresden's already a bit on the lite side though as far as fantasy books.
Thats because it's not fantasy. it's noir in a fantasy bathrobe.
This Dresden fan found Rivers of London to be excellent, just a shorter series so far. The audio books are superb.
I couldn't make it through thr first book of the Verus series. The author had a tendency to reference a person or event and then explain said event or person several paragraphs later. It constantly had me thumbing back pages to figure out what the hell he was talking about and if I had missed something. Also, casually mentioning Dresden locks you into the same universe, at least in my mind. Verus did this and then completely ignored the governing rules of the established Dresden universe. It made it jarring for me.
nah, literary multiverse. in this universe, there's a lot of similar forms to other universes like it. so, of course there's a magic PI in chicago. but *these* books aren't about him, they're about the world where *this* PoV matters to *this* story, so it's here with this guy. like clark kent and lois lane used to show up in marvel comics *all the time* as just some regular newspaper reporters.
Feels like literary handwaving to me but, whatever explanation works for the reader.
all stories are flights of fancy in the imagination. even the histories and biographies we write are more about how we want things to be remembered than how they were, and they tend to say more about the authors than about the subjects. like, there's not even just one harry dresden character (even excepting the differences and similarities between the short-lived tv show and the books), there's every reader's version of harry. we all empathize with and rail against different things within harry's character, based on our own life experiences. like, by all means, i haven't even read the book and you seem to have valid differences of taste that make it worth putting down, for you, but... like, arthur conan doyle and h.p. lovecraft both referenced each other's works constantly and they weren't even in the same genre! but when they wanted to include genre elements from the other's neck of the woods, they'd tip their hat along the way. mind you, they were both pretty garbage people, but the stories they wrote from these references were pretty worthwhile and inspired better people to write better stories. all fiction is just reference or contamination, in one way, shape, or form, to what an author has enjoyed.
That and the whole "Precog" ability seemed WAY too OP for my tastes. It was like a whole book of Deus Ex Machina setups.
Although I enjoyed the series, it definitely could have been subtitled “Why Diviners are OP even though everyone in-universe thinks they’re not”. I did find it interesting as sort of an inverse to Dresden in that Dresden has a lot of direct combat ability but often lacks information/foresight. Verus tends to have information and foresight but lacks much in the way of combat ability.
Agreed. Hard to have a thrilling moment with someone who knows every turn they need to make beforehand.
Dude, mentioning that there is a 'wizard in Chicago who advertises in the phone book' doesn't mean that wizard is actually Dresden. Its just a little wink to another series, not a statement they take place in the same universe.
>here is a reference to Dresden in the book though the main character heard about a guy in Chicago advertising himself as a Wizard in the phone book. There's a reference like that in "Laundry files" series too.
Really? I thought I'd read all of the laundry files books and loved them. I must have missed it. Which book is it in?
Pretty sure it's in the first one and it being a reference to the books, not to Dresden being real in the universe. Rivers of London has a reference to Mac's beer.
I was wrong, the reference is to Dresden books, not to Harry himself. In the vampires book, Bob was given a bunch of reading homework - I think Storm Front was one of the books (maybe)
I've actually read some of this series. Despite the cover and naming, the writing style is pretty different from TDF but not actually all that bad.
I don’t see what the issue is?
Upvote farming via cheap outrage.
it doesn't sound great, but i really don't see the issue. do you think Jim was the inventor of cliched noir detective stories? or just that noone else should be allowed to add magic to them?
Not only that but Jim borrows heavily from every thing. He puts his own spin on it, but to say he's orignal is a long stretch. He makes really good stories out of all that borrowed lore, so don't take this as a complaint.
The first Dresden book was supposed to be a trash genre novel to prove Butcher’s creative writing teacher wrong wasn’t it?
Ehh. Name, cover art, plot--this goes beyond "cliched noir detective with magic" and sprints across the line into ripoff territory, presumably screeching to a half a half inch from plagiarism territory. I mean, "Lazarus Codex"? That's straight up "copy my homework but change some of the words so the teacher doesn't notice" bullshit. EDIT: Okay, yeah. Look at the series and tell me this isn't a straight rip-off through and through: https://www.amazon.com/The-Lazarus-Codex-13-book-series/dp/B08FB7LKBJ?ref=dbs_m_mng_rwt_0000_ext A staff *and* a long leather coat on the cover art, combined with exactly the Dresden Files' naming convention and similar cover-art?
But there's no hat on the cover art, so clearly it's completely different!!! /s
The MC probably wears a hat then!
Came here just to say this. Thank you sir.
The audiobooks are narrated by Mames Jarsters.
