In an effort to make this column useful to a wide variety of readers, I sometimes force myself to read outside of my comfort zone. I did that this week when I read "Dead Beat: A Novel of the Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher. "Dead Beat" is considered fantasy/horror fiction. The Dresden Files series relates the adventures of Harry Dresden, a wizard, whose territory is Chicago. Harry normally partners with human Karrin Murphy, head of the Chicago PD’s Special Investigations department. Although the Chicago police department does not officially recognize the supernatural, the Special Investigations unit was organized to deal with "strange" cases. (Sounds a little bit like the "X-Files".) Karrin is not an actively involved character in this book; however, a vile vampire threatens to destroy Karrrin’s reputation unless Harry helps find a book of magic. The city then begins erupting with a variety of vampires, faeries, wizards, ghosts, ghouls, necromancers and zombies. Most of them are not in town for a good purpose.

Harry Dresden is a good wizard. He sometimes skirts the line between white and black magic, but he basically tries to do what is right. Although he denies it, he has a more than professional interest in his partner, Karrin. When she leaves for a romantic weekend with a "less than human" human, Harry must defend her against the blackmail attempt by the vampire Marva. To save Karrin’s reputation, Harry is forced to deliver "The Word of Kemmler" to Marva by Halloween. Harry hasn’t the slightest idea what "The Word of Kemmler" is, but the quest for it is a journey that brings Harry in contact with some very bad supernatural dudes—necromancers. (Necromancers conjure the spirits of the dead to influence the course of events.) If this book falls into the wrong hands (and there are plenty of them around), it is BIG trouble for Chicago as well as the rest of the world.

Although not my favorite type of literature, "Dead Beat" has a tongue-in-cheek quality that makes it fun to read. It is not to be taken seriously. A few examples illustrate the "off the wall" tone of the book. To aid him in his struggles Harry has his vampire brother, a gang of friendly werewolves, his dog Mouse, and a cowardly, polka-loving mortician. Harry’s brother Thomas, the vampire, is such an Adonis that women can’t resist tearing his clothes off of him even in meat freezers. Butters, the mortician, is a one-man polka band who overcomes his terror of ghouls by shrieking over and over, "Polka will never die! Polka will never die!" Finally, in his fight to overcome the forces of evil, Harry revives the spirit of the Tyrannosaurus Sue and rides her into battle. Maybe not for everyone, but fans of fantasy and horror should enjoy "Dead Beat".

OTHER NEW FANTASY FICTION AT THE LIBRARY:

"Lord of the Libraries" by Mel Odom. Odom is the author of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series. In this book it is a lowly, librarian who is the only hope for enlightenment and salvation. (Isn’t that always the way it is?)

"Blood of the Heroes" by Steve White. A time-travel adventure, Jason Thanou and friends are transported to the Aegean Bronze Age where they discover that the Greek gods and heroes were real.

"Olympos" by Dan Simmons. Olympos is a sequel to "Ilium" which was nominated for the Hugo Award given to a science fiction book. "Post Humans" on top of the Olympos Mons on Mars re-stage the Trojan War for their own amusement.

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