Skin Game: The Dresden Files #15

SKIN GAME by Jim Butcher

Genre, Urban fantasy
Hardcover, 454 pages
Published May 27th 2014 by Roc Hardcover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harry Dresden is stuck on the Island of Demonreach situated somewhere in the middle of Lake Michigan, reluctant to get off because of that 'thing' living inside his brain, he spends his time getting in shape ; chasing monsters. So far, we don't know what this 'parasite' is we heard so much about in Cold Days, that is causing Harry so much pain but it will kill him if he doesn't get it out and the only one who can help, is of course Mab Monroe, the queen of faery; except he hasn't seen her in well over a year.

When she arrives out of the blue one day, Harry fears she wants something, naturally. She doesn't come bearing gifts, but tells him to put on an earring meant to keep the creature at bay and relieve his suffering and to come with her immediately. I am worried about the assignment that's in store for Harry. Agh!

Mab uses Harry to pay off a debt she owes Nicodemus Archleone that forces him to work alongside the Denarians in performing a bank heist, and the bank vault belongs to Hades, the greek god of the underworld. Oh Snap! The team travels to the underworld via Marcone's vault.

Book Characters

•  The team includes Nicodemus' daughter Deirdre(bad), Goodman Grey(good guy), Binder(greedy but good), Anna Valmont(good), Hannah Ascher(bad), Genoskwa(bad), and, at Harry's insistence, Karrin Murphy(good). You do not want to mess with Genoskwa. He's ugly and eats goats for breakfast and Harry learns a very painful lesson in keeping his mouth shut around this guy. Other characters are Nicodemus' wife, Polonius Lartessa, usually called Tessa Dr. Waldo Butters. I was disappointed that Bob the Skull didn't make much of an appearance. :(. Harry could've used him on more than one occasion. We see Michael Carpenter fighting alongside Harry again. Molly appears at the end for a bit. Harry's daughter, Maggie plays more of a role, however, that spirit thing that inhabited Harry's brain? Harry's pregnant? what? what was that all about? That was wierd. I didn't understand even though it felt like a major plot theme of a future book that began in Cold Days .

Favorite Scene Quote 

“Do you know my dog's name? [...] 
"It is from an ancient word, kerberos. It means 'spotted.'" I blinked. 
"You're a genuine Greek god. You're the Lord of the Underworld. And . . . you named your dog *Spot*?

About Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

http://www.jim-butcher.com/