18 thoughts on “Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files: Reading Order”

1. Kim July 11, 2017 at 12:19 pm

   Thanks for this list! I wanted to read the series in chronological order but it’s hard to find lists that organize them and include the comics and short stories. The only issue is Dog Men. It’s after Wild Card, isn’t it? One of the things I’ve seen from it has Harry having a nightmare about Puck, the villain from Wild Card. Unless he’s started having prophetic dreams, Dog Men’s place in this list is wrong.

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   1. Mark Andre Alexander Post authorJuly 11, 2017 at 4:00 pm

      Ah yes. Even though more than one review places it after White Night and Down Town, the content clearly places it after Wild Card. Thanks for the heads up!

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2. Melody January 11, 2021 at 1:47 pm

   Vignettes is not in Side Jobs. It is on Butchers website.

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3. Mark Post authorJanuary 11, 2021 at 1:53 pm

   It’s in my copy of Side Jobs. Just checked.

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   1. Sean August 11, 2022 at 3:03 pm

      AAAA Wizardry takes place after White Night not Proven Guilty.

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4. Gage April 21, 2021 at 3:19 pm

   Will the Dresden Files end after Empty Night?

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5. Mark April 21, 2021 at 6:01 pm

   Jim still has a non-Dresden epic fantasy to write, so I suspect that will be the end.

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   1. Gage April 22, 2021 at 12:37 pm

      Thank you.

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6. Sheri Simms June 26, 2021 at 5:26 am

   AAAA Wizardry comes after White Night, because the case cited came from the Paranet, which was established by Elaine, in the wake of the events in White Night. Jim made a mistake, in the intro to the story in Brief Cases. He said it came after Proven Guilty, but that was incorrect. In fact, it had to take place more than a year after White Night, because Dresden says the Paranet had been around for a year by the time he got that case.

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7. Dustin August 5, 2021 at 6:54 pm

   I’m just getting started on my first read through the series. Just finished Fool Moon.

   I am wondering if I should read in chronological order or release order. Noting the mysteries and questions being set up, I don’t want to go chronological if the shorts clue me in to something. Kinda like how watching Star Wars chronologically ruins some major plot points/twists in the original trilogy.

   Readers who have read before me, what do you recommend?

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8. Mark August 5, 2021 at 7:36 pm

   I’d say stick to the books first in order. Do the short stories next.

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   1. Dustin August 6, 2021 at 8:18 am

      Thank you.

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   2. Kyleigh May 21, 2022 at 9:28 am

      I’m of two minds about it. It’s easier to understand the little references to other cases if you go through the series with the short stories included. However, this world has SO much content that it begs to be re-read or listened to at least once more through. If you want to just do the books first, then I recommend the books and stories on your next go-round with the series to enrich the world.

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9. Kyleigh May 21, 2022 at 9:25 am

   Thank you for compiling this! I like the idea of “Vignette” as a flashback in the order where it is, but I’ve also enjoyed it when I put it between “A Restoration of Faith” and “Storm Front”. Just a recommendation if someone wants to try something new!

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10. Susan July 15, 2022 at 12:41 pm

    Thank you for this comprehensive list, Mark. It’s helping me to get my “library” in order. Can you post a Legend for what your various notations (bold, in quotes, blue, etc.) mean? Would also love your recommendation(s) for where to obtain the graphic novels I’m missing. I’m always glad to meet fellow Dresden-verse lovers . . . good job!

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11. Ryuugious Fan October 18, 2023 at 12:32 pm

    A thousand thanks for the comprehensive list! One minor correction, Mirror Mirror will come after Twelve Months, not Body Slam. The interview on the Legendarium podcast (where “Twelve Months” was first announced) hints at this order, when Jim is asked about answers to questions raised in Battle Ground:

    Q: So I’m assuming partial answer is going to be this next book that kinda manifested where we kind of follow Harry through the year but you added so much of the extra story stuff in Battle Ground is that kind of the intention where-I can’t imagine you’re kind of going to give us the answers to everything in this one book right we’ve got stuff with McCoy, we’ve got Lara, we’ve got the castle, Justine, Listens To Wind, we’ve got like River Shoulders-where’s this all gonna-where do we get answers?

    A: […] We’re gonna get some answers in the next book we’ll get some more answers in the one after that although fewer. I mean Mirror Mirror is basically we’re gonna jump over into the next universe and see how things are going.

    Mirror Mirror is the book after the next one, as in Twelve Months.

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13. Larry Lennhoff November 26, 2025 at 8:17 pm

    Fugitive is a Mouse/Cerberus team up. Maggie does not appear at all in the story.

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