Reading orders / The Dresden Files
The Dresden Files reading order
Publication order, starting with Storm Front. The series is heavily serialized from book four onward, so do not skip around.
- Storm Front2000
- Fool Moon2001
- Grave Peril2001Where the series finds its teeth.
- Summer Knight2002
- Death Masks2003
- Blood Rites2004
- Dead Beat2005
- Proven Guilty2006
- White Night2007
- Small Favor2008
- Turn Coat2009
- Changes2010Hard turn. Nothing is the same after this.
- Ghost Story2011
- Cold Days2012
- Skin Game2014
- Peace Talks2020
- Battle Ground2020One book split in two. Read immediately after Peace Talks.
Why the order is argued about
The honest warning is that books one and two are the weakest. They read like competent noir pastiche. Grave Peril is where the series becomes the thing people evangelize about.
Peace Talks and Battle Ground were written as a single novel and split by the publisher. Treat them as one book and do not stop between them.
Settling in for all 17? A page marker you do not mind losing track of helps. We like these the rest of the catalogue, and Jim Butcher's site is worth a look for release news.
Bookmarks for The Dresden Files
Picked to suit the series rather than the shelf.
Gothic wizard bookmark with glowing green…$8.99
Grim Reaper Bookmark - Handcrafted Gothic…$8.99 on EtsyQuestions readers ask
Can I skip the first two books?
You can start at Grave Peril, but book three leans on setup from one and two. Better to read fast than skip.
Where do the short story collections go?
Side Jobs after Changes, Brief Cases after Skin Game. Both are optional.
Is Battle Ground a separate book?
Technically yes, practically no. It is the second half of Peace Talks.