The story of Dresden's vampire brother, Thomas, is well written and a very good story. Yes, Thomas is a monster that feeds on the life force of others. Blah, blah, blah. The story is good and I would like to read more about this character.

The downside is that it is a SUPER QUICK read at 70 pages. Don't take this on a long flight thinking its going to keep you entertained. This could easily be read in an hour.

A nice story in the Dresden world. It was refreshing to see the same world from another perspective - to see how things that are known and used in all the books are totally unknown to Thomas. The comments about the tidiness and cleanliness of Harry's place and about the skull were hilarious. I would love to see more stories about the Oblivion War in the series - in short stories or in the novels. The story itself was solid enough - a bit thinner in the creation of the characters than a novel but you cannot do much more in 12 000 words. And here is where my only complaint comes: I would have given the book 5 stars if not for a small glitch: what is the target reader for it.

The story relies too heavy on back stories and even though the relevant parts are explained in short, a newcomer to the world will loose at least half of the message and meaning of the book - the small irrelevant for the story details which make this novelette a really nice read... The story would be clear -- the author did a great job with the back story but there was no way to add all of it. But most of the characters sounded too thin without the story behind them. I doubt that the goal had ever been to attract new readers with this story...

At the same time there was a bit too much back story which in some places were it was not needed (why the two brothers have the same pentacle amulet for example - if you do not know this, you are missing the whole story that fills the blank in the novelette). I do not mind reminders - I am reading way too many series so reminders are good... but they somehow felt a bit too much here.

As for the price of the book (which almost everyone complained about) - it is a normal price for a novelette/novella from Subterranean. This is what they do in the last few years so at the moment I saw the publisher name, I knew that this cannot be a novel. And the author's site was clearly saying what this will be (as was the publisher one). Amazon are well known for making mistakes in their descriptions... so I never rely on them only to tell me what a book will be...

In short: If you like the world and you can spend the money, get the story. If you do not feel that you want to pay that kind of money for such a short story - don't. Sooner or later it will get collected somewhere.

Okay, I loved this book, I did. Except it felt like I opened it, read the first page...and I was done. Just like that. It was kind of disappointing. The pictures were okay, but they felt a little like space-fillers to stretch the book out into something a bit bigger-looking. Not that it would have looked that much thinner without them.
The plot itself was boring, except for the bit with the Venatori..and I won't say more so as not to ruin it for people who haven't read it. I guess it was so as to fit within his 80 page quota, but it's just wrong to give perfect storylines to one character and then sort of wave an all new approach to the Dresden Files off.
All in all, it was pretty disappointing. I'm not sorry it's part of my Dresden collection, but the next Dresden Files book should be better.

Up til now I have really loved the Dresden books. They are entertaining with great story lines. I pre-ordered Backup because of the description and was hoping to learn more about Thomas. What a disappointment when the "book" arrived. A slim thing of less than 80 pages, I'm still trying to figure out how one could charge $13 for this. And the story was even lighter than the number of pages. This seemed to be something that should have been a chapter in a book not a stand alone story. The writing was not up to the rest of the Dresden stories - no plot, no character, no heart. I hope this isn't a harbringer of what's coming for this series.

This was an excellent read, Jim has once again set the bar higher and cleared it without trouble. The writing was clear and precise, the story flowed beautifully and the characters were almost real enought to touch. Mike Mignola's illustrations were also on the money, his linework managed to capture the elements of the story in a manner that didn't distract from the story itself.

Well let me start by saying this. I have liked everything Jim Butcher has written. He has gotten better and better with every book. Along comes Backup a very short story about Harry's brother Thomas. It's 70 pages and some of those pages have drawings from Hellboy artist and creator Mike Mignola. So how could it be as good or as deep of a story as his other books? Well it is. He has deepened The Dresden world wonderfully with this short story. It also give a very nice character builder for Thomas. It show's that Harry's older brother could carry a whole series by himself. Hopefully we will see some stories from Thomas's past. Jim does it again. If you like Jim's books then you need to pick this one up.

