Skin Game

April 7, 2014
Even fans of Butcher’s long-running urban fantasy series may find this 15th outing (after Cold Days) does little to advance the overall story. The setup is different, but, once again, wizard turned Winter Knight Harry Dresden must team up with some brave friends and unexpected allies to combat the forces of evil while undertaking an impossible quest. Dresden is forced by his boss, Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness, to partner with longtime foe Nicodemus Archleone and break into the vault of Hades. An almost literal deus ex machina saves the duo, and a surprising revelation about the parasite that Dresden has inside him, rather than inspiring awe, feels like a gimmick aimed at altering the series’ status quo without significantly changing the essence of the lead’s character or personality. Series admirers can only hope for a shot of adrenaline next time out to restore the wonder and imagination of the first Dresden books.

Starred review from April 15, 2014
Butcher ("Cold Days") brings back wizard Harry Dresden for his 15th adventure fighting a rogue's gallery of supernatural villains, but this time in a caper story. Harry has recently taken on the mantle of the Winter Knight, servant to Mab, the Faerie Queen of Air and Darkness, and she has a job for Harry. Mab has a debt to pay to Nicodemus Archleone, Knight of the Blackened Denarius, so she is loaning him Harry's assistance. As holders of one of Judas's pieces of silver imbued with a fallen angel, the Knights are very bad news. Worse for Harry is that the job Nicodemus plans is a raid on the vault of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Dresden is no cream puff himself, but something of an amalgam of his own intelligence and cunning mixed with Harry Potter-like devotion to his friends and the cause of good. VERDICT This is urban fantasy par excellence, with magical action, moral dilemmas, and a wonderful cast. Series fans will love this, and there is enough backstory for newcomers.--Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Harry Dresden, having finally succumbed to Mab and become the Winter Knight, is hiding out. The spirit of the island can help keep his debilitating headaches at bay, and keep Mab off his back. She shows up with a job for himhelp Nicodemus Archleone steal the Holy Grail from Hades. As if that wasn't enough, it's Mab, so nothing is straightforward. Harry, having a good sense for survival, is quite sure Nicodemus is going to do his best to prevent anyone from surviving the experience and that Mab has motives she's not mentioning. Harry brings in Murphy as backup, Michael Carpenter plays his usual stabilizing role, and the rest of Nicodemus' team is, though reprehensible, quite an entertaining bunch of supernatural criminals. Harry is incredibly well suited to the heist, especially the back-stabbing, convoluted, conspiratorial heist that Skin Game turns intoand it's clear that all of this plotting is leading to another, even more epic confrontation. To top it off, a few loose endsincluding a surprising solution to Harry's headachesget tied back into the story. This should be just what fans of the Dresden Files series would hope for. HIgh Demand Backstory: Butcher is generally regarded as the reigning king of urban fantasy, so librarians will find it impossible to keep fans away from his latest novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2015

The latest in this long-running series gets back to its crime fiction roots when series hero Harry Dresden is trapped into helping with a heist. Butcher finds a way for readers to root for Harry and the crew of criminals he is working with to get away with their caper, as that success seems to be the only way forward for Harry, who has been struggling to adapt to the many recent changes in his life. (LJ 4/15/14)

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.