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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph Small Favor by Jim Butcher

Discussion in 'Archive: SF&F: Books and Comics' started by Raven, Feb 20, 2008.

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  1. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    <img src=http://jim-butcher.com/pics/smallfavor-400.jpg>

    Anyone else looking forward to this? It'd been a year since the last Harry Dresden book, and I eagerly await the newest part of the series. There are some spoiler reviews out there now - though of course they don't give everything away - but the biggest thing that has me excited is that the Denarians are back. Well, obviously they never really left, given Lashiel was in Harry's basement the past five years, but you all know what I mean if you're reading the series. :D

    The sample chapters are out, one JB's website, here.

    April 1st cannot come soon enough! :D
     
  2. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 4, 1999
    There's also a Dresden novella coming, called Backup (http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=butcher&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=4), and a comic (http://dabelbrothers.com/index.php?categoryid=37), which also debuts in April and the first trade of which, Welcome to the Jungle, comes in October.

    Dresden seems to be doing pretty well.

    As far as Small Favor -- well, I'm a paperback reader of Dresden, so it's going to be a year for me.
     
  3. Soontir-Fel

    Soontir-Fel Force Ghost star 5

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    Dec 18, 2001
    I'm only up to Fool Moon.
     
  4. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    Jim Butcher is one of three authors I pick up in hardcover. The others are Brandon Sanderson and George R.R. Martin. I don't think that I could stand waiting another twelve months for the latest adventures of Harry and co.
     
  5. Soontir-Fel

    Soontir-Fel Force Ghost star 5

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    Dec 18, 2001
    Least you don't have to worry about going broke on GRRM books. They only come out every 10 years
     
  6. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 4, 1999
    Part of it's just a preference for uniformity on my cases. Because I got the first bunch of Dresden files in paperback, I'll probably continue on.

    Is Sanderson really that good? I only ever picked up Elantris, if that was his debut, and haven't gotten to reading it yet. . .

    Well, depends if you're only talking ASoIaF. He coauthored a novel (with editor extraordinaire Gardner Dozois and excellent up-and-comer Daniel Abraham) that came out in January, and edited the new Wild Cards book that just came out. That's two this year so far. The Ice Dragon got a hardcover release a year or two ago. The RRetrospective was split into two and release as Dreamsongs. His work on his epic fantasy proceeds slowly, but he seems to have other projects coming out all the time.
     
  7. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    The first 3/4 of Elantris is decent, I found that he tried to end things too quickly with an ending that was a little too pat. As a debut novel, it's decent, but it's nothing special. Mistborn in particular, and its sequel as well, were both excellent. He's one of two authors that I've ever read whose action scenes interest me as much as the character building scenes - the other such author is Jim Butcher.

    Most authors write action scenes that are a long-winded version of block-block-parry-hit-block-dodge-hit-victory. Sanderson and Butcher both write action scenes in which the characters think their way through fights.
     
  8. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998

    In Butcher related news, his site is down. Too much traffic, his web-mistress says, but I blame faeries.
     
  9. NJOfan215

    NJOfan215 Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    May 17, 2003
    I'm psyched for the new dresden book. Have you guys checked out his short stories in the supernatural wedding, honeymoon, and birthdat books. The one in my supernatural honeymoon was funny.
     
  10. Sniper_Wolf

    Sniper_Wolf Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Nov 26, 2002
    So I finished Storm Front and reading Fool Moon. So far it has been alright but not the big bad. However Raven makes the series out to be the best thing ever. So when does the series get all mighty? Also is it worth reading through the first few novels?
     
  11. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    Basically, the series gets better with every book. I personally don't care for the first two books, and I recommend starting with book 5. :p
     
  12. Sniper_Wolf

    Sniper_Wolf Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Nov 26, 2002
    So this is one of those series where skipping books won't ruin the experience?
     
  13. NJOfan215

    NJOfan215 Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    May 17, 2003
    I agree with revan for the most part. I feel book 2 is weaker than book 1, and i think that book 3 is where the series starts to hit it's stride. Book 3 also introduces some important characters. If you enjoy the books keep reading them. Overall the books get better as the series goes on.
     
  14. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    Starting later does spoil some things, especially with regards to Susan, Molly and Thomas. Harry also gets some money problems later in the series that cast an interesting spin on things - not so much not having money, so much as where the money has been.

    Each book stands on its own. They all provide enough backstory to follow the book itself, while not getitng bogged down in backstory. Having said that, they also all build on each other, so when a character does something in the opening chapter of book 10, I can't help but look back at book three and think "Wow, things have changed."
     
  15. JediMasterArmada

    JediMasterArmada Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Dec 6, 2006
    I'm rereading the series again. I can't wait for Small Favor to come out, some of the creatures he's mentioned in the books have given me ideas for the urban fantasy story that I'm still writing. Butcher and Patricia Briggs are my two favorite urban fant riders right now, but that could be amended sometime.

    I'm a huge fan of Butcher and have both of his series (Dresden and Codex Alera) to read. I love both. I wonder if he'll bring back Lash, though, some writers have found ways to bring characters back from the dead, and I think that Jim will too. I don't think it will be in Small Favor but maybe one of the later books.
     
  16. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Well, Lash may be dead (was she ever alive? :(), but Lashiel is very much alive and well.
     
  17. JediMasterArmada

    JediMasterArmada Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Dec 6, 2006
    I'm not sure, Jim hasn't said whether or not she was alive in the books to my knowledge ('course I could be forgetting something). I'd love to see him bring Lash back to life in Harry's mind. I think he'll do it, somehow.
     
