A Book Review: Skin Game by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #15)

Hells bells! The Dresden Files series just keeps getting better and better! In Skin Game, the 15^th installment in the series, Jim Butcher cranked up the firepower of his mad authoring skills and gave us a ripping yarn. But before I start to ranting about how good this book is, let me first establish some context. 

What is The Dresden Files?

The Dresden Files is a series of urban fantasy novels. The story is set in Chicago, it tastes strongly of neo noir, and these books feature the saga of Harry Dresden, a wizard PI who makes a living out of solving paranormal crimes with his otherworldly powers. In other words, when things go bump in the middle of the night, don't panic, steady your trembling hand, then pick up a phone and call Harry, his number is on the phone book!

So here you go, if you are craving for stories similar to Buffy The Vampire Slayer, or if you ever want to read stories about wizards, detectives, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, faeries and magics galore, then The Dresden Files books could be right up your alley.

Right, now that I have given an introduction to The Dresden Files, let me begin to share my thoughts about Skin Game. Hopefully you will enjoy reading my review, and find it useful in your own honorable quest at expanding your reading world.

Synopsis:

Peter Parker may say that with great power comes great responsibilities. For Harry Dresden, however, with great power comes great slavery.

What happened to this man? Ok, the curious case of Harry Dresden went like this:

Harry Dresden spent the most of his career as Chicago's only professional wizard. While wizardry hasn't induced Harry's bank account with obesity, but it has certainly created a lifestyle for Harry as adrenaline-rushing as hanging on the bonnet of a racing Lamborghini, then flying down the road at 180 miles per hour.

Two years ago, Harry made a bargain with the Queen of Air and Darkness in exchange for the power to rescue his daughter from vampires. As Harry's business concluded, he had to fulfill his part of the bargain by taking on the mantle of the Winter Knight.

Winter Knight? Sounds cool and heroic, right? How bad can it get? Let's fast forward the time by two years. Harry is now a powerful wizard and the Winter Knight, double whammy! But Mab, who is Harry's new boss, is not really one of the good guys, and as the power of winter surges through Harry's body, it gradually erodes away Harry's self control, and turning him into a monster. Simply putting it, Harry is the kind of guy who is willing to die for doing the right thing, but his new job tied his hands behind his back, and he is often forced into doing stuff against his will.

Things got even worse, when Mab traded Harry's skills to pay off one of her debts. This time, Harry must help a group of supernatural villains and breaking into a high security vault. Harry takes two major issues against this job; 1) Harry doesn't like helping the bad buys, and 2) This group is led by Nicodemus, a dangerous demon who is also Harry's most despised enemy. But if Harry refuses this job then his new boss promises to bring upon him a very painful and slow death, leaving Harry with no other choice but to play a game of heist, Ocean's Eleven style...

My thoughts on this book:

The first thing I am going to say, is that when I read the climax of this book, I screamed: “Polka will never die!”. It was like a war cry! And I am grateful my neighbors did not call the men in white coats. Huh? What on earth am I talking about? I am going to keep my lips sealed, read Skin Game for yourself and experience a phenomenon, one that will make you giggle like a mad man and feeling a gush of satisfaction, as the words in this book's ending reach your eyes.

I hope the above paragraph has fueled your interest in The Dresden Files. Or alternatively, if you are still in the early stage of exploring Harry Dresden's world (say, at book 3 to 6), and you feel worn down and irritated by the repetitiveness of those books, then I encourage you to stay vigilant and read on. This series gets better and better as it goes along, you will see. The last 5 installments in this series have been good, but the quality of Skin Game is in a different league. This is not just a “good” The Dresden Files novel. No, Skin Game is an excellent The Dresden Files novel.

Since Changes, Jim Butcher revamped the series. Instead of following the typical story structure where Harry was given a case to investigate, in the last 4 books, each one has a unique theme/plot of its own. i.e. the theme in Changes was about Harry rescuing his daughter, Ghost Story was about Harry's experience at being a ghost, where Cold Days provided a conclusion to the story that began in Changes, but also revealed information that melted every book in this series into one major story.

So what is the theme in Skin Game? This book is basically a heist story with magical swords, angels, demons, faeries, underworld mafias, and mythological gods. Skin Game is like Ocean's Eleven meets Brothers Grimm, and it packs a Herculean punch of urban fantasy. One thing I have come to appreciate more and more about this series, particularly in Skin Game, is the richness of folklore and mythology in this series. Jim Butcher weaved folklore and mythology, brilliantly, into the fabrics of his story. The generous use of folklore and mythology, coupled with a story set in modern day Chicago, and the submersion of the story in neo noir, bring into existence an urban fantasy world that is both atmospheric and immersive for a reader.

The story itself moves at a very fast pace. The writings are crisp and energetic, and Jim Butcher's prose provided vivid and picturesque descriptions to every scene in this book. The story itself comes packed with surprises and tension, it will draw you in and keeping you turning the pages. Furthermore, Skin Game also answered a few questions that were trailing in the wake of Cold Days. For examples, what happened to Molly after Cold Days? Will there be a new Knight of the Cross? Will Harry ever be a father to his daughter? The good news is, Skin Game answered most of those questions, but Jim Butcher also cleverly left crumbs on the path to build up an epic, two-books conclusion which will (hopefully) arrive on our bookshelves in the very near future.

This also means, this series' past favorites, characters such as Michael Carpenter and Waldo Butters, returned in this book to play major roles in the story. Without spoiling the story, let me just say if you like Michael and Waldo, then you are in for a treat! For me, both Michael and Waldo have been my favorite characters in this entire series, and I was more than joyous to greet these two colorful characters upon their return. Speaking of characterization, Jim Butcher developed Harry's character steeply in Skin Game. I was especially fond of the heart warming story about Harry' relationship with his daughter. Meanwhile, Harry's ongoing struggle, against the side effects from being a Winter Knight, painted another layer to his character, and making him even more humane. When it comes to characterization, from heroes to villains, Skin Game casts a group of vibrant, memorable characters as the they bring you, the reader, an unforgettable adventure.

Sadly, Skin Game is the latest installment in The Dresden File series. This means, upon finishing this book, you will join me (and many other readers) in the painful wait for the sequels. Words on the street is that Jim Butcher is planning to conclude Harry's saga in two more books, and he is still in the process of writing them. So far, Butcher has yet to reveal any information about the sequels' release date(s), but with the way this series has been developing, I'd wager the next two books will be nothing short of amazing in quality. In the meantime, if you have not read The Dresden Files, then I would highly recommend picking up this series. If on the other hand, you have already stepped into Harry's wonderful and magical world, then continue reading the series, because the latter installments in this series are about the best books you can get in this genre.