Small Favor ~ Jim Butcher

…A Once Upon a Time Challenge Selection

“No one’s tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

An old bargain has placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, the Queen of Air and Darkness-and she’s calling in her marker. It’s a small favor he can’t refuse…one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills- and loyalties-to their very limits.

It figures. Everything was going too well to last…”

Harry Dresden is one of the best, folks. Characters, that is, and mostly because Butcher imbued him with a strong core, a sharp wit, and a fierce determination to do what’s right in the face of, well, whatever. He is utterly endearing on so many levels and somehow – and this is baffling because, c’mon, it just shouldn’t be possible – he still manages to get better with each new title in the series, and I still find myself laughing at the things that come flying out of his mouth when he’s angry or terrified.

This time around Mab, the queen of the Winter Court of Faerie, needs a favor and since Harry owes her two she has no problem roping him into the latest battle between supernatural forces. Harry certainly takes a beating, mostly from “gruffs,” the overgrown goat thugs that serve the Summer queen. And, yes, you read that right: Goat. Thugs.

While the mentions of the Faerie courts don’t interest me as much as the politics of the vampire courts in Harry’s world, this installment in the series was certainly fast paced and featured all of the characters I’ve come to love. Namely, Thomas and Mouse. The dynamic between Harry and Thomas is just too good {as I’ve mentioned before,} and I really love the scene in which Thomas first shows up in the book {page 64, to be precise:}

“What took you so long?”

“Well, you know how much I love getting called in the middle of the night to drive through snow and ice to play chauffeur for grumpy low-life investigators. The anticipation slowed me down.”

I grunted in what might have been construed as an apologetic manner by someone who knew me.

Thomas did. “What’s up?”

I told him everything.

Thomas is my half brother, my only family. I’m allowed.

He listened.

“And then,” I concluded, “I went for a ride in a monster truck.”

Thomas’s mouth twitched up in a quick smile. “It is kinda butch, isn’t it.”

I squinted around the truck. “Do TV shows start an hour later in the backseat than they do up here?”

“Who cares?” Thomas said. “It’s got TiVo.”

So, to kinda, sorta summarize: Small Favor is a really, really good addition to the series. Harry’s absolutely at the top of his game and the plot zips along with plenty of action and sarcasm to entertain.

And now, a word for those who’ve yet to enter Harry’s world: I began this series the day after Storm Front, book one, was originally released. I immediately loved the setting, the characters, and that carried over into the next couple of titles. Somewhere along the way, though, the books hit a bit of a bump and didn’t quite carry the same zest, but Butcher definitely got things back on track and by Blood Rites I was in love again. So, if you’re planning on beginning this series, stick it out. It will be well worth it. {And, of course, it’s only my opinion that a few titles stalled a bit; you might love them all equally.}