The Dresden Files
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcherby Jim Butcher
Ranked 9 of 11 fantasy novel series by recommenders
Recommended as a long-running series that people say keeps getting better, though the early books are often called weak.
Recommended as a long-running series that people say keeps getting better, though the early books are often called weak.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Gets better as the series goes on
“The early books were particularly weak, but they grow and get better and better.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “Butcher has clearly become a better writer over time.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Long series still going strong
“Another good one is the Dresden Files series, which is 26 books in and still going strong.”
Comment from 6 Mar 2026 in “Mondrian Entered the Public Domain. The Estate Disagrees” Favourite series for a reader
“I think my favourite series, I'm a simple guy”
Comment from 28 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Early books are weak
“The early books were particularly weak, but they grow and get better and better.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Other fantasy novel series people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novel series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discworldby Terry Pratchett | 33 | 4 | 89% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Harry Potterby J.K. Rowling | 28 | 7 | 80% | 9 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| The Wheel of Timeby Robert Jordan | 20 | 10 | 67% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Stormlight Archiveby Brandon Sanderson | 12 | 1 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Dresden Filesby Jim ButcherThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Butcher has clearly become a better writer over time.”
“Another good one is the Dresden Files series, which is 26 books in and still going strong.”
“I think my favourite series, I'm a simple guy”
“The early books were particularly weak, but they grow and get better and better.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.