This was a solid novelette that provides additional insight into the Harry/Thomas relationship and general story arc that exists in the Dresden Files series. It is not a graphic novel. Some things that people need to be aware of- Subterranean Press, the publisher of this novelette, does not produce cheap books. They are a specialty publisher of horror, suspense, and dark mystery. If you do not have an appreciation for superior paper, superior bindings, limited production runs, and exclusive artwork- this is probably going to be a bit of a disappointment for you. For the casual fan, this wouldn't fall into the "must read" category, though I myself found it highly entertaining.

I've seen a lot of negative or ambivalent reviews for Backup and I think they are misrepresenting the demographic. I knew that it was a short 70 page novelette and a companion book to the Dresden Files, I think anyone who was confused about it could have easily learned everything they wanted to know by doing a simple google search.

As for the story itself, I really liked "seeing" the DF world from a perspective other than Harry's. I think Thomas is a good narrator and while Backup gave me more confidence that Thomas wasn't going to turn on Harry, I still am unsure about the whole Oblivion War. I'm excited to learn more and I'm sure it will become important in later novels.

My only complaint is that it's too short, but as a fan I think all the books are too short and want another the instant I finish.

Bravo, Mr. Butcher. Keep up the good work.

I am a huge fan of Harry Dresden, and I looked forward towards reading this book. When the book arrived I was extremely disappointed by the small scope of the book!
This book is ONLY 70 pages long, and 60 net. In the anthology Many Bloody Returns, there is a short story by Jim Butcher, that is 46 pages long. I am not a fan of anthology books as a rule. I prefer a collection of the same author in one book. Thus, one can put three or four stories by the author, and the reader gets a much better value.
The story itself is a nice way to give us a different perspective on harry's world. I give the story 4.5 stars. I give the book 3 stars.

First of all, this book is amazing. Thomas is an excellent character and just as likable as Harry. His internal struggle with the Hunger of the White Court is vividly expressed in this short work, as is his love for his younger half-brother. If you're a fan of the Dresden Files, this is a MUST read, but you should look into it even if you just enjoy a fantasy book once in a while.

The only con, you can finish this book in about a hour if you're not careful, so make sure to read a chapter a day or something.

One would think after nearly a dozen superb and successful Dresden novels, Jim Butcher would have socked enough magical energy away not to foist this childish trash on his unsuspecting fans in the form of a "Novella of the Dresden Files". First, it's doesn't come close to a novella--its an overly long unedited short story, in large 12 point font, double spaced with blank pages between chapters to stretch it to 70 pages, packaged in hard cover, to justify its outrageous price.

The story itself demonstrates none of the suspense, action, compelling reading, or character development as in the least of the Dresden novels. The story is trite, the plot weak, the writing at a sixth grade level, and the climax anticlimactic.

Not only should Butcher and his publishers be embarrassed at pricing this as a legitimate book, they should be embarrassed more at the inferior quality of the work.

70 pages at 16-18 pt type should be your first clue that this is not going to be a meaty or particularly thoughtful work from Butcher. A prolific author, perhaps he cuts corners on his shorter works so he can keep up his workrate.

Thomas has been my favorite character in the Dresden Files for several books now. This book doesn't do him justice - at least, it doesn't jibe with the man I THOUGHT Butcher was writing. He's emo, predictable, and sad to say, a bit of a carbon copy of all the other 'moral' vampires out there. But at least he'll hit a chick.

The story starts poorly but gets more entertaining as Butcher strives to show us the differences between Thomas and his brother Harry - there aren't many, other than smacking ladies around. The story is interesting, but sadly it is only approximately as interesting as you'd expect for 70 pages.

This is one for completists, not explorers.

Unlike most of the negative reviewers I'm not docking stars due to cost or length. I thought the description made it clear what Backup would be, so I did not feel deceived. This is however, the first of Butcher's books to get less than 4.5 stars from me, and surprisingly it is entirely due to characterization, writing and plotting.

