The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 26 books · 2000 to 2026 · Mostly set in Chicago

Jim Butcher

Crime and mysteryFantasyPrivate eyeEpic and high fantasyUrban fantasy

Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, takes cases from the police, the faerie courts and the vampires in The Dresden Files. Butcher also wrote the epic Codex Alera and the steampunk Cinder Spires.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Short story collections and novellas are left out. Twelve Months is due in 2026.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Jim Butcher books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

The Dresden Files

18 books · Set in ChicagoUrban fantasyPrivate eye
  1. 1Storm Front2000With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Fool Moon2001With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Grave Peril2001With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Summer Knight2002With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Death Masks2003With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Blood Rites2004With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Dead Beat2005With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Proven Guilty2006With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  9. 9White Night2007With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Small Favor2008With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Turn Coat2009With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Changes2010With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Ghost Story2011With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  14. 14Cold Days2012With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Skin Game2014With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  16. 16Peace Talks2020With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  17. 17Battle Ground2020With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Twelve Months2026With Harry DresdenBuy on Amazon

Codex Alera

6 books · Set in AleraEpic and high fantasy
  1. 1Furies of Calderon2004With TaviBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Academ's Fury2005With TaviBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Cursor's Fury2006With TaviBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Captain's Fury2007With TaviBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Princeps' Fury2008With TaviBuy on Amazon
  6. 6First Lord's Fury2009With TaviBuy on Amazon

The Cinder Spires

2 books · Set in the SpiresEpic and high fantasy
  1. 1The Aeronaut's Windlass2015With Captain Francis Grimm and Bridget TagwynnBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Olympian Affair2023With Captain Francis Grimm and Bridget TagwynnBuy on Amazon

Characters

16 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Dresden's Chicago

Alera

Spire Albion