I am holding...

In my formerly nicotine-stained fingers...

A copy of "Mean Streets," wherein is a Harry Dresden story.

HOLY SHIT, y'all. Jim Butcher is an amazing writer.

I'm going to have to re-read this and find out how he does it. HOW does he deliver that gut-punch, HOW does he make me literally gasp when a character is teetering on the edge of doing something truly terrible, HOW does he let me breathe again when another character talks him down by...

Well. I'm not going to spoil it for you Spoilers in the comments, but, seriously, you NEED TO READ THIS.

This story also points up just why I love the Harry Dresden series as much as I do. People of faith, and the Church, are not treated with contempt in these stories. They're held up as examples of what we should strive to be, and there's stuff going on supernaturally behind the scenes as well that's amazing and awesome. I liked the series before Jim introduced us to Michael. But I LOVED it when he came into it.

And this makes me need to go back to the aftermath scene of my climax and see if I manage to deliver that same gut-punch. Not that you've been with Ben and Megan and Janni for ten books and a bunch of short stories, so maybe you don't love them as much as you might love Harry and Michael, but damn. I want to be able to do that.

So. Very. Much.

I am holding...

In my formerly nicotine-stained fingers...

A copy of "Mean Streets," wherein is a Harry Dresden story.

HOLY SHIT, y'all. Jim Butcher is an amazing writer.

I'm going to have to re-read this and find out how he does it. HOW does he deliver that gut-punch, HOW does he make me literally gasp when a character is teetering on the edge of doing something truly terrible, HOW does he let me breathe again when another character talks him down by...

Well. I'm not going to spoil it for you Spoilers in the comments, but, seriously, you NEED TO READ THIS.

This story also points up just why I love the Harry Dresden series as much as I do. People of faith, and the Church, are not treated with contempt in these stories. They're held up as examples of what we should strive to be, and there's stuff going on supernaturally behind the scenes as well that's amazing and awesome. I liked the series before Jim introduced us to Michael. But I LOVED it when he came into it.

And this makes me need to go back to the aftermath scene of my climax and see if I manage to deliver that same gut-punch. Not that you've been with Ben and Megan and Janni for ten books and a bunch of short stories, so maybe you don't love them as much as you might love Harry and Michael, but damn. I want to be able to do that.

So. Very. Much.