Jim Butcher- I would have your babies. Please never stop writing Dresden books. ( )

One person's small favor is another's world-shifting, death-skirting onus. Especially when the one asking, nay demanding, the small favor is the Winter Queen of Faerie and saying 'no thanks' just isn't in her realm of acceptance. Poor Harry Dresden. Again. One would almost feel abounding sympathy and terror for him if it wasn't so darn funny the situations that seem to coalesce around him.

At least Harry has his trusty Mouse, a pair of holy sword-bearing Knights of the Cross, an apprentice and cop friend with attitudes, and a super-hot vampire brother to keep his butt from being roasted by the arrayed forces of antagonists - including some very irate Billy Goats Gruff. ( )

Butcher’s Dresden novels are all about plot so it’s difficult talking about one of these novels without spoiling it for others. In Small Favor, Butcher again uses some irony in the naming of the book since Harry needs to complete a task for Mab, Queen of the Winter Sidhe. Readers of the series know that this will obviously not be any “small” favor.

Butcher seems to be taking more time on the character development aspect of his writing. Small Favor is still a fun, exciting page turner, but there’s a lot of psychology going on here. Imagine actually feeling sorry, if only briefly, for The Fallen Nicodemus. The cast of characters are being developed so that we have a better better understanding their motivations. Small Favor was great in this regard because all of your favorites return. While the “Fists of God” and Denarians play the greatest roles (maybe even more so than Harry himself) you get a great refresher of all of the major players. The only obvious omission is the Red Court. Even though the war continues, they have no part in this particular installment.

I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone, but here are a few teasers in case you’re wavering; Harry develops a new love interest (you may or may not have seen this coming but it’s not the obvious choice), we ALMOST get a new Knight of the Cross (small and feisty) and you won’t believe what the Archive does to the Denarians in the aquarium sequence.

All of the Dresden Files novels have been entertaining and I think each has been better than the last. Keep in mind that each novel builds on previous books in the series so if you’re interested in Small Favor, take the time to first read its predecessors. ( )

Fantastic! Long live Harry. ( )

Part of a long series around a wizard in modern day Chicago. Characters including demons, fairies, and blessed knights make this a different fantasy series than I usually read, but by the end I was well into the story. It's exciting, fast paced, and peppered with humorous parts. I'm already looking into the previous books in the series. ( )