  18. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    Well, in the end, Lash had free will. It's necessary for her to have had free will in order for her to have done what she did at the end of White Night. So, that implies that Lash had a soul of her own. A soul that's comprised of some part of Lashiel's energy, and some part of Harry's, but nevertheless a soul. If she had a soul of her own, then she's going to have moved on after she died. As her only real choice when she had free will was a good one (sacrificing herself to save someone else) I imagine that she was probably directed upwards after her death.

    So, she may be back, one way or another. Reincarnation, divine intervention, Harry's brain healing, or she may end up getting angel wings of her own - an Angelic Lash vs. Fallen Lashiel cat-fight would be vaguely awesome. Lashiel, on the other hand, had nothing to do with Lash after Death Rites, and so Lashiel is alive and well, if perhaps slightly depowered.


     
  19. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

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    Nov 17, 1999
    Ooh, very cool. I've only gotten about three books into the Dresden Series, but I've been meaning to pick them up again. I should start doing that.
     
  20. jacenskylo

    jacenskylo Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Feb 19, 2006
    I don't know where else to post this so I'll just post it here. Jim butcher recently stated in an interview that the series will be 20 books and he'll finish it off with an apocalyptic trilogy

    here's a couple of links: http://www.casfs.org/ConNotations/Volume_17/ConNotations_17-02.pdf

    http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,309.msg4785.html#msg4785
     
  21. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    I don't think that it's recent news, but yes, he's outlined that plan. It's one of the really nice things about the series - it's long, but it'll be finite and likely not bloated due to JB's fanatism towards plotting well in advance.
     
  22. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998


    Finished at 4am laswt night, excellent addition to the series. Probably the best to date. The following is what I've been left thinking about all day. :p

    First off all, yay, my ship came in. This book was great for Luccio character development - she developed almost as much as Sanya did, in my opinion. Secondly, more to the point: anyone else suspect that Luccio has the missing Denarian, the one from Thorned Namshiel? Just look at the list of possibles on the helecopter.

    Michael and Sanya are obviously out ? I can't see either of them picking up the coin. The bizarre 4am thought that I had was that the coin might have gotten into Michael's wounds and be sewn up inside him, but beyond that, I can't see either of them having the coin. Harry suspects Ms. Gard, and that's the possibility that initially made the most sense. Her behavior afterward, going straight home, is kind of suspicious. Obviously, she can't be ruled out ? even if she didn't take it to use, her place of employment would no doubt find the coin useful, even if only for research purposes.

    Marcone is another possibility, despite his denial. He didn't accept any coins while tortured, but it's one thing to accept or deny then, it's another to try to grab things on his own terms. Hendricks can be ruled out I think ? would a subtle sorcerer like Namshiel even bother trying to get Hendricks? It's also possible that one of Marcone's people (maybe Ms. Demeter?) or even one of the medical staff at the hospital took the coin off screen - we don't know exactly when it went missing. It might have been taking at virtually any point.

    But Luccio? Oh dear. Firstly, she's a powerful wizard in her own right. That in of itself would be reason for Namshiel to be interested in her. But she's also having problems regaining her full strength ? a problem that Namshiel would definitely be more than happy to help her correct. Take into account her position within the White Council, and there's no more promising candidate for Namshiel to try to take over. She was on the winch bringing Michael up. How easy would it have been for the coin to come loose, for her to accidently touch it, realize what had happened, and then hide it away.

    Potential plot points wise, having someone very, very close to Harry going through what Harry went through himself regarding the Fallen is more interesting than a relative stranger. And it opens up the flip side of what Harry went through ? how could he trust Luccio knowing she has a Denarian, but given his own personal experience, how can he not be willing to trust her without being a hypocrite?
     
  23. jacenskylo

    jacenskylo Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Feb 19, 2006
    Spoiler's please
     
  24. Raven

    Raven Administrator Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 5, 1998
    Shiro's sword? Harry realizes that the proper person to offer it to is Nick. It's a trade for Ivy.

    Harry gets laid, with Luccio. Luccio's body is about the age of Molly, and she's a foxy lady.

    Murphy is offered a sword, and politely declines.

    No one really believes that Lash is out of Harry's head, which leads to mistrust from his allies and an almost fatal miscalculation by his enemies. Maybe even fatal! But I doubt it. Lash is nothing but a memory this book. But being absent works better than being present.

    Michael is critically wounded, and Harry now has two swords.

    Kincaid and Murphy are still an item, more or less.

    There's a small abandoned town in the lake that is going to play a major role in Harry's future. Town with no name - I wonder if it's Innsmouth?

    Harry lays some major smackdown on the Denarians.

    Soulfire. Fallen Angels get Hellfire, the not-so-Fallen Angels and Harry get Soulfire.

    Marcone gets rescued by Harry.

    Harry proves once and for all that not matter how big, tough, strong, and magically empowered you are, frosted donuts with sprinkles triumph over all. This was a book about the magical power of donuts.

    Toot is growing. He serves the Za Lord well.

    Mister's Catnip habit is put to constructive use.

    <3 Luccio.
     
  25. NJOfan215

    NJOfan215 Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    May 17, 2003
    Yeah this was a really good book. I'm looking foreard to the next novel in additon to the comics and the thomas story. I hope Harry will work with luccio to make a cool warden sword for himself, or maybe he'll pick up one the swords that he's been in trusted with. I doubt he will use one of them.
     
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