Side Jobs
while mixed in places was an anthology that was organized wonderfully around
traveling through the timeline of The Dresden Files from lighter, fun
stories, to darker, more reflective stories on the events of the later novels. It’s such a winning formula that Brief
Cases, the second short stories collection, took it and continued the
idea. However, unlike Side Jobs, Skin
Game wasn’t a book that changed everything, it was just the last novel
installment of The Dresden Files until 2020 brought Peace Talks and
Battle Ground (which were originally intended to be one novel but were
split due to length) and thusly Brief Cases doesn’t have as much of a
necessity to deal with fallout for characters.
It did close with an original short story, “Zoo Day,” and was published
only two years before the latest installments would be so for fans it was
essentially a spring in a drought. Brief
Cases is also structured chronologically like Side Jobs, but
features more variety in points of view for each of the short stories. Of the 12 short stories, 6 are from the
perspective of Harry Dresden, 2 from Molly Carpenter, 1 each from John Marcone,
Waldo Butters, and Anastasia Luccio, and 1 switching between the points of view
of Harry, his daughter Maggie, and Mouse.
The story introductions also generally didn’t go into detail on where
these were published previously, so that information is being drawn from the wiki
page (https://dresdenfiles.fandom.com/wiki/Brief_Cases)
for further information.
The collection opens with the story from Luccio’s perspective
with the pulpy titled “A Fistful of Warlocks” originally published in Straight
Outta Tombstone. From the title of
both the story and the anthology it was originally published in, it is a
Western, and that is perhaps why it’s a story I didn’t quite connect with
me. Westerns as a genre are something I’m
not really interested in and haven’t consumed much of outside of knowing a lot
of their tropes, and “A Fistful of Warlocks” is a story full of tropes. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, it makes it
a fairly fun and quick read, set before the time of Harry Dresden and following
Luccio as she tracks down a warlock in the Wild West, meeting Wyatt Earp, and
being attacked by other warlocks. It is
a story that doesn’t really have a nice conclusion, but ends with Luccio
finding a vital piece of information on two of the warlocks featured in the
story. Now she is a very fun character
to follow, but this one suffers from being a bit too disconnected to what’s going
on in The Dresden Files proper.
Sure, the warlocks featured do have some major connections to Dead
Beat, but this was a story where we didn’t really learn a whole lot more
about Luccio or the warlocks because this is explicitly a prequel written after
the fact. It’s an issue with prequels in
general which stops them from working since you have a character your audience
is already going to have some understanding of where they’re going. 7/10.
The second and fourth stories in Brief Cases
are the first two installments of a trilogy of stories included but split up
and will be discussed in sequence with the third installmetn of the trilogy (the
seventh in this installment) so going to the third story of the anthology, “AAAA
Wizardry” we have another of the smaller stories. This was part of a tabletop role playing game
based around The Dresden Files and shows Harry teaching some young
wizards about magic and kind of how it works as a frame for a story about an exorcism
Harry had to perform. It’s really quite
a simple story and closely resembles micro-fiction, as the length makes it easy
to read with one final twist about what’s causing the horrors of a family who’s
children have been suffering from a bogeyman.
The twist itself is perhaps a bit too obvious, especially when you realize
that the “AAAA” in the title stands for four A’s used in understanding magic. This is a story that’s nothing new and I’ve
seen done before in other places, but here it is still a lot of fun with both
the frame and the story proper works to tell something that just works. 8/10.
The lighthearted “Curses” is next, which is a story
that you’ll get more out of if you have a connection to Chicago, the Chicago
Cubs, or Illinois in general. This is
Harry taking on the case to reverse the Billy Goat curse on Wrigley Field, something
that came from a man being escorted out of a World Series game in the rain due
to his smelly goat in 1945. Now, the
real world curse would be broken in 1945, but since Jim Butcher is a Chicago native
and Harry is based in Chicago, it’s the perfect little story to tackle
something insane like that. Butcher
writes it like a film noir, slowly going through the suspects with a mysterious
client representing the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field because they don’t want
the media even having the idea of them thinking the curse is an actual thing
and the Cubs would like to win the World Series for once. Harry then uses his detective skills to track
down the pub William Sianis owned, and eventually the one who set the curse,
the goat. Yes, the curse was set by a
goat. Well, not really a goat, but a
Fae, the king of the Tylwyth Teg, Gwynn ap Nudd, who was a fan of baseball but the
game was sold out so Sianis had the idea of him disguising himself as a goat to
get in and he did it a little too well.
The fake out and delve into the Nevernever here is honestly wonderful, it
makes the story feel so unique and weird and the conclusion makes it all the
better putting it near the top in terms of quality for the anthology. 10/10.
