Backup (Harry Dresden, extra)

by Jim Butcher, Mike Mignola (Illustrator)

book data

480 ratings, 3.81 average rating, 147 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		25%
4		38%
3		29%
2		6%
1		0%

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published

October 31st 2008 by Subterranean

binding

Hardcover, 80 pages

characters

Harry Dresden, Thomas Raith

isbn

1596061820 (isbn13: 9781596061828)

description

Let's get something clear right up front.

I'm not Harry Dresden.

Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Ga...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 752)

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06/05/08

Priscilla rated it:

bookshelves: urban-fantasy

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: All Dresden fans! A must-have!

In what is easily the best short fiction Butcher has penned for The Dresden Files, "Backup" gives us our first taste of what Harry's world looks like from outside his limited first-person narration. Instead, our guide is Harry's half-brother, the White Court vampire Thomas Raith.

Butcher takes full advantage of the opportunity--in addition to giving us insight into how Thomas sees the world and making us privy to certain supernatural information Thomas must keep secret fr...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

1 comment

03/08/09

Michael rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, read-in-2009, series-challenge

Read in March, 2009

Told from the persepctive of Harry's brother, Thomas, this short novella is a nice chance of pace for "The Dresden Files." While it won't be essential to read it to enjoy the on-going storylines about Dresden, it does give readers some new insight into Thomas. Also, the concept of having a story in the universe told from a different point of view is interestind and Jim Butcher really runs with the concept.

Now I'd love to see a novella told by Karin Murphy.

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

4 comments

12/04/08

Jana rated it:

bookshelves: scifi-fantasy

Read in December, 2008

Anyone who loves Harry Dresden has to read this. It's not about Harry, it's all about his brother Thomas, but Butcher has set up a brilliant Gaiman-esque premise here. What happens to the old gods if they are not remembered? What if there was a war to make people forget, thus render powerless, the bad guys? And who wouldn't love a pseudo-gay vampiric hairdresser anyway?

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

12/28/08

lynne naranek rated it:

bookshelves: 2008

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: Harry Dresden fans - but just borrow it from your local library, don't buy!

I thought this would be a great read. I was mistaken.

This novella/short story is based in the Dresden universe, but it narrated, and is focused on, Harry's vampire half-brother, Thomas Raith.

Sure, you get an insight into how Thomas thinks and feels. However, his description of the demon within? Just too Buffy-like for my tastes. And the entire story? Kinda lame.

The worst offence, however, was on the last page: three times in two sentences, "altar"...more

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11/01/08

Quianna rated it:

bookshelves: sci-fi

The worst thing I can say about Backup is that it was far too short. Butcher could have easily expanded this into a novel and made it a book of the Dresden Files in its own right and it would have been perfect.

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12/15/08

Christopher rated it:

recommends it for: Dresden Files addicts everywhere

This 12,000 word, 70 page novelette is an incredibly quick read, but if you're as hopelessly addicted to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series as I am, you'll love this book.

Unlike the other Dresden novels, Harry barely appears at all in this story, having a scant sentence or two of dialog through the entire thing. The action centers around Thomas, Harry's brother, and a vampire of the white court.

This is exactly the kind of non stop no holds barred fantasy romp filled wit...more

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02/25/09

Paul Stotts rated it:

bookshelves: limited-edition

Even monsters like the vampire Thomas Raith do a good deed occasionally and Jim Butcher’s twelve-thousand word limited edition novelette “Backup” from the incomparable Subterranean Press details one of Thomas’s more altruistic deeds. Based on Butcher’s bestselling Dresden Files series, “Backup” is a rare event in the Dresden universe. Unlike the novels which are told exclusively from Harry Dresden’s perspective, “Backup” is told by Raith. It’s a behind-the-scenes type story...more Even monsters like the vampire Thomas Raith do a good deed occasionally and Jim Butcher’s twelve-thousand word limited edition novelette “Backup” from the incomparable Subterranean Press details one of Thomas’s more altruistic deeds. Based on Butcher’s bestselling Dresden Files series, “Backup” is a rare event in the Dresden universe. Unlike the novels which are told exclusively from Harry Dresden’s perspective, “Backup” is told by Raith. It’s a behind-the-scenes type story in which the narrating character’s actions secretly help a hero accomplish his objective. Without the narrator’s intervention, the hero would normally be in grave peril, an unknowing damsel-in-distress. Playing the damsel-in-distress here (minus the melodramatic fainting) is Harry, who just happens to be Raith’s younger brother.

So proving that blood is thicker than mayhem-making, Thomas is lead into goodness in order to look out for Harry. Things start out innocently enough with an email to Thomas from the White Court. Something very urgent that requires his immediate attention has come up, forcing Thomas to meet with a courier who will fill him in on all the juicy details.