Characterization - Thomas is awesome. His character arc has been great, and the scene with him, Harry, the race, and the water bottle from "Dead Beat" is probably my favorite of the series. So what do we learn about him now that we are in his head? Nothing new. Nothing about his relationship with his sister, his girlfriends, his clients or even his brother. Honestly, he seems less interesting and intelligent to me now than he did before.

Writing - Thomas's voice...is Harry's voice. Sure, different in some details, but the tone, the rhythms, the wise cracks, they were all Dresden-esque. Far more than genetics would be able to explain. I felt like it was lazy. You could have swapped Harry and Thomas's role in the story, and a significant amount of the internal dialog would not have had to be rewritten.

Plotting - So we get the first Dresden Files story from a non-Harry point of view. That's exciting, I can't wait to see what we learn that we haven't been able to see before. Who is in the story? Thomas, Lara, Justine, Mouse, Bob, Harry, Villian du jour. Not a particularly new cast of characters, eh? Where does the bulk of the exposition take place? Harry's basement, talking to Bob. Where do we go in the Dresden universe, Thomas's apartment and Harry's apartment. What do we learn about Harry from this new POV - he's noble, too trusting, and a really really powerful mage. There is a new major supernatural conspiracy, but it is unrelated to Harry, extremely non-time specific, not particularly threatening compared to most of Harry's cases, and is unlikely to show up again.

So all in all I was hugely disappointed. I expected to walk away from this novella with a different perspective on Thomas, Harry, their relationship, their priorities, the White Court, what it is like to be a Vampire-in-exile, something. But no, there wasn't anything new. That scene from Dead Beat I reference above did a much better job making me empathize with Thomas than every description (or illustration) of "His Demon" in Backup.

Was it awful, of course not. I enjoyed it in parts, and the humor was well done, but there wasn't anything there I'm going to take away with me.

Backup is a short story in the Dresden universe, it is a hardback book, and took me 5 minutes to read it. Even though I really like Dresden books, I feel ripped-off by this one. Don't waste your money.

My copy of this tiny treasure arrived the other day and I thought of celebrating with a beer. However, upon reflection, I realized that beer, although perfectly apt for the latest Harry Dresden adventure, would be completely inappropriate for this particular novelette. Something else was called for and a Late Vintage Port proved to be an excellent choice: old, powerful, and red as blood. For, like it says in the blurb, this book is about a monster. A vampire, in fact, but not just any old common bloodsucker; Harry's brother, Thomas Raith, is an emotional vampire who is constantly struggling against his very nature - his need to feed on raw human passion. This is a slice of his life.

With this slim volume, Jim Butcher and Subterranean Press have produced a lovely little treat for the book collecting crowd. Having missed out on preordering the signed, numbered, limited edition (Ratzenfratz!!), I count myself extremely lucky to have been able to pick up a mint copy on eBay for only double the cover price of $45. For this book is sure to appreciate in value, monetary and otherwise.

Firstly, the good folk at Subterranean have done themselves proud in production values. A stunning cover (and four b&w interior illustrations!) by Comics-God Mike Mignola, leather (Leather!) boards, and two-tone printing throughout that gives each page a pleasing 3D appearance. My only cavil is that the binding appears to be glue and not the sown signatures I would have preferred. Still, this edition is clearly a labour of love and not some mass produced drek that will only last a couple of years before falling apart.

Secondly, the artistry of Jim Butcher is fully on display this novelette. Many will consider this to be his best work so far, I certainly do. I've now read it though three times and I'm more appreciative of Jim's hard-won skill each time. Short fiction is a very different animal than a novel. Every word needs to be chosen with care and it's no easy feat to write clear, concise prose with emotional weight in tight word limitations but Jim pulls it off with ease. Unexpected depths is the theme for this novelette and while the blurb gives a good précis of the story outline, rest assured the rest of the plot and characterization live up to it. Jim was really into this, his first limited edition, and it shows.