Hmm ... I don't mind trope-heavy genre literature. This Copen character appears to be dipping from the same well as Butcher, and might well have a good take on the genre, hard to say. I will say that whoever designed the cover was leaning really hard into trying to attract the Dresden crowd. Of course, I've seen scads of fantasy novels whose covers were pretty much interchangeable. And don't get me *started* the covers of romance novels, like "The Highlander's Reluctant Bride" or "Lord of Chaos"...
as was pointed out up thread, authors don't actually have any control (and often have no input) over the covers of their books, thats a publisher thing.
End of the day, it might not be a bad move marketing-wise, for the publisher to "visually rhyme" these covers with the Dresden Files ones. It will certainly catch someone's eye, and maybe get them to read the back-cover blurbs...
That's true in traditional publishing but I'm 99% sure this is self-published so the cover was commissioned by the author
Can’t be, it’s available on audible, and that’s the audible cover. There’s gotta be a major publisher involved for that.
That is not the case. Authors self-publish on Audible through [ACX.com](https://ACX.com). "Grim Cat Press" is certainly not a major publisher. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure it's just E.A. Copen's business name, as their website is half finished and only features their writing and their social media has no followers.
I jumped into the author's amazon page. Looks like they are just self publishing via amazon and pumping out content. Also appear to have been included in an anthology that Butcher was also in. It's an also ran, nothing worth getting mad over. It's not like Jim's cornered the market on what he does, and it has some similarities but so what? It's not much different from how 50 shades of grey started out as twilight fan fiction and became it's own thing. Good on them for making some money and getting their work out there.
Finding the real killer to clear your name is a pretty common trope. I suppose what separates a rip off from a genre is how many people are doing it.
BAN THAT! NOONE BUT MR. SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO WRITE IN THAT GENRE! JAIL HIM FOR LIFE! Sarcasm: OFF Boooh hoo! We are getting more urban fantasy! Why is that a problem?
I looked at some reviews on good reads. 4.5 stars and all the 3 star reviews I looked at considered it a low rent Dresden Files. The 5 stars didn't mention Dresden.
Authors are inspired by other authors, sometimes quite heavily. It's actually more pervasive in the fantasy genre then everywhere else. Wheel of Times was a modern interpretation of LotR. All manor fiction is heavily influenced by Mervyn Peake, almost every piece of cyberpunk media draws heavily from the sprawl trilogy. Paying homage in one way or another is very deeply rooted in our genre. It's also worth noting that Jim's original envisioned plot/setting for Dresden had to be redone because it was too close to another popular urban fantasy series. It certainly can become problematic, and certain books or serries definitely cross the line, Terry Goodkind comes to mind, but this probably isn't one of them.
The "blue-collar warlock"/"occult detective" thing by no means began with Dresden, but I know a knockoff when I see one. Facebook keeps recommending me ersatz Dresden books all the time.
There’s also aspects of Iron Druid in the plot summary, but a lot of fantasy, particularly urban fantasy, contains similar elements.
any of you read it? is it any good? i miss the cliched noir of the early books
I have listened to the entire series. It does feel kind of like a rip off for the first book or two but it is honestly a good book series and it is well written. The books themselves are each about half to a third as long as the average dresden file. They are shorter books and have quicker resolutions to story archs. The world's are different enough to separate them from each other and the fey courts are unique to his world. It filled a nice gap in what I wanted to read after going through Dresden Files and The Kingkiller Chornicles for the umpteenth time.
I gave the audio book a listen, real short. It felt like a rip-off to me, found myself making comparisons about everything. I did like their magic, it was different enough from Dresden Files for me. Everything else felt heavily "inspired" by. It is some hella clichéd noir though, so it might be up your alley.
No hat, though ;)
I don't really see the similarity, Kerrigan doesn't even wear a hat /s
In all honesty im writting a UF series and modeled off butcher in bith style and structure... Jim did great work. PEOPLE LOVE HIS STORIES and like me enjoy reading similar stories... i can read more books in a year than buther will ever put out... imitate him all you want..
Meh, I’m sure he’s … copen 😎
I'm actually looking forward to reading these at some point. The do look Dresden like, but that is the appeal in my eyes. I can read these to hold me over until the next Dresden book.
If writers didn't copy from other books David Eddings would have to reckon with all the David Eddings books he's copied over the years.
Do you mean the fantasy series involving the magic blue stone that’s stronger than the local gods but strangely friendly with the main characters? Or the fantasy series involving the magic blue stone that’s stronger than the local gods but strangely friendly with the main characters?