On meeting the courier, Thomas finds out that his good-hearted brother has taken on a new case. Harry believes that he’s helping a woman find her kidnapped child, but instead he’s being unknowingly set up by the Stygian Sisterhood. Now the Sisterhood and vampires have a rather intense hatred of each other; the two groups currently engaged in a silent war. So finding and destroying members of the Stygian Sisterhood is high up on Thomas’s to-do list. But he also wants to watch his brother’s back, hopefully keeping Harry out of hot water with the Sisterhood. Frustrated, Thomas only hopes these two objectives aren’t mutually exclusive.

Make no mistake; even though “Backup” is told from Thomas’s point of view, Butcher’s novelette is pure Dresden Files. Filled with the combination of goofy humor and fast-paced action that Butcher’s novels have become famous for, “Backup” starts quickly and equally ends quickly. The biggest disappointment, in fact, is how fast the whole reading experience goes. It would have been nice to see the story fleshed out more. The ending, in particular, was abrupt, which was a shame since it featured the novelette’s best scene as Thomas playacted the worse stereotypical villain imaginable.

And Thomas’s playacting isn’t the only memorable scene in the story. There’s another great scene featuring Thomas conversing with Bob, a confidante of Harry’s who happens to be a spirit living in a human skull. The interaction between Bob and Thomas is fantastic, making for an utterly entertaining scene. (But then again, just about any scene with Bob in it has a high entertainment index.)

Other than the abbreviated nature of the story, “Backup” is quite enjoyable. If you’ve never read any of the Dresden Files books, “Backup” would serve as a fine introduction to the series; however, it may not be engaging enough to coax new readers into trying Butcher’s Dresden Files novels. Butcher’s previous fans will undoubtedly love it even though it’s not a Harry-centric story.

Artist Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, contributes some solid black and white art to the novelette. Mignola’s work is always unique and stylistic; nothing else looks quite like it. However, while the art is interesting, I didn’t find it adding much to the proceedings. It is the type of quality artwork though which Subterranean Press has become known for in its limited editions, so the inclusion of Mignola’s drawings is more a matter of presentation than narrative function.

Last Word:
“Backup” is a wonderful little jaunt through the Dresden Files universe, most noticeable for the fact that it is told from the perspective of Harry’s older brother, Thomas Raith. Filled with one great scene after another, the novelette’s biggest drawback is that it’s over so quickly. Still, it’s pure Dresden Files, which means that both fans and non-fans alike will find this a very entertaining and humorous read.
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12/28/08

fbuser712505409 rated it:

I hate to say it but I felt cheated by this one, not so much by the quality of the book but by the price. This thing is no longer than a recent short story I’ve read from Butcher but as a hardcover it’s retailing for 20$ for about fifty pages. That said, the story is good but not great, definitely not worth the cover price.

Instead of Harry, we get to ride along with his older half brother and White Court vampire, Thomas Raith, who is one of the most popular supporting chara...more
I hate to say it but I felt cheated by this one, not so much by the quality of the book but by the price. This thing is no longer than a recent short story I’ve read from Butcher but as a hardcover it’s retailing for 20$ for about fifty pages. That said, the story is good but not great, definitely not worth the cover price.

Instead of Harry, we get to ride along with his older half brother and White Court vampire, Thomas Raith, who is one of the most popular supporting characters of the Dresden Files. Thomas is always a lot of fun and he is here as well, though he’s not as snarky as his brother. The story is a little uneven. I found it a bit slow to start and tries to hard to obfuscate the main theme. Thomas is a venator for something known as the Oblivion War, which is purposefully veiled even to the reader (and since we’re in Thomas’ head and he’s involved, this didn’t’ work too well for me). His older sister Lara has sent him on a mission, one delivered by Thomas’ ex-lover Justine. (giving us a poignant scene of them being unable to touch.

Thomas learns that Harry is in trouble. He’s been duped by a Stygian Witch into helping her by playing on Harry’s ‘must rescue maidens in distress’ gene. The problem is, Thomas can’t tell him about the Oblivion War so he goes to help. Unfortunately, she played a good trick on him, veiling him in an illusion that is guaranteed to make Harry kill him.

Thomas does prove he’s more than a walking sexual fantasy. His solution to this problem and to saving his brother, shows his intelligence. He and Bob actually play off one another very well. The scene also allows for Thomas to tell someone what this Oblivion War is all about (wonders if it’ll make its way into the main Dresden stories) though I did have trouble swallowing that Bob didn’t know already. Still, it’s a good story but honestly it should have been in paperback and much much cheaper. I was embarrassed to have had mom and dad buy it for the holidays. Mike Mignola from Hellboy did the very few illos for it and honestly, I’ve seen him do better.
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06/21/09

Aaron rated it:

Fans of the Dresden Files series will get a new perspective on the world of sorcerer/detective Harry Dresden with this volume, which focuses on his older, white vampire brother (think incubus) Thomas Raith.

