Review: "Side Jobs" by Jim Butcher

Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Have you ever read a series, and wondered what happened to the main character between book? I have, especially when authors mention events that don't occur in the books.

Jim Butcher is clearly a reader as well as a writer, because he provides his readers with this information in "Side Jobs". This anthology starts with the very first Dresden short story (where Harry meets Karrin) and ends with an addendum to "Changes". In between, Butcher points out where each short story fits in the series, so if someone is starting out new to Dresden, they can read each story in "Side Jobs" in between the novels.

Butcher's writing style matures through this book. The choppy action of the first short story smooths out throughout "Side Jobs", as the characters grow into believable people. Butcher even manages to do two story from the point of view of someone not Harry - Thomas and Karrin - which I assume is not easy given they exist in the same universe as Harry.

The only caution I have would be not to read the last story until you read the novel, "Changes". As an addendum to the novel, you need to read the novel first.

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