Customer Reviews
How Many Loose Ends! - By: Ms. Sja Hardy, 26 May 2008 
I am a huge Harry Dresden fan & enjoy alll the books for differing reasons each time. I felt at the end of this book that there were more questions than answers & I sometimes got lost with references to other characters & had to back track from my speed reading to try & work out who they were & sometimes even which book I had met them before.
The ending definately left me feeling that the next instalment must be released shortly as it was very open. Usuallly I find that the books have a distinct ending even if the overalll story of Harry & his cohorts continues.
Also not enough of Thomas in this book for me but as usual well worth buying & please hurry up with the next one
Suprised at criticism - By: J. Blake, 19 May 2008 I'm surprised at the criticism from some quarters of loose ends not being tidied up. For me that's the real strength of the series, what gives it its foundation in reality. Life isn't a procession of neatly tied packages & if fiction is to believable it should be either.
So many characters... - By: P. Lewis, 25 Apr 2008 
I have a great fondness for this series. It started a little shakey & then rocked. However, the previous book, 'White Knight' frustrated me with its myraid of characters & increasing feel of total fantasy, but I'd hoped it was a blip in this great series. Now we have the tenth in the Harry Dresden magic series, 'Smalll Favour'. I was so looking forward to reading this volume. It certainly leapt into action, & that action kept on going & going. Despite this it didn't grip me. Around the middle of the book I almost gave up because I was so tired of weird fantasy stuff & countless characters with strange names I couldn't remember, so I began to skim read & flick through pages until my attention was grabbed about a hundred pages from the end. I enjoyed those last hundred pages, especiallly in the hospital & where Harry questions God & faith (best not to say more or I'll spoil it) & I decided not to worry if I was unsure who the heck some of the characters were.
I think some of my increasing frustration with the series is that I adore thrillers & the supernatural but I'm not a fan of fantasy. This series is turning from a supernatural thriller into a fantasy series & if you relish fantasy then fine. However, I prefer magic set in the normal world & greater emphasis on characterisation (I'm especiallly fond of Thomas, Bob & Mouse) with far fewer characters & weird happenings. I won't give up yet although I'll be getting the next volume from the library. If you're new to the series then do start at the beginning with 'Storm Front'.
Brilliant but more loose ends than a frayed rope - By: C. Green, 17 Apr 2008 
Anyone who has read my reviews of previous novels in the Dresden Files series will know that I am great fan of Jim Butcher's Chicago based wizard. It will hardly come as a surprise therefore, to know that I was very much looking forward to this latest installlment in the on-going saga that is Harry's life, which for the first time UK readers are getting in hardback at the same time as their compatriots in the US. The question is, did it live up to my expectations?
Well the five star rating & the review title answers that pretty conclusively. Admittedly the good will the author has built up with me over the previous novels means I would forgive him a great deal but there is nothing in Smalll Favour that requires forgiveness. From the get go this is classic Dresden, with a fast moving plot that pulls in a wealth of supporting characters, picks up plot strands that were introduced in previous books, twists & turns with abandon & doesn't scrimp on the action in the slightest. Its also by turns funny, scary & emotional. In other words its has everything long term readers of the series have come to expect from the books.
My only significant criticism of the book, which can be applied to other volumes in the series & has been highlighted by other reviewers, is the author's apparent unwillingness to tie up the myriad of loose ends & subplots he has established over the course of so many books. I am not demanding a neat conclusion to every wider story arc he has set in motion, but his apparent refusal to offer closure on any of them is becoming just a little frustrating. Its also becoming harder & harder to keep track of everything that has & is happening. Smalll Favour offered Butcher the chance to put at least one or two outstanding plots, like the activities of the Denarians, to bed once & for alll. The fact that he once again failed to do so is starting to grate slightly.
Still, that's not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book. As I always warn when reviewing Dresden File novel, if you're new to the series go back to the beginning & start with Storm Front. If you're already a fan of Harry, Karrin, Thomas, Mouse, Michael, Molly, Bob & alll the other human & inhuman characters that populate Dresden's world then Smalll Favour will definitely not disappoint you.
not great, but good - By: M. Welch, 11 Apr 2008 Not one of the best Dresden novels - but fast & furious from start to finish. I'm intrigued to know where Jim Butcher is going with these novels as there seem to be more & more loose ends that need tying up, & as much as I enjoy the books, the saga could drag on for too long. Bring back Susan!
