© James Pyles

I finished Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novel Small Favor a week or more ago, but I’ve been so busy (largely with granddaughters) that I haven’t had time to write the review before now.

Just when I think everything that can happen to wizard Harry Dresden has happened, something new comes up.

As you recall, Dresden is the only advertising actual wizard operating in Chicago and as time passes, he’s built up an impressive collection of enemies, allies, and powers.

The war of the White Council against the Red Court vampires is easing up, but that doesn’t mean Harry’s life has gotten better. He’s still training his “under-a-curse” apprentice Molly, still feeling guilt over all but destroying Karrin Murphy’s career with the police force, plus he’s got new problems from the world of the Faes.

It gets worse. His demonic foes are back and this time, they’re trying to force demon-possessed coins not only on organized criminal mastermind Falcone, but on a child who possesses all human knowledge known simply as “the Archive.”

Harry’s caught between the forces of the Winter and Summer fairies to boot and he somehow has to save the Archive and Falcone while preserving one of three Holy swords that has been placed in his possession, not allow the demons to take any additional coins, and not die.

He fails at most of that but succeeds where it counts.

Many of his usual friends come to help including Police Sgt. Murphy, his white vampire half-brother Thomas, and the Holy Knight Michael Carpenter, father of Molly.

He survives, most of the others do too, although some are worse off than others (no spoilers here), and amazingly he acquires new powers, thanks to an encounter with an actual angel.

One of the nice things about this series of urban fantasies is that it includes Christianity and the existence of the God of the Bible in a positive way. Not that Harry is a believer by any means. Well, he “believes” that God exists as a supreme power, but is usually unhappy at how unhelpful (from Harry’s point of view) God can be.

Harry’s love life is usually as dry as most deserts, but he finds comfort from an unexpected source in this novel. However, the relationship might not have much of a future (most of Harry’s love affairs don’t).

This is the tenth book in a series of seventeen, although my sixteen-year-old grandson who is also a big fan says a new book will be coming out soon. I guess I’m still behind, but I’d like to pace myself. I’ve still got about fifteen years of books to catch up on.

As usual, I continue to praise Butcher’s writing and this series. It can’t be topped.