“Even Hand” gives readers an insight into the mind of
Gentleman Johnnie Marcone, who has been in The Dresden Files since the
very beginning and has steadily built up his power as a signer of the Unseelie
Accords, making him a Baron in the supernatural world. This short story allowing readers into his
mind is really interesting since we explore how he operates within the mob,
always at a distance and always to his organization’s own game. This was published originally in Dark and Stormy
Knights and the idea of Marcone as a dark knight is an interesting one, one
that “Even Hand” duly explores as he goes out of his way whenever there are
children involved. Justine brings a
child to him and asks for protection from the Fomor (the frog like creatures
who popped up post Changes with the genocide of the Red Court). Marcone also finishes the story by imploring
Justine to getting the child to St. Mary of the Angels where she could be safe,
again something very reflective of who Marcone is. He begins the character taking care of an
enemy in a very violent fashion, but after that moment there is a lot of class
in his dealings from that point. Ghost
Story, Cold Days, and Skin Game all take their time to put
Marcone nominally on the side of our heroes, though Skin Game does have
him as the victim of the heist at the center of that novel, but Butcher uses
this to remind readers that nominally is the key word. Marcone is still power hungry and working
only in his own interest which may be a portent of things to come. 9/10.
Now it’s time to discuss the Bigfoot trilogy of novellas,
and yes they are novellas as all three of them are the three longest stories in
Brief Cases. “B is for Bigfoot”
from Under My Hat: Ttales from the Cauldron, “I Was a Teenage Bigfoot”
from Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste, and “Bigfoot on Campus” from Hex
Appeal deal with Harry being hired thrice by Strength of a River in his
Shoulders (shortened to River Shoulders), a Forest Person who are Bigfoot/Sasquaches/Yeti/etc.
to protect his scion son, Irwin. The
trilogy itself develops and evolves as The Dresden Files evolves as they
are set after Full Moon, Dead Beat, and Turn Coat
respectively. It is also important to
note that these three were also published in Working for Bigfoot, a
special edition of the three stories published by Subterranean Press in 2015. “B is for Bigfoot” is a story which could easily
have stood on its own and not really made for a trilogy, River Shoulders is
worried that his son is being bullied by those in school and his gentle nature
from his bigfoot heritage is influencing him to not be fighting back. It’s a very human motivation for getting
Harry involved, though it is made clear that he has to stay on the sidelines,
only made worse by the fact that it’s supernatural threats which are causing the
bullying. It’s a nice version of early
Harry and wraps up nicely, especially with the way Harry interacts with everyone
unburdened by what he will become, but the story does get bogged down in
explaining the bullies and the fact that the PE teacher is part of it is one of
those things that feels really cliched.
The characters are solid, however, especially the supporting cast and
Butcher clearly realizes that he has something special with these
characters. 7/10.
“I Was a Teenage Bigfoot” continues the light natured
tone of the previous short story in the trilogy, but it is one with hints of
some of the darkness to come. Irwin is
sick with mono despite being a scion, something in The Dresden Files
universe that are invulnerable to general human illness. Harry is brought in to observe him by River
Shoulders, with continual contact to Irwin’s mother, Dr. Helena Pounder. Irwin actually realizes who Harry might be in
this one though this is a really simple story.
Harry has to use deduction to understand what exactly is ailing Irwin by
understanding what Irwin faces at this school, it’s a school whose director has
gathered several scions as a possibility to hone the skills of scions subtly. This is then subverted when it is revealed
that the dean resorted to black magic on Irwin so he could reverse his male
pattern baldness. It’s such an absurd
plot point that it makes the story really just fall into place as it’s secretly
about dealing with adolescence and growing up without a father or a traditional
family. 8/10.
The pinnacle of the trilogy is “Bigfoot on Campus” as
this is a story set after Turn Coat, at a point where Jim Butcher was
writing Changes and giving Harry a daughter of his own, with several
years having passed, Irwin being in college in Oklahoma and having fallen in
love with Connie Barrowill. The story
has a frame narrative with Harry in a jail cell explaining what happened on
campus that evening where violence broke out due to Connie being not human, but
a young vampire of the White Court whose father wishes her to come of age and
kill Irwin. What’s really interesting is
that Jim Butcher does a really good job of setting up Irwin and Connie’s
relationship in a relatively short period of time. It’s not entirely three dimensional, but
compared to some other relationships he’s written, it’s amazing to see it come together
throughout the story as they vow to stay together despite both of them technically
being monsters. There’s also this great
tension between Irwin and Harry, all because River Shoulders still hasn’t had built
up the courage to meet his son, something that is rectified by the end of this
story. Connie’s father, Charles, is also great, having some history with Dresden
as one of the vampires at the events of the climax in Blood Rites
although this is a retcon, but not a bad one.
It immediately creates some history for Charles as a character and gives
sufficient reason for him to dislike Harry and be willing to make things harder
for him. It makes the story work all the
better and leaves things open for further appearances of Irwin in the series
(one that I believe has happened but not been collected in an anthology like
this). 9/10.
