Small Favor: The Dresden Files, Book 10

Continuing on my Dresden Files binge, I read Small Favor a couple of days ago. This is another one that took me only a day, and it kept me entertained the whole time. As usual, this is definitely NOT the place to start this series. There are simply too many characters and events referenced to make sense of it without having read the previous books. If you've forgotten what happened in earlier books, there are some decent summaries available online.While I enjoyed the book, it's pretty standard according to the Dresden Files formula. That is, we have a self-contained mystery that gets resolved by the end and we have tie-ins to the overall series arc. We take a break in this one from the war between wizards and vampires that has been going on since about book 3, although the specter of the war does hang over our heroes (a villain tempts Harry with an offer that would give him a lot of power relative to vampires, and Harry can't get a lot of help from his fellow wizards because they're spread pretty thin due to losses they've taken in the war). I'm starting to see an even bigger picture than the war, which is interesting. I'm excited to see where that goes.The background information we get here is not really centered on one aspect of the story. We learn more about the Denarians ("fallen" beings in symbiotic magical relationships with humans; that's an oversimplification, though), more about the Knights of the Cross (faith-fueled warriors; again, an oversimplification) and hints about how they may be chosen, more about the Archive (a little girl who's also a magical repository of human knowledge), among others. We also meet a few new species of Fae -- Gruffs (rather goatlike creatures associated with the Summer Court) and Hobs (sightless creatures associated with the Winter Court). And we learn a bit about yet another form of magic, soulfire, which contrasts with the Hellfire the Denarians employ. It's this last bit that Harry is left thinking about at the end of the book, and I have a feeling we'll learn a lot more about soulfire in upcoming books. Finally, if you'll remember from a previous volume, Queen Mab of the Winter Court was owed three favors by Harry. He's already repaid one and he's charged with the second one in this book.One aspect seemed like a bit of an afterthought, that of Harry recognizing an area he hasn't been to before. This is given a name and an explanation near the end of the book. I'm fairly certain something is being set up for a later volume, so I'm willing to let it slide for now. However, I do think something could have been done to work it into the story a little better.There's not a whole lot to say about characterization. While we learn a bit more about Sanya (a Knight of the Cross) and the Archive, and while something we've learned about John Marcone in the past is reinforced (he's the major crime lord in the Chicago area), we don't get to know the characters a whole lot better. I'm not too upset about that, though. Harry's character develops more than I would have expected in some of the other recent books, and the first-person POV limits how well we can get to know secondary characters. Harry is, once again, under suspicion during part of this book, but that's not so unusual for him. Because you're reading along in Harry's POV, you don't really notice that anything is out of the ordinary until someone else calls him on it. And then you find yourself thinking back and realizing yeah, the accusations make sense. It's cleverly done.It sounds like a lot is going on, but everything works pretty well together, all things considered. Part of the problem is trying to condense all of these events and concepts into a paragraph or two. Spaced out over a whole book, trust me, it works.The setting is, once again, the Chicago area (including some important events on an island in one of the Great Lakes). For the first time, an explanation is offered as to WHY so many supernatural things seem to be happening in Chicago. I hope this is developed further in future books. This time, it's winter, and a particularly nasty one at that. It seems to be snowing nearly all the time and there are questions as to whether Winter Court Fae are using the snow to further their purposes. It seems to me most of the characters would have a bit more trouble getting around in this kind of weather (Thomas -- Harry's half-brother -- drives a Humvee and Michael -- another Knight of the Cross -- has a truck, but those are about the only practical vehicles I remember), but I guess the people of Chicago are used to nasty winters!I don't think I've mentioned this in any of my previous reviews of this series, but there are a fair number of pop culture references in this series, overall. Some are pretty blatant (some references to Tolkien's "The Two Towers") and others are subtler (a character named Thomas uttering the phrase "Leper outcast unclean" -- there's a certain, completely unrelated book you'd have to have read to get that one). I haven't paid a lot of attention to this aspect of things before but as I read the next few books in the series, I'll be on the lookout. One thing you can say about Jim Butcher is that he knows his genre very well, and he clearly enjoys it, and I like reading books by authors like that.The writing style is similar to before. While there are some humorous moments in this book (I like what Harry did with a catnip toy, in particular), it has a serious tone and a somber ending. Once again, be prepared for adult themes (nothing graphic, though), four-letter words, and plenty of violence, both conventional and magical. There are at least three major confrontations in the second half of the book, with little time for rest between one and the next. This is pretty typical for a Dresden book -- the tension is great and you want to keep reading.Bottom line: if you haven't read any of the earlier books, go back and start with Storm Front. If you're already a fan of these books, this one is more in the same vein and you'll probably like it, as well. I'm sure I'll break down and buy #11 in a few days.

