I should have remembered when I unearthed this in a shelf of TBR books that I hadn't enjoyed the other volume that I've read from this series. This collection of short stories reinforced that impression. I think perhaps the compulsory humour in life and death situations becomes a little grating at times but the main issue that otherwise good stories are spoiled by 'dodgy' parts, such as the one told from the viewpoint of Dresden's vampire half brother who kills the female villain through the ability of his inner demon to inflict death by multiple orgasms - so it's OK then as she enjoyed it!. And most of the characters are basically cardboard cutouts with little to differentiate them.

The best story for me is the last one, which takes place after the novel 'Changes', and is a massive spoiler so I won't go into details, but it stars Murphy, female detective friend of Dresden's. The fact that he didn't appear in it and I enjoyed it best of all is rather telling. So a 2 star 'OK' rating and I won't be reading any more of these. ( )

Fun! ( )

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Fun short stories to spend a plane flight on, but it left me wanting another full length story. ( )

Side Jobs is the first collection of short fiction in the Dresden Files. Stories range from Harry's humble beginning to the aftermath of Changes. I liked having two stories from different perspectives in addition to Harry. Butcher provides an introduction to each story so far with a little background about how/why he wrote it and also where it fits in the series.

A Restoration of Faith - 3.5 stars - Harry's very first outing! Written before Storm Front it is an origin story of sorts. No, the writing isn't perfect, yet it manages to show off Harry's character well.

Vignette - 4 stars - A short snippet of Harry and Bob being Harry and Bob. Lots of fun Bob banter.

Something Borrowed - 4 stars - A wedding almost interrupted. This one reads like one of the full books only condensed down. I do wonder why Harry and crew never keep some iron on them since they run into faeries so often. Seems like that would be handy.

It's My Birthday, Too - 4.5 stars - Ahh, brotherly love! It's Thomas' birthday and Harry wants to get him something special. Too bad vampires get in the way. It has great balance of humor and action which is one of my favorite things about the series in general.

Heorot - 3 stars - Someone messed with Mac's beer! Harry and Gard are on the case.

Day Off - 4.5 stars - Harry's days off really aren't days off are they? How can so much mayhem happen in such little time and in such a tiny apartment? Plus this was downright hilarious.

Backup - 4 stars - Told from Thomas' point of view, we get a short story with some insight into things going on behind the scenes in Harry's world. I also liked how we see Thomas struggle with his demon. This one made me wonder if we'll see anything from this story in a future novel.

The Warrior - 4 stars - A follow up on how Michael is doing after Small Favor. Even though what happened in Small Favor was rough for Michael, I also sort of saw it as his HEA as he can devote his time to his family now. This story bears that out nicely.

Love Hurts - 4 stars - Love spells are complicated. It made for an interesting investigation. I enjoyed seeing how Harry and Murphy could possibly have been together though it was cruel it was all fake.

Aftermath - 4 stars - The story that happens right after Changes as told from Murphy's point of view. Murphy works a supernatural case without Harry. This story could have interesting impacts to the future of the series. ( )