"Side Jobs" by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden - the only wizard in the Chicago Yellow Pages. Lost items found. No love potions. And an entire alternate reality was thus born from the mind of Jim Butcher. This anthology of his shorter works "Side Jobs" takes us to tales between the world-shattering events in which Harry takes a central role, from saving the world from enslavement by vampires, to killing a demi-god while riding a T. Rex he animated.

Harry is quite simply a world class bad ass. And smart ass.

Fans of the series will recognize all of the characters used in these various short stories. Butcher "fills in the gaps" between several of his eleven novels with tales both light and dark, and occasionally poignant and ridiculous. He also uses these stories to flesh out the characters of his various friends, acquaintances, and cohorts. From the stalwart by jittery Butters (Harry's medical expert, medical examiner, and occasional surgeon) to his Chicago Police Department contact Murphy, who has been described in the novel as "small but fierce!", to Mack, the owner of Harry's favorite pub.

In the novels, Harry uses his mouth as much as a weapon as his wizardry, and that holds true in these short stories. His smart aleck retorts have become the keystone of this character, as both Harry and Butcher have matured from the first novel "Storm Front" with its various flaws and inaccuracies to "Changes" - Butcher's first cliffhanger in the series and finest effort to date.

For fans of the series, this collection is worth purchasing solely for the novella that comes at the end, which has not been previously published. No spoiler forthcoming - other than to tell you that Murphy is on the case, searching for Harry and those who mean him harm. And along the way, enlisting the help of a variety of Harry's friends.

These stories truly helped this reader get a better understanding of how Butcher sees Harry. To the new reader, they will likely spark an interest to delve further into the Dresden Files.