The Dresden Files
#694.26 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 18 books Status Ongoing 2000–present Reading commitment High Jim Butcher Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files is this database's first urban fantasy universe: a contemporary-set, first-person series narrated throughout by wizard-detective Harry Dresden, who investigates supernatural disturbances in present-day Chicago and consults for the police department's Special Investigations division. The setting layers real but hidden magic and paranormal creatures -- vampires, demons, faeries, werewolves and others -- onto ordinary Chicago and its surroundings, concealed by a supernatural "masquerade" maintained by rival factions, including the White Council of human wizards Dresden answers to. Distinct from Butcher's already-registered Codex Alera, it debuted with Storm Front in 2000 and remains ongoing, with 18 main-sequence novels published as of 2026, alongside a companion line of short fiction and graphic novels. A Sci-Fi Channel television adaptation ran for one season in 2007 before cancellation despite fan campaigns, and the franchise has since expanded into role-playing and card games; commentators have repeatedly cited the series as a common entry point into the modern urban fantasy genre.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (18 works) counts toward ranking
The Dresden Files Jim Butcher
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Storm Front | 2000 | 1 | core | 3.96 (391,310 ratings) |
 | Fool Moon | 2001 | 2 | core | 3.97 (218,406 ratings) |
 | Grave Peril | 2001 | 3 | core | 4.13 (183,962 ratings) |
 | Summer Knight | 2002 | 4 | core | 4.26 (166,003 ratings) |
 | Death Masks | 2003 | 5 | core | 4.29 (151,409 ratings) |
 | Blood Rites | 2004 | 6 | core | 4.29 (142,598 ratings) |
 | Dead Beat | 2005 | 7 | core | 4.41 (137,656 ratings) |
 | Proven Guilty | 2006 | 8 | core | 4.39 (132,128 ratings) |
 | White Night | 2007 | 9 | core | 4.38 (130,131 ratings) |
 | Small Favor | 2008 | 10 | core | 4.43 (119,910 ratings) |
 | Turn Coat | 2009 | 11 | core | 4.44 (114,782 ratings) |
 | Changes | 2010 | 12 | core | 4.51 (125,577 ratings) |
 | Ghost Story | 2011 | 13 | core | 4.24 (108,265 ratings) |
 | Cold Days | 2012 | 14 | core | 4.47 (108,976 ratings) |
 | Skin Game | 2014 | 15 | core | 4.56 (94,883 ratings) |
 | Peace Talks; Originally conceived as a single novel with Battle Ground; split in two by the publisher due to length. | 2020 | 16 | core | 4.23 (57,352 ratings) |
 | Battle Ground; Originally conceived as a single novel with Peace Talks; split in two by the publisher due to length. | 2020 | 17 | core | 4.43 (51,617 ratings) |
 | Twelve Months | 2026 | 18 | core | 4.50 (25,079 ratings) |
18-novel main sequence (2000-2026, ongoing), narrated throughout by wizard-detective Harry Dresden. Publication order equals in-story chronological order for the entire main sequence. Peace Talks and Battle Ground (both 2020) were originally written as a single novel that grew too long and was split into two by the publisher, released 2.5 months apart, a genuine bibliographic quirk, not a numbering error. A 19th novel (Mirror Mirror) is announced for 2027 but unpublished and is not registered.
Library / Expanded (4 works)
Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files (2010) ; Collection of ~12 short stories/novellas, each explicitly slotted into a specific gap between main-sequence novels through Changes, plus one story ('Aftermath') original to the collection. Classified Expanded, not Core, under the collection-as-Core exception: unlike Conan/Fafhrd/Witcher, these stories are interstitial supplementary material dependent on the novels' arcs, not an equally load-bearing primary reading unit.
Brief Cases (2018) ; Successor collection to Side Jobs, ~12 further interstitial short stories/novellas covering gaps through and after Skin Game. Classified Expanded for the same reason as Side Jobs. A 2019 Locus Award Best Collection finalist (9th place, reader poll).
Working for Bigfoot (2015) ; Slim collection of 3 River Shoulders/Irwin novellas, tangential to the main sequence. Classified Expanded for the same reason as Side Jobs/Brief Cases.
Paranormal Payback (2026) ; A themed multi-author urban-fantasy revenge anthology co-edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes (contributors include Holly Black, Kim Harrison, Kevin Hearne, Tanya Huff and others); contains one new Dresden Files story by Butcher, ‘Mister Petty’, featuring the recurring character Goodman Grey. Classified Expanded for the same reason as Side Jobs/Brief Cases/Working for Bigfoot: interstitial short fiction, not part of the main sequence.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Dresden Files? The Dresden Files's Core Canon is 18 books, plus 4 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Dresden Files? Publication order, starting with Storm Front. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Dresden Files finished? Ongoing (2000–present).
- How much reading does The Dresden Files take? High reading commitment (estimated from 18 Core Canon books · ~7,848 pages).
- How is The Dresden Files ranked? #69 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,460,044 reader ratings across 18 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #69?
Ranked #69 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.26 across 18 core books.
- Backed by 2.5M reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.96 to 4.56.
- 0.02 behind #68, Jim Button.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 18 books · Ongoing · 2.5M ratings · Ranks #69 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (18 Core Canon books)
- Storm Front (2000)
- Fool Moon (2001)
- Grave Peril (2001)
- Summer Knight (2002)
- Death Masks (2003)
- Blood Rites (2004)
- Dead Beat (2005)
- Proven Guilty (2006)
- White Night (2007)
- Small Favor (2008)
- Turn Coat (2009)
- Changes (2010)
- Ghost Story (2011)
- Cold Days (2012)
- Skin Game (2014)
- Battle Ground (2020)
- Peace Talks (2020)
- Twelve Months (2026)
Documented internal/story order
- Storm Front (2000)
- Fool Moon (2001)
- Grave Peril (2001)
- Summer Knight (2002)
- Death Masks (2003)
- Blood Rites (2004)
- Dead Beat (2005)
- Proven Guilty (2006)
- White Night (2007)
- Small Favor (2008)
- Turn Coat (2009)
- Changes (2010)
- Ghost Story (2011)
- Cold Days (2012)
- Skin Game (2014)
- Peace Talks (2020)
- Battle Ground (2020)
- Twelve Months (2026)
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2015: nominated: Skin Game; Did not win.
- Dragon Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2021: won: Battle Ground
- Locus Award (Best Collection), 2019: finalist: Brief Cases; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 9th.
- Compton Crook Award, 2001: nominated: Storm Front; Baltimore Science Fiction Society regional award for best first novel.
Related universes
- Same author The Codex Alera: Both by Jim Butcher. The Codex Alera is his separate epic-fantasy series, explicitly distinguished at both admissions from the urban-fantasy Dresden Files.
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Suggestions computed from what The Dresden Files and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Kate Daniels Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.35
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- The Iron Druid Chronicles Urban fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.21
- October Daye Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.20
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.26 across 2,460,044 ratings on 18 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Dresden Files admitted; Core Canon = 18-novel main sequence; comics excluded as a different medium accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: Core = the 18-novel main sequence (2000–2026, ongoing; publication order equals in-story order throughout). Expanded = 3 short-fiction collections (Side Jobs 2010, Brief Cases 2018, Working for Bigfoot 2015): classified Expanded rather than invoking the collection-as-Core exception, since these stories are explicitly interstitial, slotted into specific gaps between numbered novels and dependent on the novels' arcs, unlike Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, or The Witcher.