Thirdly, to those unfairly whining and moaning about length and cost (what precisely did you think 72 Page, Deluxe Edition really means?), kindly tuck you thumbs into your belt when you walk - they're dragging on the ground and embarrassing the rest of us. Length certainly does not equal quality or value. Now, fair criticism is one thing (and, regretfully, I've held Jim's toes to the fire when I thought he wasn't living up to his talent) but there's a particularly apt moral I'm alluding to in the title of this review. Only Jim Butcher can write Jim Butcher stories. Hopefully Jim is not overly dismayed by the mutterings of a few barely literate Neanderthals and that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship: the first of a long series of Subterranean Press limited edition novelettes featuring characters from the Dresden Files.

I think Jim Butcher is a fantastic author, and I love The Dresden Files and Codex Alera. That being said, this book was not at all what I expected. It was *extremely* short, and what little plot there was simply was not engaging. I felt disconnected from this story in a way that I never have when reading the author's other works.

Since the book is told from a completely different perspective, you would expect new insights into the personality of the characters we all know and love. That did not happen - in fact, the book contains little to no interaction with any of the major characters. Except, of course, Thomas - not that we learn much about him, either.

Thomas is an interesting character set in a fascinating alternate universe. A book focused on him could have been every bit as good as the other Dresden novels, and that is why I am so disappointed with *this* book.

I know you read these reviews, Mr. Butcher - you are one of my favorite authors, and I'll still probably buy everything you publish - in hardcover. But I will do so with a little more caution, and a little less trust.

I love the Dresden books, and both of us at home are big Dresden fans. Thomas Raith is a good character, and this little book shows the Dresden world from his unique point of view, and shows that he has plenty secrets of his own that not even Harry is aware of.
I enjoyed it very much, but it was such a very short book. Why didn't Jim Butcher simply offer us a collection of all his assorted Dresden short stories, which are currently scattered everywhere, and it's not always easy to keep up with them. Apart from that, I have no complaints, and it was a good read on Halloween night.

"I'll be damned if I know how. But then, I'll be damned regardless. My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster."

Thomas Raith is one of the more compelling, intriguing characters of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files -- a lovable, tormented incubus with an inner Hunger that nags him. Tiny novella "Backup" is the first glimpse into Thomas' head, with plenty of Butcher's trademark wit, action, and quite a bit of pathos. Looks like even a top-notch wizard need some backup now and again.

Thomas receives a mystery email from his sister Lara, regarding the Oblivion Wars from years ago. She ends up sending Justine to his apartment with photos of Harry and a mysterious woman -- turns out Thomas' wizardly baby brother has unintentionally enmeshed himself in a plot of the Stygian Sisterhood, in his search for a kidnapped child.

Unfortunately Harry knows nothing of the Stygian Sisterhood or about the danger he's in, and Thomas can't really tell him outright. So the hairdressing vampire sets out through Chicago to protect Harry from the shadows -- and promptly falls afoul of one of the Sisters. Now Thomas -- cloaked in an illusion of a different face -- must somehow help his brother before the Sisterhood kills them both.

Since the entire Dresden Files series is written in first person, readers have never really gotten inside the head of Thomas Raith. "Backup" fixes that: the entire story is told from Thomas' point of view, and it turns out he sounds a lot like his little brother. Except he really, really doesn't like what he is -- and I'm not talking about masquerading as a gay hairdresser.

He's also very funny and witty at times, dryly announcing that he has the "anthem of Nazi Germany" playing whenever his family emails him, and refers to Harry and email mixing like "Robert Downey Jr. and sobriety." Yet at the same time, we see that he's a heckuva lot darker than Harry ever is -- his contempt for his vampiric family, his fierce protectiveness of his brother, and his hopeless love for his ex-girlfriend Justine.

And then there's the Hunger. Butcher goes 110% when showing us the roaring demon inside Thomas, and the things it tempts him to do.