The story starts off with the arrival of Lara Raith, his half-sister and the woman in power behind the White Court throne. She is using her power to get him to do some work for the court. She has some concerns about a case the Harry is working on and its ties to an ancient war. The...more

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05/28/09

James rated it:

bookshelves: distractions

This is my favorite of the Dresden stories. This novella is narrated by Thomas, not Harry, and it's pretty funny. It does absolutely nothing to advance any major storyline of the series, although it does introduce an ongoing "war" that may become of importance later. That said, Thomas' voice is great, and the writing is pretty funny.

As far as the whole Dresden series goes, it's worth a gander if you like that whole fantasy thing. I'm not much into fantasy, but I like how t...more

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01/13/09

Liv rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I liked this novella, for the most part. It was a quick, amusing read. It was a Dresdenverse book, written form the perspective of Dresden's (secret!) vampire, half-brother Thomas. My issue with the book is that the "voice" of Thomas is not all that different from the "voice" of Harry. They had some different adventures, but overall, the wording, jokes and pacing were the same between Harry and Thomas. I also skimmed quite a bit of the book in places that felt like info-dumps...more

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04/23/09

Mandy rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in May, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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01/12/09

Carolyn rated it:

bookshelves: read---fantasy

Having read the first Dresden book - Storm Front - and having seen the TV show for it's brief run, I am familiar with the setting/characters in the "Dresdenverse", as someone so aptly called it.

The best I can say about this little novella is that if you are a fan of the series, you'll enjoy it for the different angle on an event you're already familiar with. If you're collecting the series, it *might* even be worth the exorbitant cover price to own it.

For everyo...more

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12/28/08

Lavonne rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in December, 2008

The only thing I did not like about this book is that it was far too short. I loved seeing Harry Dresden's world (and Harry himself) from a different point of view. While I don't think it added anything to the overall Dresden story, it was a nice sideline and eased the wait for the next Dresden novel. Of course, I could be wrong. It could be that the things that happened in this story will be important in upcoming novels. Particularly the fact that Thomas and through him, Bob, are aware of a cen...more

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05/10/09

Marc rated it:

bookshelves: horror, short-stories

Read in May, 2009

I was browsing the new books section at the local public library and spotted this. It is a fast reading short story packaged in hardcover. The story is a little rough, particularly in the beginning, as it assumes the reader is familiar with the author’s Harry Dredsen series and its characters. Once you get past that it’s a good read with plenty of humor in a story about vampires, ghouls, and demons engaged in one of the eternal wars these creatures fight. The story is told from the point of ...more

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05/12/09

Charlie rated it:

Read in May, 2009

A short Dresden files story that clearly had to be written from a different view point. Thomas the white vampire brings a new perspective to the files and reveals a secret to the audience that Harry does not know.

I wondered as I was reading this whether it was plotted in from an early stage, and its format a foregone conclusion, or how much Butcher had to fret over what format to put this piece of writing in. It was a brave decision to publish a very short story like this as an ent...more

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12/16/08

Katy-Del rated it:

Read in December, 2008

I have always ben intrigued by Thomas in the Drsden File Novels. I like how Mr. Butcher lets us experience Thomas in this first person. His taste in music is awesome. The story was lively, fun, and humerous.

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02/27/09

Mike rated it:

Full review at my blog!

SPOILER NOTE: If you aren’t up-to-date on Butcher’s Dresden Files (at least up to Death Masks) now would be a could time to stop reading this review.

The titular wizard from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is mostly absent from Backup, a short novella available from Subterranean Press, which instead focuses Thomas Raith; Harry’s vampiric half-brother. It is a standalone story that does little to advance any of the plots from the main series but...more

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05/26/09

Dianna rated it:

bookshelves: series-reading

Has a copy to sell/swap

Took a total of about 45 minutes to read this tiny little book. It was enjoyable, yet regrettably very short. He totally could have made this into an entire book OR inserted it into one of his myriad collections of short stories he edits or contributes to. Putting it into book form was not a great idea.

For an actual review I'd say it was neat to get into Thomas' head, since he's such a mystery in the Harry novels. That's about it. The insertion of yet another war into the world is an...more

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12/18/08

Eostre rated it:

Read in December, 2008

This novella is a teaser tide-me-over for Dresden Files fans. Told from Thomas' POV, it relies heavily upon the reader's familiarity with the books in the series. We are also exposed, for the first time, to a conspiracy theory of which Harry and the regular cast are unaware. [A conspiracy theory which probably owes some credit to both Lovecraft and to D&D alike]

The novella succeds well as part of the greater Dresden Files series--it is a complete tale that at the same time could be f...more

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