Short Stories
Despite writing two novels a year, Jim Butcher finds the time to publish short stories set in the Dresden Files world. They tend to be similar to novels, but more compact. Harry usually only finds time to destroy one place, rather than a few. The short stories tend to be even funnier than the books.
Two of the stories are located online, one is a standalone novel, and the rest are in short story collections with other authors. The good thing about these collections is that they have other good authors and good stories in them, so you are not just paying a high price for one short Dresden story. I have discovered a few new authors I liked by buying these books.
The following are short reviews of each story.
This short story was released free on Jim-Butcher.com. The story is good; Harry tracks down a missing child only to find out the parents do not want to pay. Instead, they reported her as kidnapped. Now Harry will be the prime suspect if he returns her, but a supernatural creature is hunting her. There is no way Harry can leave her alone.
This story is significant as it is the first story set in the Dresden universe timeline. This story tells how Harry meets Karrin Murphy, his future friend and a police officer with the Chicago police department. Having seen Harry and Murphy’s relationship grow over the years it is great to see how they met.
Vignette puts the “short” in short story. The entire story line is Harry looking at his new Yellow Pages ad and Bob telling him to spruce it up. If you are interested, the story is online at Jim Butcher’s website. The ad can also be seen under the Dresden Files link in the left menu.
The story is fun to read. Any story involving Bob tends to be funny and this one is no exception. I would write some more, but I am afraid of surpassing the story’s word count in my review.
Something Borrowed in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
Billy, the leader of the Alpha werewolves, is getting married. And Harry Dresden is the best man. When the bride turns up missing, who better than Harry to find the missing woman? Like all good Dresden Files stories, this one packs action with snark. It is an enjoyable story and it fills in one of the side stories that are often missing in the novels. Billy and Georgia were living together in one novel and married in the next. It is nice to see how that happened.
It’s My Birthday Too in Many Bloody Returns
Thomas is having a birthday and Harry wants to give him a present, but Thomas is not at home. When Harry tracks him down he discovers Thomas playing a Vampire role playing game, ironic for a guy who is a vampire. Nothing is ever simple in Harry’s world though and the game quickly changes. This story adds nothing to the Dresden plot line, but it is hilarious and well worth the cost of the book.
Heorot in My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
Harry’s bartender needs help and Harry provides it. A newly married young woman has disappeared and Harry is tasked to find her. Naturally, it is not a simple kidnapping and the paranormal is involved. The story is fun and the snark is thick in this short story. What is interesting is that it fills in the back-story of a minor character from the novels, the security consultant to John Marcone, mobster, Ms. Gard. It is fun stories like this that make the Dresden short stories well worth the price of an entire book.
Harry’s Day Off
This story starts with Harry playing a role-playing game with some friends. He is the barbarian. After the game Harry announces he has a day off, no work, no teaching, nothing. He plans to spend it with his sometimes lover. Naturally, things do not work out quite the way he had planned. This is a good story, but there is one problem. The rest of the stories in the book are not that good. This is the only collection Butcher is in that I did not like the other stories. This makes it hard to justify the full price, but if you love Harry Dresden, you will pay it.
Backup
This is a first; a story set in the Dresden universe, but not told from his point-of-view. Instead, Thomas is the leading character. He is helping Harry out; Harry just does not know it. This is a good story, but lacked the humor of the rest of the Dresden Files books. There were some funny moments, but not as many as in the other short stories. Still it is a good buy if you can find it. It is not in a collection, but instead sold on its own.
The Warrior in Mean Streets
This is my favorite of the Dresden short stories. Harry thinks Michael Carpenter is in danger and Harry is determined to help him, whether Michael wants it or not. This story is simply brilliant. Butcher weaves many seemingly unrelated events into one important story line. This story shows a different side to Harry’s actions. The positive consequences.