It's a shame that "Backup" is such a tiny novel, because frankly the whole Oblivion War and Stygian Sisterhood are incredibly fascinating ideas. Butcher only touches the tip of the iceberg. But he throws in plenty of lightning-quick action schemes with the Sisterhood and their ghoul thugs, as well as a slam-bang climax where a bespelled Thomas has to save Harry's magical butt.

Harry only appears occasionally in this novel, but he's in good form when he does -- our rangy, mildly grumpy wizard with a soft spot for little kids. Bob the Skull has a bit more presence, since he and Thomas have a bit of a heart-to-heart about supernatural matters (when Bob isn't dropping his usual lecherous hints about "grateful" mothers and beribboned nude girls).

Even a wizard needs some help from his big brother occasionally. And while "Backup" is a skinny little sliver of a story, it's a well-rounded look into the sexiest vampire in modern fiction.

Ok, I am now immensely curious where did twenty five reviews go which were there yesterday. I left a comment previously and it is now gone too.

Hmmmm, very strange. Did Amazon delete all of them? If so why?

So I enjoyed the book. Nobody indeed forced me to buy it, I knew that I am getting a short story, and Thomas is my favorite character in the series after Harry, no contest. But almost $14 for a short story and that is already discounted price? OY.

Would be nice to at least offer paperback edition for of it for $7 -$8.


Alla.

I guess that I didn't pay attention to the binding notes that were listed for this book. For those of you not aware, let tell you "It's only 72 pages long" and you are paying the as much as you would with a regularly sized book (of 200 to 300 pages).

Other than that shock, the book is interesting. It tells a story from Harry's half-brother's point of view. It goes into a little more detail than one of the regular Dresden novels did, when it explained where Thomas disappeared to for several weeks after he moved in with Harry.

Not a lot happens, a seperate plot line is introduced, almost like the author was testing the waters for a spinoff of the series... to see how well it would do.

This is a good story and I enjoyed seeing events through Thomas's eyes. But it's very short. I assume the high cover price is because of the illustrations, but there really aren't enough of those to justify it.

I don't usually complain about cost, so I won't now. I knew it was a novelette going in and if price mattered I'd have waited for used. I'm sure it bothered many others, though.

My problem is that the story seemed truncated to keep it shorter than it naturally would have been. It could have used another couple of chapters, I think, to make it a complete and fully realized narrative.

I give it three stars because, as usual, Butcher has created a compelling story and also given us a perspective many of us are thrilled to see.

But I can't go higher than that because the story needed more and that's a shame.

I intensely disliked this. From the "my demon" to the "create a whole new overarching conspiracy of superbeings" bull, this was just bad. Not worth the high price for a very short story unless you are simply a completest.

NOTE: Reading at least 'Blood Rites' and the preceding books in the Dresden Files would be a good idea before reading 'Backup', and my review does contain spoilers for 'Blood Rites'.

Jim Butcher's newest book, a twelve thousand word novelette called 'Backup', is a very short story from his Dresden Files series, only this time it's from the point of view of Harry's brother, Thomas. One of the best things about 'Backup' is that it gives insight into Thomas' personality, such as how he sees himself and his relationship with his brother. Thomas' opinions of Harry are very amusing and he has no trouble telling them. Just look at Thomas' worry that Bob the Skull doesn't actually talk, and that Harry was pulling his leg using his night job as a ventriloquist. We also really start to understand how much of a hardship it is for Thomas to suppress his demon everyday, and how little he thinks of himself. The story itself is also fun, and Thomas has a similar sense of humor to his brother, though they have little contact. 'Backup' is fast paced and never lets up on its speed, so it feels that it was over before you even realized you started it. It is very easy to read, so it shouldn't take more then a hour to get through. The price tag is a bit extreme for a tiny book, even with such nice binding. Either way, Thomas is a great character in the Dresden Files, despite his small part, so it is nice to see more attention on him. I personally would love to see more stories about Thomas in the future, or at least more appearances from him in the main series. Overall, 'Backup' is a refreshing look at the Dresden Files, since Thomas sees the characters and events in a completely different light then Harry. If you like the Dresden Files series you'll almost certainly like this story, though you might want to borrow from a friend or the library due to the price for such a short book.

