Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
*************************************************************************************

It is wintertime in Chicago and, as snow falls, we begin another tale featuring Harry’s wonderfully complicated life.

At first glance things seem to be going swimmingly. Molly’s training as a wizard by Harry continues and this appears to be working really well. However, a sudden attack on Harry and the Carpenter family leads him to think the Winter Queen has not forgotten him – or his friends. But to Harry’s surprise, the attack actually came from the Summer Queen Titania’s goat-like militia (called by Jim ‘gruffs’). Combined with another case assisting Karrin and the Chicago PD, we are again off to a flying start.

This book is all about promises, made and broken. The small favour in this case relates to the promise that Harry made back in Summer Knight, to Mab, the Winter Queen and the Queen of Air and Darkness. Whilst snow piles up all over Chicago, the task Mab now sets Harry is a formidable one – to be her Emissary and retrieve gangster Johnny Marone, Harry’s nemesis. Johnny has been kidnapped, for reasons unknown, though as time progresses Harry finds that Johnny’s kidnapping is no more than a prelude to something much bigger. And the ‘small favour’ is anything but.

The Big Bad Protagonist of this tale is an old villain from an earlier novel, returning with his group of evil cronies. That, combined with the huge group of supporting acts on Dresden’s side, give Small Favour a huge and mighty cast. We have Vampires, Wardens, Knights of the Cross, the ‘Archive’ and even a Fallen Angel or two making an appearance.

This book shows Jim cleverly plotting and leading the reader a merry dance as we are pulled relentlessly from one situation to the next. For those of us who’ve been here a while, it’s great fun to see how all the pieces fit into the high-energy plotline.

As we get deeper into some of the issues that make Harry’s life and background so complex and also so interesting, this became a real page turner for me. This is one of the fastest moving Dresdens to date, starting quickly and then moving up gears rapidly. The set pieces at Chicago’s Union Station and the Shedd Aquarium are very well done, as too is the grand finale.

By the end not everything is sorted out neatly here, so those expecting it all to wrap up tidily will be disappointed, as there is of course more to keep us reading. There are still wider issues, such as that of the Black Council, to be resolved. However, at long, long last, Harry’s complicated relationships with women might be going somewhere! There is a major life-changing event for one of our crew of supporting characters, some interesting revelations and a finale of sorts, yet with some key points left open for the next tale. All good stuff.

Whatever the future resolution of these threads, it is clear that things in later instalments will be forever different. Once again we realise that the NeverNever is a strange and unearthly place, where the usual rules don’t apply. And any dealings with its inhabitants will be complicated. More importantly, the tale shows us that neither side can be trusted, by Harry or anyone else. Still very highly recommended indeed.

SEE BELOW FOR A RUN DOWN OF THE DRESDEN FILES
Previous rereads are available here, though books don’t have to be read in this order:

STORM FRONT
FOOL MOON
GRAVE PERIL
SUMMER KNIGHT
DEATH MASKS
BLOOD RITES
DEAD BEAT
PROVEN GUILTY
WHITE NIGHT