Skin Game by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Putting aside any feelings you, dear reader, may have about Rick and Morty - I have to say that their episode parodying heists had ruined me any time I come across a heist in any narrative media. That’s right, folks - Harry Dresden is going to be part of a heist!

The plot is mostly a lot of fun. It does continue a few plot threads, including closing one out from the book my wife just finished - I think she’s on book 10). There isn’t too much to say without spoiling the story, but I enjoyed the crew assembly. It was interesting to see their interactions as the plot went on. Butcher is also having fun with the tropes, even having Harry call the item they’re after The MacGuffin.

Cold Days by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I won’t know until the next book, but this one seems like the end or Arc 2. We finally learn what was happening with a bunch of loose plot threads. We learn why Rashid has the title he has. Harry and a bunch of his relationships level up to the next level.

Butcher does a good job balancing the overarching book with a more traditional detective plot as Harry has a problem (or 3) to figure out in order to make the right choice at the end. Also, and I’ve been saying this for a few books now - this book REALLY benefits from a reader having read the short stories that take place before this one.

Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reinhart brings his expertise to the topic of whole grain breads. He’s been a champion of these healthier breads for a while, but here he bring his latest knowledge to bear to create tastier whole wheat and whole grain bread.

I’ve made 2 recipes from this book so far - the whole grain naan and the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread. The naan was great. I had no idea that whole grain naan could taste so good. The whole wheat sandwich bread tasted good, but I made some kind of mistake with the shaping and it ended up with a part in the middle of the bread that would easily rip.

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The ending of this story saved it from being 2 stars in my estimation. I’d been telling lots of people that I viewed books 1-6 or 7 as the first arc of The Dresden Files. By the end of those books you’ve met all the main characters (both protagonist and antagonist). Book 7 or 8 until Changes was clearly the second arc. All the chickens were coming home to roost. Each story seemed to be building up on all the chaos that Harry had sewed throughout Chicago and the Never Never. This book can almost be read as an epilogue to the second arc.

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Restoration of Faith” - for all Butcher’s disclaimer that this is amateur hour, it still reads rather well. Enjoyable story with a sort of proto-Harry.

“Vignette” - a fun bit of flash fiction. The only thing that felt weird was Bob seeming a bit meaner than usual.

“Something Borrowed” – from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding - Fun to see the wedding and how things were able to go awry as a consequence of the fight with the Sindhe.

Changes by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Changes, the title promises us, and changes we do get. As I was reading the story, I told my wife, I think this is the close of another grand story arc. She’s at about book 6, which I considered the be the first arc where Butcher finally finishes introducing us to the key players in the story.

I half predicted the climactic plot twist, but I couldn’t have predicted where that would lead. I certainly did not predict the end of the book. That said, I wonder if Butcher did it because he’d painted himself into a corner with a previous book and wanted to rid Harry of a certain sword of Damocles hanging above his head.

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 110, July 2019 by John Joseph Adams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was wondering what happened to the novellas in the newer issues - editorial in this issue answers the question - they were taking longer short stories and felt the novella section was redundant.

Science Fiction
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The Null Space conundrum (Violet Allen) - reminds me a lot of the type of story that Charlie Jane Anders would write. Somewhat nonsensical with an irreverent narrator.

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book combines the two types of Dresden novels into one. It’s both a story concerned with the overarching Dresden plot and a typical detective case. As the back of the book blurb says, this time it’s Morgan (Dresden’s nemesis on the White Council) who “hires” Harry to clear him of murder charges. Doing so brings together plot points from previous books (going as far back as Summer Knight) and gets us to resolve the first climactic part of the story Butcher has been telling over these past 11 novels.

Small Favor by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This entry in The Dresden Files was a real page-turner. I couldn’t stop myself from continually telling myself “just one more chapter”. Once the plot kicked off, it was kinetic the whole time. This one was once again departure from the case structure. Instead it’s like a lot of the previous books (except 9) where we’re just dealing with the consequences of all the prior books. We’ve got the fey, the knights of the cross, Marcone and his inner circle, and a couple others that would be a spoiler to mention.

White Night by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my favorite Dresden in a while. While it’s still tied up in the overarching story, this one is more of a return to a typical detective story. Murders abound and Harry has to find the killer. Like a proper detective book there a red herrings and bad conclusions as Harry and friends work to try and figure things out. In typical Dresden fashion, there’s an explosive climax (I won’t say if it’s literal or metaphorical).