The idea behind this short story (not a novella, it's way too short)is a good one, especially because Thomas is a much loved character in the Dresden series, and we want to know more! However, the writing is not nearly as clever or polished as in the best Dresden novels. It's more like a sketch the author did to fill out his own ideas on this vital character. As such, it's interesting, but it really doesn't deserve the full hardcover treatment. It would make a good bonus to a Dresden novel, or a Kindle download, or magazine piece. Only for hardcore collectors. The graphic novel did not disappoint, but this one is too minor.

Let me preface this by saying I love Dresden, and in fact I love all of Jim Butcher's works.

But this... this was a rip-off.

First off, it's only 70 pages in length. On those pages, the print is large font, and the book itself is only a little larger than your average paperback. Now, some of these pages are also shorten, being ends and beginnings of chapters, plus you can toss in some full-page illustrations by Mike Mignola. And, not even -good- efforts on Mignola's part, but uber-crappy psuedo-etchings, no where near the top of his skill (to be fair, I'm no fan of Mignola to begin with... most of the time his work leaves a lot to be desired).

The story is good, I always like Thomas. But this really should have been included with a collection of shorts, or a nice addition to some 'World of Dresden' art-book. It should not have been published solo.

"I'll be damned if I know how. But then, I'll be damned regardless. My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster."

Thomas Raith is one of the more compelling, intriguing characters of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files -- a lovable, tormented incubus with an inner Hunger that nags him. Tiny novella "Backup" is the first glimpse into Thomas' head, with plenty of Butcher's trademark wit, action, and quite a bit of pathos. Looks like even a top-notch wizard need some backup now and again.

Thomas receives a mystery email from his sister Lara, regarding the Oblivion Wars from years ago. She ends up sending Justine to his apartment with photos of Harry and a mysterious woman -- turns out Thomas' wizardly baby brother has unintentionally enmeshed himself in a plot of the Stygian Sisterhood, in his search for a kidnapped child.

Unfortunately Harry knows nothing of the Stygian Sisterhood or about the danger he's in, and Thomas can't really tell him outright. So the hairdressing vampire sets out through Chicago to protect Harry from the shadows -- and promptly falls afoul of one of the Sisters. Now Thomas -- cloaked in an illusion of a different face -- must somehow help his brother before the Sisterhood kills them both.

Since the entire Dresden Files series is written in first person, readers have never really gotten inside the head of Thomas Raith. "Backup" fixes that: the entire story is told from Thomas' point of view, and it turns out he sounds a lot like his little brother. Except he really, really doesn't like what he is -- and I'm not talking about masquerading as a gay hairdresser.

He's also very funny and witty at times, dryly announcing that he has the "anthem of Nazi Germany" playing whenever his family emails him, and refers to Harry and email mixing like "Robert Downey Jr. and sobriety." Yet at the same time, we see that he's a heckuva lot darker than Harry ever is -- his contempt for his vampiric family, his fierce protectiveness of his brother, and his hopeless love for his ex-girlfriend Justine.

And then there's the Hunger. Butcher goes 110% when showing us the roaring demon inside Thomas, and the things it tempts him to do.

It's a shame that "Backup" is such a tiny novel, because frankly the whole Oblivion War and Stygian Sisterhood are incredibly fascinating ideas. Butcher only touches the tip of the iceberg. But he throws in plenty of lightning-quick action schemes with the Sisterhood and their ghoul thugs, as well as a slam-bang climax where a bespelled Thomas has to save Harry's magical butt.

Harry only appears occasionally in this novel, but he's in good form when he does -- our rangy, mildly grumpy wizard with a soft spot for little kids. Bob the Skull has a bit more presence, since he and Thomas have a bit of a heart-to-heart about supernatural matters (when Bob isn't dropping his usual lecherous hints about "grateful" mothers and beribboned nude girls).