The next two stories are those from the perspective of
Molly Carpenter with “Bombshells” and “Cold Case” set after Ghost Story
and Cold Days, respectively. “Bombshells”
explores her psyche during the period where she isn’t quite certain if Harry
Dresden is going to be alive again, while he is being healed by Mab. Again, this is a novella and not a short
story, and an incredibly necessary one, especially since Molly Carpenter as seen
in Ghost Story was a broken one and getting into her psyche is
brilliant. For much of this she’s paired
with Andi and Butters, with Butters she takes advantage of his hospitality
while Andi attempts to get through to her as a human being to come back to her
senses. This is complicated when Molly
and Andi have to work together to infiltrate a stronghold when a treaty of
non-aggression is being signed and of course shenanigans happen. The treaty isn’t actually signed because of
the ladies and a lot of the story reads like the title “Bombshells” was thought
of before the plot though that isn’t much of a detriment, it just feels like Butcher
wanted to write about powerful women infiltrating and causing explosions. It just goes on a bit too long as a novella
and either would have worked better as a tighter short story or as an actual
novel with a deeper plot, but those of these suggestions would cause the story
to be irreparably changed. 7/10.
“Cold Case” fairs better by being tighter and hitting
a better subgenre of fantasy, specifically Lovecraftian horror as Molly, under
the mantle of the Winter Lady, has to travel to Alaska where one of the Old Ones
is sleeping. The Sleeper is essentially
Cthulhu and “Cold Case” is Butcher’s tribute to At the Mountains of Madness,
playing on an isolated setting with a very small cast, and cultists causing cosmic
horror. It also explores Molly coming to
terms with the Winter Court as an organization, simply because she is trying to
be Harry in her actions and can’t. The
story pairs her with Warden Carlos Ramirez, a relatively important supporting
character, and ends with Molly injuring him accidentally since as the Winter
Lady she must remain a maiden to complete that part of the maiden, mother, and
crone trinity. It’s made work by the
sacrifices, all children, being taken to be part of the Winter Court’s war
against the Outsiders, giving Molly a real taste of what she has become. 9/10.
Butcher espouses some weird views about the American justice
system in “Jury Duty” where Harry has jury duty, is selected, and solves a year-old
murder with the help of Will Borden. The
inclusion of Will is just so Harry has a way of tracking down physical
supernatural evidence using his werewolf powers, but his inclusion is a nice
one. It adds a bit of optimism as Harry
has extreme cynicism about the justice system.
Now, I cannot tell if Butcher is using this story where a man is
innocent but all of the evidence points to him being guilty of the murder, to
be as clever as he implies about how the slow nature of the court system doesn’t
work and is interfered with by asking easy questions, or if it’s examining the implications
of having a hidden magical world underneath the normal world causing issues for
normal humans. The later would work
better for the story being told, especially since the trial ends in a mistrial
due to the White Court being responsible for the murder and a witness being
found, but unable to be called due to the supernatural threat. The former just doesn’t feel very well thought
out, or coming to the proper conclusions when presented with the problems of
the justice system. Butcher isn’t
exploring the systemic racism embedded in the justice system which is very
weird in a story like this. 7/10.
“Day One” is the story from the perspective of Waldo
Butters on his first day to be trained as a Knight of the Cross and is the
weakest of the stories in Brief Cases.
It’s not bad by any means, Butters is a great protagonist and his interactions
with Michael Carpenter are great. Harry
being a mentor to Butters and having to stay on the sidelines while he
undergoes this quest is great and Butcher does make a good job of doing his
best. There’s also a great examination
of Butters’ ideals and the way he deals with the trauma of slaying
monsters. 6/10.
The final story is the one completely new installment
with “Zoo Day” which explores what happens when Harry takes Maggie and Mouse to
the zoo. It’s the story that deals with
the fact that Harry is a father and wants to be in the life of his daughter. There are three narrators to this story,
Harry, Maggie, and Mouse, all three telling of what happens that day from their
perspective which gives great insight to who they are. Harry is obviously nervous but making an
actual connection with his daughter, realizing how to be a good role model and
to spend time with her despite being the Winter Knight and protector of
Demonreach while helping a young warlock because it is the right thing to do. Maggie is Butcher’s brilliant exploration of
post traumatic stress disorder through the eyes of a child. She has a panic attack and is constantly dealing
with voices in her head, but is attempting to come to terms with them. This story has her chase them away through manifestation
of haunts. Mouse’s perspective is of the
best of boys, always there for his friends and family but has to confront his
evil brother who doesn’t like the fact that Mouse is subservient to humans which
is kind of hilarious and dark all at the same time. Honestly this, like “Aftermath” in Side
Jobs is the apex of the collection.
10/10.
Perhaps it is because it includes stories written well
into The Dresden Files’ publication, even when it is set earlier, but Brief
Cases manages to be the superior short story collection in almost every way
though there are some weaker links, but the highs are higher and there are more
of them. 8/10.
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