Digital Sextant

Storm Front bv Jim Butcher; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

For today’s double review, I thought I’d write about two texts I’d just finished, both of which I’m returning to.  Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a postmodern detective story with cool humor and wacky narration, a solid film.  Storm Front is Jim Butcher’s first book in the Dresden files.  It’s a rip-roaring hard-boiled detective story with great action and magical huju.  Spoilers ahead.

Storm Storm Bang Bang

Both stories take the hard-boiled detective genre and spring forward from it by relying on magics, be it from Hollywood or the Nevernever.  As with many stories in this genre, both narrators (named Harry) tell their stories with a world-weary edge; indeed, Downey Jr could easily have been cast as Dresden, excepting that he’s shorter than Dresden seems to be.  Both stories have villainous thugs and beatings, partners in detection who’re ignored and betrayed, people killed despite the detective’s best efforts, and a big shootout at the end.  Some more thoughts:

• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang‘s Harry observes that Johnny Gossamer stories always involve two mysteries, seemingly unconnected, which turn out to be the same case.  Of course, Storm Front turns on the same kind of dovetailing.
• Both texts result in a kind of disappointment.  While Butcher’s book started a long string of successful novels, the television show they spawned on SciFi failed to gain traction.  It’s a bummer, as I thought the show was pretty good.  In a similar way, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang did not gain the traction people thought it would.  Downey made a comeback anyhow, but for some reason the movie didn’t make it for him.

• One of the biggest differences in the stories has to do with the competence of the hero.  While Dresden plays a low-on-money fella with trouble over his head, just like Lockhart, the former actually wields a lot of competence that he draws on as he fights and stumbles his way through the story.  Lockhart just has gumption and a very helpful friend.
• The difference in their partners is pretty strong too — Lockhart relies very strongly on Perry, while Dresden does his best to keep Murphy out of the fight, as she hasn’t got the knowledge or skills to fight the forces at work.  Perhaps we could say Bob is a better analog for Perry, but Dresden uses Bob as a reference more than as a partner.

Overall, they’re both entertaining stories that twist the detective genre just a bit.  I enjoyed working my way through them again.