Review: Brief Cases

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harry Dresden has a highly distinctive voice, and the challenge for the author in many of these stories - those which are told from a non-Dresden character POV - is to have them sound like themselves, and not like Dresden. He does a good, though not quite perfect, job of it.

He also tells some terrific side-stories in the Dresden universe. I'd read a number of them before in other collections, but they rewarded rereading.

The last story, which only appears in this volume, is a particularly good one. Harry takes his daughter Maggie and their dog Mouse to the zoo, and each of the three gets a turn to narrate an adventure in which they deal with threats that only they can deal with (or, in some cases, perceive). And all three of the adventures are going on at the same time, so we get overlap where each of the three tells us about the same events from a different point of view. It's well done and enjoyable, and shows us that the next generation of Dresden hasn't fallen far from the tree at all.

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Review: The Best Thing You Can Steal

The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The words "Simon R. Green" on the cover led me to expect that there would be disturbing amounts of violence and other disturbing things within, and also that it would be a well-written story with a heroic arc. All of this was, in fact, the case.

An optimistic thief and con-man who has recently taken on the pre-existing identity of Gideon Sable recruits a largely supernatural heist crew to rip off the worst man in the world. I have to say, a heist doesn't have to have a victim who deserves to lose, but it certainly helps.

It's a quick read, pacey, but not just unreflective action, and the heist is extremely clever, as heists ought to be. The supernatural background is based in Catholic Christianity - there are saints, relics, angels, demons, and so forth - but none of the characters is devout. The trip is often horrific, but the ending is heroic.

I love a good heist, and this is one. Recommended.

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Review: Peace Talks

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even though this isn't as complete a story in itself as most of the series (the conclusion is in the next book), Jim Butcher is smart, and still manages to write a book that has a plot question that's resolved by the end. There are huge, cosmic events happening, and Harry needs to help deal with them, but he also has family stuff to take care of - primarily, helping his brother Thomas (which is the plot question that resolves by the end), though he's also started to try to be a father to Maggie, and finally moved his relationship with Murphy forward, and he's clashing a lot with his grandfather.

The first few chapters, in signature Dresden style, are spent getting Harry further and further into the cactus, to the point where I was wondering how on earth the author was going to get him out of the hole he'd dug for him. The eventual (partial) extraction from the hole is accompanied along the way with plenty of self-deprecating snark, a small amount of new maturity, and the usual mix of cleverness, courage, determination, judicious use of allies, well-prepped skills, absolute commitment to doing the right thing even when that's very difficult to identify, and reflections on life that have a bit of depth to them.

It all reminded me why this is one of my favourite series. While it's not the best of the series so far for me, it is highly skilled and powerfully written in the way I've come to expect from Butcher, and there's no question about putting it on my Best of 2020 list.

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