The Dresden Files: Storm Front, Vol. 2: Maelstrom By: Brett Booth, Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Ardian Syaf Series: The Dresden Files Book Number: 1.2 Star Rating: Sensuality Rating:

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Synopsis

In his latest case, Harry Dresden has been called in by the Chicago PD to help with the investigation of the gruesome double murder of a mob enforcer and a prostitute that was committed using black magic. Some think that Harry himself may have even done it. Because of an incident in his past, the White Council of wizards is keeping close tabs on him. If he violates any of the Seven Laws of Magic, he could instantly be sentenced to death, and their executioner is eagerly waiting to carry out their sentence. Somehow, Harry must find the real killer and prove how the murders were committed without setting off any alarm bells in the wizarding world. But in doing so, he may have to do things that will alienate his friend and may even cost him his life.

Review

Maelstrom is a graphic novel adaptation of the second half of Storm Front, the inaugural novel in the Dresden Files series. As with the first volume, The Gathering Storm, the book contains four sections, and each section was originally released in comic book format, then collected together into this one hardcover volume. At the end, there is also a bonus preview of the graphic novel adaptation of Fool Moon, which includes an excerpt and concept art.

Once again, I'm not going to review the overall story, because I've already written a review on the full-length novel version of Storm Front, a book that I very much enjoyed. Just like with The Gathering Storm, I thought the adaptation of the story was done extremely well, definitely hitting all the important plot points and staying true to the original source material. Again I would consider this book to be firmly in the adult graphic novel category as there is a fair bit of violence, some of which can get bloody and gory, both male and female nudity is depicted with the important parts strategically covered, and in two frames, a couple is seen in the background in the throes of passion. None of this bothered me, but since graphic novels tend to be popular with teens, I wanted to provide the information for those who might be concerned. My only small complaint is that this time, the illustrations were done by two different artists. I guess overall, I was generally satisfied with both artists' renderings. They each had something unique to offer, but I still have a bit of a preference for Ardian Syaf's work. Where I had a slight issue with it is that I found the switch in styles about halfway through the book a little jarring. I'm not sure why the book publishers did it this way, but I do wish they'd stuck with one artist for the entire series. Otherwise though, I thought it was an excellent graphic novel adaptation that I would definitely recommend.

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Jim Butcher