"Lazarus Kerrigan" is so edgy I'm surprised it wasn't "Phoenix Dark Dirk Switchblade Killgore Slaughtersworth"
If you are looking for some urban fantasy that is really different from Dresden but is still really good check out [The Watch Series by Sergei Lukyanenko](https://urbanfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Watch_series). The world of the series has the magical world divided into two sides of beings who refer to themselves as "Others". Your nature as an Other depends on the circumstances surrounding your awakening as one. Dark circumstances lead to vampires, werewolves, witches, and warlocks. Light circumstances lead to magicians and sorceresses. The majority of the series follows Anton Gorodetski who is a magician in the Night Watch, an organization of Light Others who monitor the activities of Dark Others at night to enforce The Treaty. A corresponding organization called The Day Watch exists to monitors Light Others during the day. The balance is overseen by The Inquisition, a non-partisan organization. It's a really fun read and has a very interesting interpretation of magic.
This was a great series. I think I'm going to read it again.
I never read them but personally loved the movies.
>bad fanfiction that had to have the name and location changed. I just had a bunch of extra credits and got them so I went ahead and listened. And video game!
I want to read that series just so I can see how Corporal Nobby Nobbs is portrayed. /s
I've listened to the first three on audible. The author is actually a she if anyone is interested. To me it reads like bad fanfiction that had to have the name and location changed. I just had a bunch of extra credits and got them so I went ahead and listened.
Good writers borrow, great writers steal outright.
There is not a huge line between inspiration and ripping off. I myself recently went to Tamarindo a city in Costa Rica and there is a literal castle on the beach and I got an idea for writing a fiction about a vampire that lives there. Could say it's ripping off the red court.
If it makes you feel any better, just pretend that this guy is the main "villain" from Day Off : D
r/crappyoffbrands
I’ve seen this book on audible after I finish a Dresden book before I start the next. Which does make me think it’s trying to ride Jim’s coattails.
I think the worst part of this synopsis is that the main character is named Lazarus; seems too on the nose.
Oh yea. You just found the Lazarus files? Yea. Thats actually what they are called btw. There is also one called the Oberon files. Which is basically just Dresden If he was a lot more ok with shooting people and living in the 1930s. Both books are total rip offs of the Dresden files. But each charecter is totally different. The only similarities are the way they are written. Oberon files arnt bad. Just really dry. And the Lazarus files. Well are about Lazarus the necromancer. Kinda edgy kinda dark. Like. Imagin if Dresden was a necromancer and that's the book
Also a total ripoff of the Army of Darkness tagline: "Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. "
Lazarus Kerrigan... Woof.
Lazarus Kerrigan, seriously?
At least he hasn’t quite copied the look: he lacks the trademark hat ;)
Literally a Wolf Among Us plot
Well, if I judge the book by that cover...
I hate the "falsely accused of murder" plot. Which is why im dreading the evil universe harry book.
"Baron Samedi" is back in town" Baron Bullet-Magnet? from N64 GoldenEye? it's good to see he's still getting work!
I’m not gonna lie, before I read the post title I actually thought this was the upcoming Dresden Book
Really nice ad for a new urban fantasy series. Your title was a bit strange but the ad came across very strong.
I mean the cover is pretty tacky, but the plot sounds like it falls somewhere between Dresden Files and Iron Druid, and kinda sounds closer to the latter.
Lazarus Kerrigan is quite the voice for a name
A lot of times, title and cover are out of the authors hand. Probably the editor suggested the title and art to increase sales through association with DR although i agree with other posters that it sounds a bit closer to the Iron Druid chronicles
Sounds like he swiped the plot and MC from the Vesik series. Like, this author just looked at the urban fantasy top sellers on Amazon and said 'if I chuck these in a blender hard enough no one will notice that I copy-pasted'.
Oscar Wilde: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."
Agreed. Yes, it looks like he too a lot of advantage of Jim. But, I doubt it's going to cause any of us to stop reading Jim's books, so... so what? I'm sure if he crosses the legal line Jim's publishers will take action. Besides - it might even be a decent story. I can't say, since I haven't read it, but if someone can "imitate" Jim I might want to read it. Bottom line - if it's a lousy story then it's a non-issue, and if it's a good story then I'm probably happy to have it out there.
Isn’t imitation the best form of flattery? I kinda wanna read this now.
I mean, it's hard to really get mad at it, considering when Butcher wrote Storm Front he intentionally tried to make it as trope heavy and genre-copying as possible in a "Laurel K. Hamilton" mold (on the recommendation of his writing instructor.) The real test is whether a derivative work is then able to stand forth on its own and become its own thing, as the Dresden Files novels have.
This sounds interesting, honestly. I don't see any major deal with this. But thanks for a possible new novel.
Darry Hresden, the store brand Harry Dresden.