Product Description

Harry Dresden is feeling happy. No one's tried to kill him in nearly a year, and the worst problem he's had lately is trying to remove the stains his apprentice bungled into his carpeting. The future looks fairly bright. Unfortunately, the past isn't nearly so optimistic. An old bargain placed Harry in debt to Mab, faerie monarch of the Winter Court and the Queen of Air and Darkness. Harry still owes the Winter Queen two favours, and it's time to pay one of them off. It's a small favour that he really can't refuse, but it will trap Harry between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, stretching his skills and loyalties to their very limits. It figures. Everything was going too well to last.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7007 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
'Does what it does excellently...sure is fun to read' SFX '[The Dresden Files are] going from strength to strength' Starburst 'Flawlessly blending classic noir mystery with a fresh take on fantasy, every installment of the Dresden Files is a treat' SciFiChick.com

About the Author
Jim Butcher is a ten-year student of martial arts and works as a computer support technician. Jim lives in Missouri with his wife and son and a houseful of computers.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant but more loose ends than a frayed rope
Anyone who has read my reviews of previous novels in the Dresden Files series will know that I am great fan of Jim Butcher's Chicago based wizard. It will hardly come as a surprise therefore, to know that I was very much looking forward to this latest installment in the on-going saga that is Harry's life, which for the first time UK readers are getting in hardback at the same time as their compatriots in the US. The question is, did it live up to my expectations?

Well the five star rating and the review title answers that pretty conclusively. Admittedly the good will the author has built up with me over the previous novels means I would forgive him a great deal but there is nothing in Small Favour that requires forgiveness. From the get go this is classic Dresden, with a fast moving plot that pulls in a wealth of supporting characters, picks up plot strands that were introduced in previous books, twists and turns with abandon and doesn't scrimp on the action in the slightest. Its also by turns funny, scary and emotional. In other words its has everything long term readers of the series have come to expect from the books.

My only significant criticism of the book, which can be applied to other volumes in the series and has been highlighted by other reviewers, is the author's apparent unwillingness to tie up the myriad of loose ends and subplots he has established over the course of so many books. I am not demanding a neat conclusion to every wider story arc he has set in motion, but his apparent refusal to offer closure on any of them is becoming just a little frustrating. Its also becoming harder and harder to keep track of everything that has and is happening. Small Favour offered Butcher the chance to put at least one or two outstanding plots, like the activities of the Denarians, to bed once and for all. The fact that he once again failed to do so is starting to grate slightly.

Still, that's not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book. As I always warn when reviewing Dresden File novel, if you're new to the series go back to the beginning and start with Storm Front. If you're already a fan of Harry, Karrin, Thomas, Mouse, Michael, Molly, Bob and all the other human and inhuman characters that populate Dresden's world then Small Favour will definitely not disappoint you.

Another amazing chapter in the life of Harry Dresden (book 10)
This is possibly my favourite Dresden book since Dead Beat, with lots of action and so much going that I couldn't put it down and read it start to finish in a day. Buy it now, you won't regret it!

How Many Loose Ends!
I am a huge Harry Dresden fan and enjoy all the books for differing reasons each time. I felt at the end of this book that there were more questions than answers and I sometimes got lost with references to other characters and had to back track from my speed reading to try and work out who they were and sometimes even which book I had met them before.

The ending definately left me feeling that the next instalment must be released shortly as it was very open. Usually I find that the books have a distinct ending even if the overall story of Harry and his cohorts continues.

Also not enough of Thomas in this book for me but as usual well worth buying and please hurry up with the next one