When a Fae Queen asks you to take on a favor, you just know nothing good is going to come of it. Especially not when it involves Johnny Marcone and the Denarians are involved. Small Favor is the first novel where major shakeups begin in the Dresden universe. Nothing remains the same, especially in an action-oriented series like this. The upheaval is always hell, though, and this book’s journey is no different.A harsher-than-normal winter has descended on Chicago and Dresden is called to a scene of carnage. It’s a typical start to a Dresden story but there is a sharp difference. With Murphy no longer running Special Investigations (and the division on a tighter budget), Dresden doesn’t get much work from them anymore. This change doesn’t seem significant until one realizes that Dresden’s connection to the police was his largest anchor to the mortal world. With that mooring cast aside, it pushes Dresden to move closer to the supernatural world. It represents his growing isolation from the mundane world.Small Favor finds Dresden at his most relaxed in the series since Death Masks. The loss of Lasciel’s shadow has affected our hero on an emotional level. While he was never overtly fond of the constant temptation Lash represented, he certainly appreciated how the shadow augmented his abilities. The opening with the Carpenter family felt good to read. Harry’s ongoing mentorship with Molly Carpenter has softened some of his harsher edges that had developed over the last few books. The snowball fight shows that the rough relationship Charity Carpenter (Molly’s overprotective mother) and Harry have previously shared has been sanded down to a grudging respect.Small Favor shows Harry relying on his allies to a greater extent, revealing his increased maturity. The question of relationships is important to the novel. Harry has always skirted the outer edges of the darker side of morality. His decisions in previous novels lead to increasingly dangerous confrontations, such as his growing enmity with the Summer Court of the Sidhe. Harry and Michael Carpenter have often been at odds on what constitutes moral action. This book brings that argument front and center. Michael is driven by the need to offer redemption, as a good Christian like he is should. Harry is not the forgiving sort, resorting to handing out bloody retribution when it is warranted. Both drives come from the same place, wanting to protect the innocent, but they are two wholly divergent paths to a solution.When dealing with the Denarians, however, perhaps the more forceful path is the best one. The return of the Knights of the Blackened Denarius is a welcome one for me. With the Black Council largely keeping to the shadows, the Denarians are one of the few antagonists in the Dresden universe who are almost unambiguously evil. Nicodemus Archelone remains an excellent antagonist who possesses just the right amount of panache. The novel also introduces three new Denarians to take note of: Tessa (Nicodemus’s wife), Rosanna (Tessa’s trusted right-hand woman and corruptor of Sanya, a Knight of the Cross), and Thorned Namshiel (a Hellfire-infused sorcerer demon). It’s greatly implied that these three are either members of or working with Black Council. In a universe like Dresden’s, where gray is the predominant color, it’s always refreshing to see truly evil villains.One of the overriding themes of Small Favor is family, even if it’s one constructed from disparate pieces. Harry has grown a close-knit, patchwork family over the previous nine novels. Despite their ideological differences, Michael and Harry are brothers, which even Charity comes to recognize. Harry certainly has a protective uncle streak when it comes to Molly. Their fights and disagreements are not born out of malice but familiarity and genuine concern. Butcher has done an exceptional job constructing this web of connected characters. You just know this will make whatever tragedies he’s concocted that much more heartbreaking when they finally happen.Harry Dresden matures and the foundation is being laid for a mysterious and dangerous future. Small Favor is in many ways a novel that reinforces some aspects of the existing paradigm. It also represents the beginning of a seismic shift in that paradigm going forward. The readers are almost halfway through Jim Butcher’s 20+ book opus. I have the feeling the audience is on the road to Hell with Harry and we’ve all agreed it’s worth the ride.

About the book: I've read 1-9 so many times, but put off getting this because experience has taught me that even the best story arc breaks down by this point. I'm only a little way in, but it's a subtle improvementAbout the seller: I've bought from World of Books many times, and it's always been a positive experience. I trust them, and believe that you can too. I was annoyed by the stickers showing the original sale price, though, hence the star loss

Loved it yet again didn't fail to impress love thus series you are always in for a great read just dont want it to end on to the next one in the series for me if you haven't yet checked out these great books wth why not you are missing out on some fantastic stories what you waiting for move it and get reading

I am a fan of the series and this novel did not disappoint. Having read some of the reviews on Amazon I had been led to believe that this would not be as good as the previous books, yet that was not my experience.As usual in the Dresden Files there were plenty of plot twists to keep the reader guessing, more insights into the back stories of many of the ongoing characters and a fast paced narrative that left me not wanting to put it down.This book will not make a great deal of sense to readers who have not read the other books in the series, so if that is you I suggest you start with the first book in the series and keep on going. You are in for a treat.

I was very engaged in Small Favour from start to finish, and I am pleased to say that I found Harry to be much less whiney in this book than he has been in the previous two Dresden novels.This is, I would say, something of a "return to form", if such a thing is possible when you haven't really strayed too far from form in the first place.I'm also fairly pleased that the pace and "reality" of this book were a lot more realistic. Harry wasn't portrayed as quite the superhuman that he has been previously, and some of the other characters were shown to be falible, too.Yes, I liked this one a lot. My only problem now is that I've caught up with the Dresden File series, so have a while to wait until Turn Coat is released in paperback...

Great read - from a good author