Review - Side Jobs (Dresden Files Short Story Collection) by Jim Butcher (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: October 26, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0451463654
Stand Alone or Series: Short story collection from Dresden Files series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars


This was a great collection of stories all set in the Dresden Files world.  The majority of these stories have appeared in other anthologies, that's part of the reason I got this from the library...I had read half of the stories before.  Still there are some great ones I hadn't read.  The last novella "Aftermath" is a definite must read for everyone who wants to know more about what happened after the cliffhanger ending of Changes.

My favorites were Aftermath (which describes events after Changes), Heorot (where Norse mythology mixes with Dresden's world), Last Call, and Love Hurts.  Butcher does little intros to each story that give some interesting background that was fun to read.

All of the stories (except for A Restoration of Faith and Vignette) were very professional, well-written, and incredibly fun to read.  There isn't a lot more to say about this collection. 

Overall a great collection of stories; if you are a big fan you should read it.  You might want to check to make sure you don't own the stories in other anthologies first before you buy the book.  I am not going to talk about the timing of each story because that is listed in the book itself along with the details of each anthology the stories are pulled from.  Stories were pulled from the following anthologies: Blood Lite, Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, Many Bloody Returns, Mean Streets, Strange Brew, and the novella Backup is included too.

See below for a brief description of the stories included. 

- A Restoration of Faith: Definitely an amateur story, but Butcher says this himself.  It was interesting to read the first story Butcher ever wrote about Harry.

- Vignette: Not one of the strongest stories in the book.  A very short peice about Harry creating the ad for his investigation agency.

- Something Borrowed: Nice filler story about Georgia and Billy's wedding; these are the two werewolves Harry works with off and on in the series.

- It's My Birthday Too: I originally read this in Many Bloody Returns.  It's a fun addition to the Dresden Files series. I enjoyed a story in which Thomas played a main role. I especially enjoyed the role-playing; being a DnD player I thought it was hilarious.

- Heorot: Very strong story with some interesting supernatural aspects too it.  Ties in some Norse mythology with Harry's world.

- Day Off: Funny and cute story about what happens when Harry tries to take a day off of work.

- Backup: This is a small novella told from Thomas's point of view, Harry's brother, it takes place in the same time/place as the Dresden Files. It was an okay story.

- The Warrior: I originally read this story in Mean Streets.  This story was about Michael and Harry trying to keep Michael's family safe from someone who wants to steal the two Holy Swords that Harry has been keeping hidden. Overall the story was okay, but seemed a bit tired to me. It was interesting to hear a bit more about why Harry has the holy swords. I didn't think this was the best Dresden story I've read but it was kind of interesting.

- Last Call: I originally read this in the Strange Brew anthology.  This is an entertaining story about Murphy and Harry tracking down the source of some tainted beer that Mac accidentally served in his bar. Tons of action, very entertaining!

- Love Hurts: Bittersweet story where Dresden and Murphy track down rogue love spells and are caught up the spells themselves.  Nice addition and further fills out the story between Dresden and Murphy.

- Aftermath: Best story of the bunch and a must read for fans for the series.  Harry is presumed dead and is missing.  Murphy is trying to figure out what is going on when Will comes to her for help; Georgia's been kidnapped and she is very pregnant.  Now it is up to Murphy to step in to aid the paranormals in Dresden's place and what she finds is a plot bigger than she could have imagined.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge Book List
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge