Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)

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No dissapointments here

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2017

The Harry Dresden series is really amazing. Terrific plots that grow and develop both the main and supporting characters. A talking skull, a 30 pound cat, a huge dog named Mouse; a powerful and complex wizard at the heart of everything, Murph the tough and tiny cop who is willing to actually see the reality of supernatural characters in everyday life and many more characters you will grow to love and hate. This series simply does not get stale. In each succeeding book Butcher keeps my interest with interesting plot twists and just plain good writing. The action is fast furious and within the universe of Harry Dresden, completely plausible. In the midst of all this, there is so much humor that I find myself laughing in the midst of Harry's chaos. And there are a good number of times when Butcher waxes philosophical, and it rings true both in the context of the character, and just in general. I'm binge reading all 15 of the books. They start a little slow in the first three, but then Butcher just takes off and the books get better and better.

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illiandantic

Fun to Read, But Missing Depth

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2010

"Small Favor" is the 10th in Butcher's "Dresden Files" series. While I was reading the book, I was thoroughly engrossed in it (action-packed and fast-moving that it is). But, once I finished it and sat down to write this review, I realized something: the story is missing all the interpersonal relationships that give it that "Dresden" feel (looking at some of the lower-rated reviews here confirms that). It seems that Butcher chose quantity over quality regarding the characters in this story. Instead of keeping things in a tight-knit group and fully utilizing each person's character and abilities, Butcher uses just about every character he's ever developed, introduces a few more, and just leaves them as cameos. There's no depth to anyone in this book. On the plot level, there's also the problem of why Summer is trying to kill Harry. For the life of me, I can't come up with any reason for it. And, since that's one of the main drivers of the book, it's a bit irritating. So, I have to dock the book a star and rate it at a merely OK 3 stars out of 5: it's fun to read but it's just not Dresden.

The novels in Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" are:

1. Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
2. Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2)
3. Grave Peril: Book three of The Dresden Files
4. Summer Knight: Book four of The Dresden Files
5. Death Masks: Book five of The Dresden Files: 5
6. Blood Rites: Book six of The Dresden Files
7. Dead Beat: A Novel of The Dresden Files
8. Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8)
9. White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)
10. Small Favor: A Novel of the Dresden Files
11. Turn Coat: A Novel of the Dresden Files
12. Changes: A Novel of the Dresden Files
13. Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files
14. Cold Days: A Novel of the Dresden Files

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ASH70

No dissapointments here

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2017

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7 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Everyone wants to kill Harry and that's great!

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019

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Harry Dresden is a wizard and a moving target for just about any supernatural entity there is. The Winter Queen Mab wants him to pay part of his debt (2 out of 3 favors), which involves battling demonic creatures, and Summer entities keep chasing him on behalf of their queen. There is not enough mess in the magic world if it involves Harry. And it is again a great mess, fast paced with a lot of weird things happening at the same time and more secrets revealed regarding the Black Council. A big war is building up and I cannot wait to read more about it. By the way, James Marsters' reading of this book is superb as always.

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D. Mikels

Lake Michigan Has Islands?

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2016

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Wizard Harry Dresden has a major problem: He owes Mab, the manipulative fairy Queen of the Winter Court, a couple of favors. And in the dead of winter during a brutal snowstorm, Mab comes calling to cash in on a favor: Rescue mobster kingpin Johnny Marcone from his unknown kidnappers--kidnappers with enough supernatural powers to destroy Marcone's near-impenetrable safe house. Enlisting the aid of his brother, Thomas, Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD, Michael and Sanya, the remaining two Knights of the Cross, Molly, his eager apprentice, Anastasia Luccio, the Dean of the White Council Wardens, the Archive, the human retainer of all knowledge, and Kincaid, a deadly mercenary, Harry embarks on a remarkable series of adventures--against some very nasty bad guys--to rescue Marcone. His exploits fill the pages of SMALL FAVOR, the tenth installment of Jim Butcher's fun-filled Dresden Files fantasy series.

To fully appreciate SMALL FAVOR, it is vital the reader has read Death Masks , the 5th volume of this series. It is in this novel the reader is introduced to Nicodemus and his lethal gang of Denarians--demons who possess some of the thirty ounces of silver once given to Judas for his betrayal. Nicodemus and his ilk wield enormous power; they're the most difficult adversaries Harry does battle with. And when the Denarians' ultimate plans are revealed (they want to kidnap the Archive and make her take a silver coin), Harry and his allies wage some serious battles--from Chicago's train station, to the Windy City's Oceanarium, to a remote island in the vast expanse of frigid Lake Michigan. All the while, Harry must deal with some agents from the Summer Court of Fairies sent to interfere with his task--primarily a series of Gruffs (supernatural Billy Goats).

At more than 500 pages, SMALL FAVOR is a lightning fast read--and one of the best volumes in this remarkable franchise. Why? Because of the whirling vortex of subplots, including a budding romance with Luccio, sexual tension with Karrin, a life-threatening injury, and Harry's ongoing suspicion that some of the members of the White Council are in an unholy alliance with evil. Yet through it all, Harry never loses his self-deprecating humor ("Oh, look," he quips to Karrin upon observing a sleeping Kincaid, "he's got a teddy Glock."). Harry may be facing a snarling pack of Denarians, but he's never going to take matters seriously. There's always an off-the-cuff quip at the ready. The action starts from the first page and never lets up; Butcher has a knack for telling a fast-paced tale that never takes its foot off the gas. SMALL FAVOR will reward fans of the Dresden Files series with a grand, exciting read, and entice them to be looking forward to the next installment.
~D. Mikels, Esq.

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Travis HaydenTop Contributor: Fantasy Books

Another solid entry in the...

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2020

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Another solid entry in the Dresden Files. I would say this one is a very soft five. I did really enjoy it but after some of the other entries that have me squealing like a fanboy, this is one is just solid. I do enjoy that Dresden keeps the story intertwined and fresh. He lays foundations in other books, just to have them take shape now. It has been present in all of the books so far and it is such a highlight for me.

Small Favor brings back Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, into Harry's life only to bring, yes you guessed it, chaos. Because what else would Mab do. This all brings back some of my most loved characters to the forefront like Michael, Molly's father, and the Archive, or Ivy. The case was very engaging and the action as always is top notch. Jim Butcher if anything can write and execute one heck of a thrilling Act 3. I find myself constantly and utterly lost in the pages when I reach the ending. So so good.

However with the end of Small Favor comes Turn Coat which means CHANGES is right around the corner and my mind, body, and soul are not ready!!!!

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DorettaC

Dresden Files Series.....A Must Read!!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020

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I started reading the first book and was hooked from that moment. A book has to be really good for me to spend more than $5 on it. These books are sooo worth it. I love Dresden' s personality. This series is very well written so that reading them not only is easier, but helps to picture what's happening more exciting. I can't imagine how the details of creatures and situations can come from one person. The descriptions are so detailed that I can actually picture them and they seem so real. As I was reading Book 10, I started imagining these books as a Netflix series. I imagined Keanu Reeves as Dresden, Alex Skarsgard as Thomas, and Chris Hemsworth as Michael. Still working on the others. (Just putting it out there) Going to stop for now; the adventures of Book 11 is calling to me. Hope Bob and Mouse are in it!!!!

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Boomer

Love the Gruffs!

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2020

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Liked this volume much better then it's predecessor, White Knight. A lot of focus on the Knights of the Cross and the Denarians, the two most interesting entities in the series for me - the ultimate good vs evil. A lot of character development for all the major players and more information slowly being revealed on the mysterious Black Council. If that's not enough, the introduction of the Gruffs has to be one of the best ideas I've ever read - Three Billy Goats Gruff + automatic weapons = genius!

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TKnite

Another Exciting Installment!

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014

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Yet another great installment of The Dresden Files! I thought this book was excellent.

To begin with, Butcher brings back a host of the most interesting characters from past books. One of the things I really like about Butcher is that he always includes the right characters at the right times — he keeps the most frequently recurring characters in a constant state of development but doesn’t let the less frequently occurring characters stagnate. They keep developing off stage, and when they return, they return with new dimensions added to their personalities: new goals, new motivations, new powers.

The plot of this book, too, was very well thought out and well executed. Butcher managed to integrate several plot points from different past books into a cohesive continuation for this installment. Everything from the Faerie Courts to the Denarians to Thomas — Butcher doesn’t settle for just focusing on one supernatural element at a time. He’s been gradually building a complex supernatural world since book one of the series, and now, the different powers that be are starting to interact with one another at several levels, which makes for a far more interesting and engaging overarching plot line.

Like usual, this book leaves several threads hanging and includes a generous helping of foreshadowing about the scale of events to come in the following installments — but at the same time, the majority of the book’s events are cleanly wrapped up and the aftermath is discussed in-depth before the story’s close. Butcher maintains the careful balance between cliffhanger territory and an overly firm conclusion, giving you enough tantalizing info to want to dive into the next book without leaving too much of the book’s plot open-ended.

In conclusion, Small Favor is yet another win for Butcher.

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Sneaky Burrito

if you like the rest of the series, you'll like this one too

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2014

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Continuing on my Dresden Files binge, I read Small Favor a couple of days ago. This is another one that took me only a day, and it kept me entertained the whole time. As usual, this is definitely NOT the place to start this series. There are simply too many characters and events referenced to make sense of it without having read the previous books. If you've forgotten what happened in earlier books, there are some decent summaries available online.

While I enjoyed the book, it's pretty standard according to the Dresden Files formula. That is, we have a self-contained mystery that gets resolved by the end and we have tie-ins to the overall series arc. We take a break in this one from the war between wizards and vampires that has been going on since about book 3, although the specter of the war does hang over our heroes (a villain tempts Harry with an offer that would give him a lot of power relative to vampires, and Harry can't get a lot of help from his fellow wizards because they're spread pretty thin due to losses they've taken in the war). I'm starting to see an even bigger picture than the war, which is interesting. I'm excited to see where that goes.

The background information we get here is not really centered on one aspect of the story. We learn more about the Denarians ("fallen" beings in symbiotic magical relationships with humans; that's an oversimplification, though), more about the Knights of the Cross (faith-fueled warriors; again, an oversimplification) and hints about how they may be chosen, more about the Archive (a little girl who's also a magical repository of human knowledge), among others. We also meet a few new species of Fae -- Gruffs (rather goatlike creatures associated with the Summer Court) and Hobs (sightless creatures associated with the Winter Court). And we learn a bit about yet another form of magic, soulfire, which contrasts with the Hellfire the Denarians employ. It's this last bit that Harry is left thinking about at the end of the book, and I have a feeling we'll learn a lot more about soulfire in upcoming books. Finally, if you'll remember from a previous volume, Queen Mab of the Winter Court was owed three favors by Harry. He's already repaid one and he's charged with the second one in this book.

One aspect seemed like a bit of an afterthought, that of Harry recognizing an area he hasn't been to before. This is given a name and an explanation near the end of the book. I'm fairly certain something is being set up for a later volume, so I'm willing to let it slide for now. However, I do think something could have been done to work it into the story a little better.

There's not a whole lot to say about characterization. While we learn a bit more about Sanya (a Knight of the Cross) and the Archive, and while something we've learned about John Marcone in the past is reinforced (he's the major crime lord in the Chicago area), we don't get to know the characters a whole lot better. I'm not too upset about that, though. Harry's character develops more than I would have expected in some of the other recent books, and the first-person POV limits how well we can get to know secondary characters. Harry is, once again, under suspicion during part of this book, but that's not so unusual for him. Because you're reading along in Harry's POV, you don't really notice that anything is out of the ordinary until someone else calls him on it. And then you find yourself thinking back and realizing yeah, the accusations make sense. It's cleverly done.

It sounds like a lot is going on, but everything works pretty well together, all things considered. Part of the problem is trying to condense all of these events and concepts into a paragraph or two. Spaced out over a whole book, trust me, it works.

The setting is, once again, the Chicago area (including some important events on an island in one of the Great Lakes). For the first time, an explanation is offered as to WHY so many supernatural things seem to be happening in Chicago. I hope this is developed further in future books. This time, it's winter, and a particularly nasty one at that. It seems to be snowing nearly all the time and there are questions as to whether Winter Court Fae are using the snow to further their purposes. It seems to me most of the characters would have a bit more trouble getting around in this kind of weather (Thomas -- Harry's half-brother -- drives a Humvee and Michael -- another Knight of the Cross -- has a truck, but those are about the only practical vehicles I remember), but I guess the people of Chicago are used to nasty winters!

I don't think I've mentioned this in any of my previous reviews of this series, but there are a fair number of pop culture references in this series, overall. Some are pretty blatant (some references to Tolkien's "The Two Towers") and others are subtler (a character named Thomas uttering the phrase "Leper outcast unclean" -- there's a certain, completely unrelated book you'd have to have read to get that one). I haven't paid a lot of attention to this aspect of things before but as I read the next few books in the series, I'll be on the lookout. One thing you can say about Jim Butcher is that he knows his genre very well, and he clearly enjoys it, and I like reading books by authors like that.

The writing style is similar to before. While there are some humorous moments in this book (I like what Harry did with a catnip toy, in particular), it has a serious tone and a somber ending. Once again, be prepared for adult themes (nothing graphic, though), four-letter words, and plenty of violence, both conventional and magical. There are at least three major confrontations in the second half of the book, with little time for rest between one and the next. This is pretty typical for a Dresden book -- the tension is great and you want to keep reading.

Bottom line: if you haven't read any of the earlier books, go back and start with Storm Front. If you're already a fan of these books, this one is more in the same vein and you'll probably like it, as well. I'm sure I'll break down and buy #11 in a few days.

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Nicholas King

Small Favor: Dealing with Hell

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2014

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When a Fae Queen asks you to take on a favor, you just know nothing good is going to come of it. Especially not when it involves Johnny Marcone and the Denarians are involved. Small Favor is the first novel where major shakeups begin in the Dresden universe. Nothing remains the same, especially in an action-oriented series like this. The upheaval is always hell, though, and this book’s journey is no different.
A harsher-than-normal winter has descended on Chicago and Dresden is called to a scene of carnage. It’s a typical start to a Dresden story but there is a sharp difference. With Murphy no longer running Special Investigations (and the division on a tighter budget), Dresden doesn’t get much work from them anymore. This change doesn’t seem significant until one realizes that Dresden’s connection to the police was his largest anchor to the mortal world. With that mooring cast aside, it pushes Dresden to move closer to the supernatural world. It represents his growing isolation from the mundane world.
Small Favor finds Dresden at his most relaxed in the series since Death Masks. The loss of Lasciel’s shadow has affected our hero on an emotional level. While he was never overtly fond of the constant temptation Lash represented, he certainly appreciated how the shadow augmented his abilities. The opening with the Carpenter family felt good to read. Harry’s ongoing mentorship with Molly Carpenter has softened some of his harsher edges that had developed over the last few books. The snowball fight shows that the rough relationship Charity Carpenter (Molly’s overprotective mother) and Harry have previously shared has been sanded down to a grudging respect.
Small Favor shows Harry relying on his allies to a greater extent, revealing his increased maturity. The question of relationships is important to the novel. Harry has always skirted the outer edges of the darker side of morality. His decisions in previous novels lead to increasingly dangerous confrontations, such as his growing enmity with the Summer Court of the Sidhe. Harry and Michael Carpenter have often been at odds on what constitutes moral action. This book brings that argument front and center. Michael is driven by the need to offer redemption, as a good Christian like he is should. Harry is not the forgiving sort, resorting to handing out bloody retribution when it is warranted. Both drives come from the same place, wanting to protect the innocent, but they are two wholly divergent paths to a solution.
When dealing with the Denarians, however, perhaps the more forceful path is the best one. The return of the Knights of the Blackened Denarius is a welcome one for me. With the Black Council largely keeping to the shadows, the Denarians are one of the few antagonists in the Dresden universe who are almost unambiguously evil. Nicodemus Archelone remains an excellent antagonist who possesses just the right amount of panache. The novel also introduces three new Denarians to take note of: Tessa (Nicodemus’s wife), Rosanna (Tessa’s trusted right-hand woman and corruptor of Sanya, a Knight of the Cross), and Thorned Namshiel (a Hellfire-infused sorcerer demon). It’s greatly implied that these three are either members of or working with Black Council. In a universe like Dresden’s, where gray is the predominant color, it’s always refreshing to see truly evil villains.
One of the overriding themes of Small Favor is family, even if it’s one constructed from disparate pieces. Harry has grown a close-knit, patchwork family over the previous nine novels. Despite their ideological differences, Michael and Harry are brothers, which even Charity comes to recognize. Harry certainly has a protective uncle streak when it comes to Molly. Their fights and disagreements are not born out of malice but familiarity and genuine concern. Butcher has done an exceptional job constructing this web of connected characters. You just know this will make whatever tragedies he’s concocted that much more heartbreaking when they finally happen.

Harry Dresden matures and the foundation is being laid for a mysterious and dangerous future. Small Favor is in many ways a novel that reinforces some aspects of the existing paradigm. It also represents the beginning of a seismic shift in that paradigm going forward. The readers are almost halfway through Jim Butcher’s 20+ book opus. I have the feeling the audience is on the road to Hell with Harry and we’ve all agreed it’s worth the ride.

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Jamie W.

Another great read in The Dresden Files series

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2014

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Dresden is back in trouble again, over his head and out powered. It seems Mab, the Queen of the Sidhe Winter Court, has come to call in a debt that Harry owes her. Johnny Marcone has gone missing and Mab wants Dresden to save him. Whenever the Sidhe are involved, there's always something to be wary of. The Sidhe don't often get involved in human business, so saving a gangster seems out of character for Mab. Dresden soon discovers there is an ulterior motive when the Summer Court start picking fights with him as Winter's emissary. Dresden must ally himself with foes in order to overcome even deadlier ones. The Denarians are back in Chicago and have their sights set on the final moves of a chess match that has been lining up for centuries.

Another great read in The Dresden Files series. Just when you think Dresden has gotten out of the worst scrap, another even deadlier one comes along. Dresden's wit and inner dialogue had me chuckling yet again in this book. Looking forward to the next in the series.

This is the first in the series that I listened to on audiobook instead of reading. I was worried that it would take away from my enjoyment of the book. But, I was pleased with James Marsters' take on the book. Aside from the few times that my mind wandered to thinking of Spike from the Buffy series, I enjoyed Marsters as Dresden. I would definitely listen to him again.

Some good quotes:
"“That’s the problem with you nearly immortal types,” I said. “You couldn’t spot a pop culture reference if it skittered up and implanted an embryo down your esophagus.”"

"Punctuality is for people with nothing better to do,”

"Body or mind, heart or soul, we’re all human, and we’re supposed to feel pain. You cut yourself off from it at your own risk."

“"When I want an opinion from you, Dresden." she said, "I'll read it in your entrails."”

“You rush a miracle worker, you get lousy miracles!”

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Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)

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