123 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quells hunger until our next meal, October 26, 2010
There are two reasons for reading this book. The first is that all the previous Harry Dresden short stories are gathered together in one place, including the first, apparently unpublished short story that comes before Storm Front and whose relatively lesser qualities betray its status as one of Butcher's first stories. And yet it also contains some very good sections and passages. Putting this story first gives a real feel for how Butcher has grown as a writer, and would probably be inspiring to any novice writers out there. But you have "Vignette," "Something Borrowed" (in which Harry for once is intentionally, and quite effectively, rude to a wicked stepmother), "It's my birthday too," "Heorot," "Day off" (the only genuinely comedic Dresden work), "Backup," "The Warrior," (perhaps the most philosophical of the Dresden works), "Last Call," and "Love Hurts." Each is marked by the books which bracket it and they come in chronological order. Along the way it's not hard to be reminded of Butcher's penchant for homage to his favorite stories, films, and TV shows, as well as his gift for creating effective scenes of tension between main characters. Pretty much everyone in Dresden's Chicago appears at one time or another, and some side plots and characters get fleshed out in these stories in ways that would be hard to duplicate in the main novels.
The second reason for reading this book is, of course, the final story in the book. "Aftermath" takes place shortly after the end of "Changes," a book certain to win the World Fantasy Award for Most Apt Title. There are no spoilers in this review, but it is probably influenced by the peculiar fact pattern: due to a death in the family of a close friend, I had taken Monday off from work, and somebody at the post office screwed up and delivered my copy one day early. Perhaps the coincidence between external loss and Harry Dresden's situation at the end of "Changes" colored my appreciation, but I was actually kind of grateful for this story. It's at one and the same time unusually interesting and deeply unsatisfying, a change of pace and a coy hinting at future directions -- much in the manner of a funeral, I realize. Butcher carries on the narrative from a wholly unexpected point of view, which I found both refreshing and convincing. He answers few of my questions - well, none, actually - while raising still more. What I valued about this little intermezzo was the way it deepened some of the characters in the Dresden universe, central and peripheral, hero and villain. It doesn't really satify my hunger for the next novel, yet it's a healthy dissatisfaction after a worthwhile read. These are all fun stories, sometimes comedic, sometimes thoughtful, and at the end rather wistful.
Thanks, Mr. Butcher. You made one rather bad day a little better.
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135 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Big Answers, Lots of Neat Perspectives, October 26, 2010
First things first: if you're picking this up because you're hoping that the included novella, _Aftermath_, will answer the huge cliffhanger at the end of
Changes: it doesn't, not clearly. No big answers here (though many of the stories, including Aftermath, will include plenty of small details to please and tease dedicated fans).
Instead, this collection is a set of alternate perspectives: stories from the viewpoint of Thomas or Murphy, a story that shows us Harry when he was just starting out as a detective, a story that focuses on Harry when he's *not* working on a case and just trying to take a day off, a story that focuses on the Carpenter family, so forth. Butcher includes a paragraph or two of commentary at the head of each story, so we get to find out what *his* perspective is on each of the stories, too. A fair number of them were initially written for theme anthologies, so there's a certain amount of "Harry Dresden Does a Wedding Story" or "Harry Dresden Does a Birthday Story" going on, but each stands on its own merits, and fans of the series will be very satisfied with what they get here (as long as they aren't looking for answers to major plot arcs).
In fact, I'd go so far as to call this a "must read" for dedicated fans of the Dresden books: not only does each story have plenty of the action, comedy, and "Crowning Moments of Awesome" that have made the series so successful to date, but dedicated fans will find answers too all kinds of minor side puzzles that Butcher hasn't necessarily addressed head-on in the novels (like more information about Gard's true nature). That said, if you've read all the other stories in here already and are picking this up just for _Aftermath_ because you want answers to what happened after _Changes_, you won't get clear ones; _Aftermath_ is told from Murphy's perspective, not Harry's, and it's more about how Murphy personally processes the, well, aftermath of the events in that book. While we do get a few more pieces of the puzzle, it looks like we'll have to wait for the next full novel,
Ghost Story, before we see the whole picture.
I would not recommend this anthology as a starting place for new readers to the series; instead, start with either
Storm Front, the first full novel, or
Welcome to the Jungle, a graphic novel set before the events of Storm Front. Reading this collection first would spoil pretty much every major surprise in the series to date, so yeah, don't do that.
Alternatively, you could pick this collection up and then flip back and forth between it and the novels, reading in proper sequence. If you want to do that, here's a list of the stories in this volume, in chronological order:
A Restoration of Faith...(before the first book, Storm Front)
Vignette.......................Between Death Masks (5) and Blood Rites (6)
Something Borrowed.......Between Dead Beat (7) and Proven Guilty (8)
It's My Birthday, Too.....Between White Knight (9) and Small Favor (10)
Heorot..........................Between White Knight (9) and Small Favor (10)
Day Off.........................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Backup..........................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
The Warrior...................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Last Call.....................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Love Hurts....................Between Small Favor (10) and Turn Coat (11)
Aftermath.....................After Changes
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a hard core fan, this is for you!, October 29, 2010
If you think Harry Dresden is hot and you are dying for a fix before the next book comes out, then this collection of short stories is four star fun.
If you've never read Jim Butcher before, put the book down and get out of the bookstore, please. SIDE JOBS only illustrates that short stories are not where Butcher's main talent lies. This isn't a a critique of one of my favorite fantasy series writers. Butcher has produced 12 stellar books in the Dresden Files series, each one fresh and fun and more riveting than the next. Once an artist has shown himself capable of painting the Sistine Chapel, so what if he can't do Victorian miniatures for watch fobs?
Most of these stories feel like bits broken off of a Dresden Files novel, or odd events happening between the books. They don't have strong independent narratives or interesting short story twists.
But because I love Harry Dresden (and miss him terribly) I liked most of the stories in this book. The first seems to be the weakest, having interest because its the first Dresden story Butcher wrote. The last "AFTERMATH" is a poignant but action-packed novella focusing on Karin Murphy as she and Harry's other friends react to events that follow the stunning conclusion to CHANGES, the 12th book of the series.
It's not a bad story but don't buy the book thinking it will give you clues to the next full length book. It doesn't. This collection also contains "BACKUP", a story narrated by Thomas, Harry's vampire brother. I found it fun to step back from Harry's point of view in these stories, but they also illustrate that while Karin and Thomas are fun supporting characters, they don't have either the wit or the gravitas of our favorite fire-slinging wizard, Harry Dresden. Recommended only to fans of the Dresden Files who are twitching for a fix until Book # 13.
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