[tstrimple]

One of my favorite fantasy series is The Dresden Files. The first two novels are awful. Jim Butcher is clearly a new author at the time and making new author mistakes. But in the third book he starts finding his voice and the characters hit their stride. Each subsequent novel he's getting better and better. You're watching his growth as an author at the same time as his characters are growing throughout the story. It starts as a serial noir wizard detective story and ends up being an epic fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride despite the very rough start.