Book Review: Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 15 of Dresden Files

Publisher: Roc (May 27, 2014)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let’s face it, there’s really no such thing as a bad Dresden Files book – but some are better than others. For me, this series reached its peak round book 5 or 6. I loved Death Masks and Blood Rites, and though everything since has been very enjoyable, there are still times I get nostalgic for the days where Harry’s life was a lot simpler. Well, relatively simpler. The point is, each installment has added another layer of complexity and drama, until each book became a tangle of White Council politics, vampire mischief and Fae court shenanigans, and basically if you haven’t been following the series you wouldn’t have a snowflake’s chance in hell of figuring out what’s going on if you’d only jumped on board at this point.

I understand it had to happen. Change is a good thing, especially when it comes to a long running urban fantasy series, otherwise things would get old quick. But gone are the days when we used to get fun things like cases that send Harry to a horror film festival, or like, to the set of a porno flick. After about ten books, the inevitable bloat happened. The series was in need of a reset button, or at least a way to start tying things together.

For me, Changes was that reset button. And Ghost Story and Cold Days did the tying up. These books marked an important transition for the series, one that I felt was needed and that this handful of novels achieved quite well. However, it wasn’t until Skin Game that I felt that we were finally taking the first real step in this new direction. I have not enjoyed a Dresden Files book this much in a while, and I’m convinced now that the series has regained its feet at last. Sure, we still have the White Council politics, vampire mischief, Fae Court shenanigans, and what have you, but once more we’re back to having a very tightly focused story around a single EPIC situation – it’s heist time, baby!

Ever since he took on the mantle of the Winter Knight, Harry’s life has taken some pretty dark turns. Mab still has him bent over a barrel, but that hasn’t stopped him from fighting back, looking for ways to push the limits of her authority. So when the Queen of the Winter court orders him to aid the big bad Nicodemus and his gang of fallen angels, Harry finds himself in quite a jam. The Denarians want to break into Hades’ vault and steal the Holy Grail, and Harry’s service to Mab requires him to help, but who’s to say Nicodemus will honor his bargain and keep from killing them all after the job is done? And that’s assuming the job CAN be done.

Ah, I love heist stories. It’s a bit of a niche topic in fantasy, but it gets me excited every time. And everyone knows that a good heist story needs a posse, so of course we have a wonderful cast of characters with us on this particular adventure. Some old friends come along for the ride, as well as a few new faces. Among this team of talented individuals, we have the thief Anna Valmont, the rogue warlock Hannah Ascher, the wizard mercenary Binder, a shapeshifter named Goodman Grey, and even a forest creature called a Genoskwa. And of course, Harry, Karrin Murphy, and Michael Carpenter. They are led by the nefarious Nicodemus and his daughter Deirdre. As a result, we have a good mixture of humor and easygoing camaraderie with savage, violent action. Whenever the Denarians get involved, you also know we’ll get our fair share of treachery, deceit, and unexpected twists and turns.

The other great thing about this series is the continued development of Harry’s character. He’s a far cry from the simple wizard he used to be; along with this series, his role has ballooned into epic proportions, albeit he is still very humble and self-deprecating about it. For this reason, I loved a couple of the conversations he has with Michael in this novel. For all his denials, we know Harry is special, but he’s been beating himself up over the last fifteen books and it’s time someone really put it into perspective. Jim Butcher really does a stellar job with these heart-to-heart talks.

Also, completely unrelated but just have to say this – boy, can the man can write one HELL of a sex scene. In the end, the circumstances aren’t really what you think and Harry might have to wait a little longer in the love department, but still. Wowzas.

This book was just pure fun, harkening back to the days when I could enjoy a good Harry story without having it spin out of control into half a dozen different directions. For the first time in years, I finished a Dresden Files book without feeling mentally exhausted. Finally, the next stage for this series has become fully realized right here in Skin Game, I’m hoping the trend will continue into the next book Peace Talks and beyond.