Synopsis
The past comes back in a big way for Chicago’s only professional wizard in this action-packed novella from the #1 New York Times–bestselling Dresden Files.
In a city that’s just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. He’s ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistently—and quite annoyingly—shown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.
It starts with a visit from Harry’s most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling who’s looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), it’s not a request he can refuse. He’ll just wish he had.
Review
Jim Butcher went through the wringer for about six years of time and a couple of years before that as well. It massively threw off the schedule for one of the most consistent writers of the past twenty years and one that certainly was on my list of all-time-favorites. The Dresden Files is not fine dining but it is definitely restaurant quality for me. However, the massive delays have caused a lot of trouble for the series’ momentum and many people have dropped what remains a fantastic world up there with the old White Wolf World of Darkness.
But Jim Butcher has the cure, or at least he’s trying to do the cure, and that is THE LAW and now OUT LAW. Basically, they’re novellas that are some of Harry Dresden’s cases that are closer to the Earth than his typical ones. I’ve always felt that Jim Butcher really preferred short form works (the Dresden Files feeling like collections of vignettes at their best) and his comic books are excellent at proving this.
Here, these feel more like the original Dresden Files books like STORM FRONT and FOOL MOON, which may not be a recommendation but also are far easier to get into than some of the later continuity-heavy novels. In simple terms, though, it feels like Jim is providing us some of the content that he might have spread through his books if he’d had less of a personal struggle.
OUT LAW is a loose sequel to THE LAW and probably will end up being put together into a single novel when he does the inevitable third book. It’s not difficult to read this book on its own, though. Basically, Harry is contacted by Gentleman Johnny Marcone, Chicago’s answer to the Kingpin, and is forced via a supernatural debt to help him with an underling’s wish: to go straight. The irony is said underling was the villain of the previous novella.
Tripp Gregory is a somewhat comical SOPRANOS-esque character that contrasts heavily against Johnny Marcone in that he is an idiot but smart enough to get into trouble. Deciding to go legit after a near-death encounter with other mobsters, he starts swindling old ladies for money to help children. Except it’s not a swindle. Sort of. It was to get a stake together to win ten million dollars in a boxing match so he can help a lot of orphans. Harry is stunned when Tripp reveals his plan actually worked and he won his bet–it’s just the cartel won’t pay up. Which is where Harry comes in. Oh and the IRS wants Tripp’s head.
This being the Dresden Files, the cartel is connected to the now-destroyed Red Court and has its own supernatural monsters at its beck and call. I’m not happy about once more incorporating that element of the Dresden Files but aside from some Latin names, the characters aren’t really stereotypes. Harry must do his usual arguing, threatening, fireballs (even though he’s the Winter Knight), and so on to make sure everyone lives.
Character-wise, we have a large amount of focus on Fitz AKA Harry’s new apprentice. Fitz doesn’t have much of a personality and doesn’t really add much to the story. We do have a brief appearance by Bob the Skull but that reminds me how much I miss him from the main series. The absence of Murphy is also a big one as the substitution of a new policeman proves that her shoes are not easily filled.
Overall, I appreciate this story and am really hoping that Jim will incorporate both this and the Bigfoot stories into extra novels in the series to make up for the “gap years.” It’s a weird solution to the absences but I’m glad we’re getting more Harry and having it in bite-sized chunks isn’t bad. Still, this is not going to be the kind of novel that many fans are wanting. It’s much more subdued and lower stakes than the epic confrontations with Titans or the entire Red Court.
