Book Review: Brief Cases| Jim Butcher

The Stats

📖 BOOK REVIEW⠀📚

BOOK: Brief Cases

AUTHOR: Jim Butcher @longshotauthor

Publisher: Roc Hardcover, of Penguin Random House @penguinrandomhouse

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Published:  June 5th 2018

The Review

As much as I am a fan of the Dresden Files, I am even more a fan of the side-story anthologies that come out of it. Whenever Butcher is called upon to contribute to other people’s anthologies or themed collections or challenges, he comes up with these brilliant little stories that make the world of the Dresden Files larger, deeper, and more full. Brief Cases is an anthology of those stories, the second one of its kind. This one includes a series of stories I desperately needed to read: B is for Bigfoot, I was a Teenage Bigfoot, and Bigfoot on Campus. Skin Game and Peace Talks both reference these stories heavily, even making them central to the plot, so it was great to finally get my hands on them. They were pretty funny, too.

The other stories in there are solid, including Cold Case and Bombshells, stories about Molly Carpenter as the Rag Lady and as the Winter Lady. She gets to be less of a damaged child trying to survive and more… awesome.

The stand out story for me, however, is Zoo Day. Dresden takes his daughter Maggie and dog Mouse out for a day at the zoo. Along the way, he discovers a demon-summoning warlock… and talks him down. It’s great, not a lot of action, but lots of heart.

Then, it switches to Maggie’s perspective. While Dresden is dealing with the Warlock, she’s dealing with a threat that adults aren’t even aware of: barely perceptible creatures that possess children to try and get them to commit suicide. Wow. That’s dark. And scary. And her vulnerability to them is really sad. At the same time, you get to see that she and her father feel the same way about each other. They love each other, and are desperately scared the other will “see them for what they really are” and reject them.

Oh, and then it switches to Mouse. That’s right. The dog. The giant, angelic tibetan mastiff. Who is aware of everything the others are dealing with, and has to deal with problems of his own that even they can’t see. I listened to this as an audiobook, and it is amazing to hear James Marsters not only do Dresden and Maggie, but then a dog with a Mandarin accent.

Consider if you like :

If you’re all grown up and ready for darker, more mature content, but also loved Harry Potter, give the other magical Harry a try. These short stories hit a lot of different genres and themes, so if you aren’t sure whether you’d be into the series as a whole, give this anthology a shot.

*****

Summary:

Brief Cases is the sequel anthology of Side Jobs, and will be released before Peace Talks

Set to include the following stories:

An exclusive novellette from the perspective of Maggie and Mouse.

“Curses” — from The Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow

Takes place between Small Favor and Turn Coat.

“AAAA Wizardry” — from the Dresden Files RPG, published by Evil Hat

Harry teaches a group of young Wardens his procedure for dealing with supernatural nasties.

“Even Hand” — originally from Dark and Stormy Knights, edited by Pat Elrod. Reprinted in Beyond the Pale, edited by Henry Herz.

Gentleman Johnnie Marcone clashes with a rival supernatural power. Told from Marcone’s point of view.

Takes place between Turn Coat and Changes.

“B is for Bigfoot” — from Under My Hat: Tales From the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.

Takes place between Fool Moon and Grave Peril.

“I Was A Teenage Bigfoot” — from Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.

Takes place circa Dead Beat.

“Bigfoot on Campus” — from Hex Appeal, edited by P.N. Elrod. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.

Takes place between Turn Coat and Changes.

“Bombshells” — Molly-POV novella from Dangerous Women, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Duzois.

Molly teams up with Justine and Andi to thwart a Fomor plot.

Takes place between Ghost Story and Cold Days.

“Jury Duty” — short story for Unbound, edited by Shawn Speakman.

Harry endures Jury Duty.

Set after Skin Game.

“Cold Case” — short story from Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes.

In Molly’s first job in her new role, she teams up with Ramirez to take on a Lovecraft-esque cult.

Takes place shortly after Cold Days.

“Day One” — short story for Unfettered II, edited by Shawn Speakman.

Butters’ first mission.

Set after Skin Game.

“A Fistful of Warlocks” — short story for Straight Outta Tombstone, edited by David Boop.

Luccio takes on necromancers in the Wild West.

Set long before the events of the series.  

I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.