An all-new Dresden Files story headlines this urban fantasy short story collection starring the Windy City’s favorite wizard.The world of Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is rife with intrigue—and creatures of all supernatural stripes. And you’ll make their intimate acquaintance as Harry delves into the dark side of truth, justice, and the American way in this must-have short … must-have short story collection.
From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published “Zoo Day,” Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales.
With twelve stories in all, Brief Cases offers both longtime fans and first-time readers tantalizing glimpses into Harry’s funny, gritty, and unforgettable realm, whetting their appetites for more to come from the wizard with a heart of gold.
The collection includes:
• “Curses,” from Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow
• “AAAA Wizardry,” from the Dresden Files RPG
• “Even Hand,” from Dark and Stormy Knights, edited by P. N. Elrod
• “B is for Bigfoot,” from Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.
• “I was a Teenage Bigfoot,” from Blood Lite III: Aftertaste, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.
• “Bigfoot on Campus,” from Hex Appeal, edited by P. N. Elrod. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.
• “Bombshells,” from Dangerous Women, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
• “Jury Duty,” from Unbound, edited by Shawn Speakman
• “Cold Case,” from Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes
• “Day One,” from Unfettered II, edited by Shawn Speakman
• “A Fistful of Warlocks,” from Straight Outta Tombstone, edited by David Boop
• “Zoo Day,” a brand-new novella, original to this collection
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I have been a fan of Mr. Butcher for years, but I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of short stories. However, I miss this series so much, (Oh, how I miss Harry!), I had to read this collection as I generally don’t read them included in other anthologies. Yes, most of these have already been published but not all together, so if you are expecting new “cases,” you won’t really find any. However, it was great to be back in Harry’s universe again. I really enjoyed these stories for the most part; no one can deny Mr. Butcher is a great storyteller. He is a great writer, and his stories are filled with fun, great plots, and lots of witticisms. I so enjoyed seeing Molly, Butters, Mouse, I could go on and on. One thing I will admit: this book makes me almost resent that we don’t have Peace Talks yet….deep breath. Yes, I know I must have patience, but really? This long?!? LOL! If you are fan, you will love these stories. If you haven’t read Mr. Butcher before, you can read these but will miss a lot of the subtleties. Highly recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy of the e-book which I reviewed voluntarily.
My very first taste of the Dresden Files is with this book, Brief Cases, which is a series of short stories. Some I found quite entertaining, others I found a bit, well not quite sure of the point. Not all stories contained Harry, which was quite okay because they gave me a sense of the writer’s style. Each story has a little ‘warm up’, shall we say, from the other of the purpose or thought of the author that led up to the why of writing each story. That somewhat threw me at first because initially I just thought they were musings of the characters. Over all I enjoyed what I read even getting a few chuckles out here and there.
As someone who has long wanted to read The Dresden Files but hasn’t had the opportunity, when this little nugget of short stories came up for grabs, I jumped on it. I’ve seen the TV series but kept holding out on reading the books. Not exactly sure why other than my TBR pile was so big I hadn’t owned any of Jim Butchers books…yet! I found Brief Cases a great introduction for me and has certainly piqued my interest to want to read more about Harry Dresden and this whole world Mr. Butcher has created. My only questioning thought is this: Have I ruined the series by just reading what essentially is a series of samplers for me because I think I would have gotten more out of these stories had I read the series from the very beginning. Time will tell as it will probably be a while before I can clear my TBR pile before I can squeeze time in for another long series.
I received this book from The JeepDiva with the express purpose of an honest review. The opinions, contents, and rating of this review are solely mine