Amber reviews: Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Small Favor, the 10th book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is another tale full of Harry Dresden’s wisecracking and wizardry. In this episode, Harry has been recruited by Mab, Queen of Winter to find and rescue the mob boss, Johnny Marcone. This is a job Harry would never take, except for the fact that he is in debt to Winter and must do it despite his reservations. Regardless of the fact that Harry is being harassed by minions of the Summer Court and that whoever kidnapped Marcone was not only a professional but very powerful, Harry is now on the case.
I find that I enjoy this series for several reasons. The largest of those reasons is Butcher’s voice. Undoubtedly, his characters are of a sort who have lives that readers love to follow. I even find his secondary characters to be fascinating. Bob, Mouse and Mister are some of my favorites, and I love to hear about them. His fantasy Chicago, full of hidden magic and faerie creatures is also very compelling to us mortals stuck in our mundane lives. However, it is his voice that brings it all to life. The character dialog, Harry’s internal dialog, and his pop culture reference riddled descriptions make this reader feel as if the story was written specifically for me. If Mike Hammer was a wizard living in modern-day Chicago and had a fondness for sarcasm and snappy comebacks, his name would be Harry Dresden.
Butcher’s fans will definitely devour this one just like the last nine. It has all the elements, danger, magic, romantic undertones, wisecracks, a multitude of pop culture references, evil beasties and arrogant bad guys, mayhem, threats, faeries, vampires and even the billy goats gruff. Seriously, they are there, I kid you not (pun intended).