1 Great. So, I couldn't keep reading "Dresden" because it seemed like for every inch of ground Harry gained, someone pulled a new rug out from under his feet. "Unrelentingly grim" was my verdict after a few books. Looks like this is another Butcher series I'll have to avoid... whiny psychopathic children? That was my verdict of the Robert Jordan books, which I gave up on partway through the fifth volume...

2 I'll have to differ with you there.  Not just Harry, but all the major characters in the Dresden Files get their crowning moments of awesome, because they had to fight so hard for it.  It's grim, but by no means unrelenting.

3 Depends on how far you got. In the first few, Butcher was still feeling his way around the world, and it had a bit of monster-of-the-week about it. He broke out of that, and managed to acquire an excellent supporting cast. There is a general escalation of power on both sides, but not a real Sorting Algorithm of Evil; Harry is usually in way, way over his head, and wins by being tough, smart, lucky, and by earning the support of some very interesting friends and enemies. The villains don't have to keep getting more powerful to pose a real challenge to him.

The short-story collection has some real gems as well, although the first few show how far he's come as a writer. I think it includes everything except the recent story from Marcone's point of view, which is a lot of fun.

-j

4 The Codex Alera does get better, though Tavi is no Harry Dresden, even by the end.
Apparently Butcher wrote the series on a bet; he said that you could take the worst idea and with good writing, turn it into a good story.
The idea proposed was combining the lost Roman legion tale with Pokemon.
And of course, I can't find the source for that any more. I didn't make it up, I swear.

5 The idea proposed was combining the lost Roman legion tale with Pokemon.

Hah!  That's exactly what it is!