I’m a big Dresden Files fan, though I won’t talk about just how much here (my review of Skin Game gives the gory details), so when I saw that a new short collection was being released I couldn’t wait to read it. Working for Bigfoot tells the tales of the cases Harry worked on for a member of the Forest People supernatural race that populates his Dresdenverse. What made this even more interesting for me was that these cases were referenced during Skin Game, much to the displeasure of the Genoskwa present in that story:
“I am not one of the whimpering Forest People. Speak of me and that flower-chewing groundhog lover River Shoulders in the same breath again, and I will devour your offal while you watch.”
Pleasant guy. So, with that in mind I began on Working with Bigfoot not entirely sure what to expect, yet knowing full well that an entertaining time was ahead…
B is for Bigfoot is the first story, and it introduces us to River Shoulders, the Bigfoot of the title, as well as his half-human son, Irwin, who turns out to be the focus of these stories. Here Irwin is in school and the recipient of bullying from fellow schoolmates who aren’t entirely what they seem. We follow this with I Was a Teenage Bigfoot, re-joining Irwin some years later while he’s at high school, but suffering from an illness that simply shouldn’t be possible for the son of River Shoulders. In our final meeting with Irwin during Bigfoot on Campus he is, unsurprisingly, at college, and in love with a girl whose family secret is not only dangerous, but life-threatening.
The events of the stories in Working for Bigfoot follow the same supporting characters over a period of time. Due to this they fit in to different points of the series: B is for Bigfoot takes place between the second and third novels (Fool Moon and Grave Peril); I Was a Teenage Bigfoot takes place around the same time as the seventh novel (Dead Beat); Bigfoot on Campus takes place after the eleventh novel (Turn Coat). Those familiar to the Dresden Files will see this through some aspects of the stories, while anyone new to the series (or only partway through) will have no trouble picking them up for a quick read. There are very few spoilers for later novels present, with only Bigfoot on Campus giving some details on recent events, and as such this makes the collection a very good taster of Harry Dresden.
One of the things I realised the most while reading these three short stories was the format of them, and just how much the Dresden Files have evolved over the course of the fifteen books to date. Here we have three cases that Harry works on as a private investigator, with little of the bigger picture coming into play at all. It’s a refreshing change, especially given events over the past few novels, and because of this they’re simply a joy to read. It’s easy to come along, dip into the collection story at a time (or devour it in one sitting!), and go away happy.
Highly recommended.
Publisher: https://subterraneanpress.com
Author: http://www.jim-butcher.com/
June 2015, 128 Pages
Hardcover, ISBN: 9781596067301
Review from purchased copy
© 2015 Mark Chitty