Even a wizard needs some help from his big brother occasionally. And while "Backup" is a skinny little sliver of a story, it's a well-rounded look into the sexiest vampire in modern fiction.

Even though I enjoyed the story itself, it really qualifies more as a chapter than a short story, much less a book. Think I learned my lesson on pre-odering any more of Jim Butcher's books. I truly enjoy the Dresden series, but this really seemed like a rip-off to me. More than this usually happens in a single chapter in the regular Dresden books.

It was another good story from Jim Butcher, but the price was outrageous for what you got. When I originally pre-ordered it, I thought it was supposed to be a graphic novel (REAL graphic novel, not three or four crappy illustrations). This on the other hand was a short story with really bad illustrations here or there. I love Jim's writing, but this was way overpriced for what you got. I was very disappointed, and I wish I could ask for my money back.

There are things that prevent Thomas from telling his brother Harry about the danger that walked into his office and hired him.

Backup is a very entertaining novella (or short story bound by itself) that is a part of the Dresden Files verse, but not integral to the plot. It's a nice comparison between the two brothers and well written to show that comparison from the two point of views. You also get to see how Thomas feels about his little brother Harry. Usually it's the other way around because Harry is always narrating.

Thomas is a little more serious than Harry, but the novella is still fairly funny, especially Thomas's interactions with Bob the skull.

The story is fairly complex (in a good way) for a novella. It's worth the time reading it and very much worth taking a reread.

My only complaint is the size. $20 (I paid $13 on Amazon) is a bit much for 70 or 80 pages. The art is alright, too few between and not very much details. I was expecting more pictures of the human characters.

Definitely worth the read, even it's overpriced.

I like Jim Butcher. He's one of my favorite authors. So, why has he quit writing books? This is 70 pages in *big* print - maybe 40 pages worth of a normal paperback. It's a short story with full-page pictures.

Save your money - don't buy it. I sent mine back. Wait for a real book.

I'm seriously annoyed. I've finished the first 5 books of the Dresden Files, and was looking to see what else Butcher had written while I wait for the next 5 books to show up in my mailbox. So I read the description of this thing, and WHAM!!!!! There's a spoiler right in the description that I had no inkling of. OUCH!!!!! While I can understand some reviewers letting the spoiler out, it is unconscionable for whomever wrote the Amazon Description to do so.

I'm sure it's a great novelette. But it would have been nice not to have a surprise from one of the other books spoiled for me.

I've read each Dresden novel and had heated discussions about character development, plot twists, etc. I picked this up (and am not going to whine about the cost because if a fellow nerd - Butcher - gets rich, great) but am sorely disappointed.

It's almost as if he is letting someone else write under his name. The basic plot is a nice addition to the Dresden universe but the character is very flat, the dialogue almost high schoolish. It's hard to explain without taking the painstaking effort of comparing parts of Dresden's other works to this one side-by-side. All that being said, it is very noticeable that either this is a very early work or someone else's work. If it truly is Butcher's, then let's hope it simply didn't see an editor unlike his other excellent works.

Word to the wise, buy it if you are a collector, but do not have high expectations for these 70-some pages.

My only problem wiht this book is that it was so short, and took me just about an hour to finish. Other than that, I think it was as well written as the rest of the series, and that it helps give a better picture of Thomas. I would love to see more things like this with either Thomas or some other character in the lead, just to help expand the 'Dresden' universe.

This is a short novella that takes place in the Harry Dresden world. Basically, if you haven't read a book of Jim Buthcher regarding Harry Dresden, stop. Then if you're not a huge fan, stop. Because this book is short. And Mike Mignolia's artwork is rough. Basically, there's not much here unless you're a fan. And the price is a bit steep for something this small. It's your choice.

This story gives us a BRIEF look in the day of Thomas Raife, Harry's brother. He's part of a secret group that Harry doesn't know about and he's got to keep his brother out of trouble. Nice little story. Just the key word is short. Only thing this does for me is make me more desperate for the next Harry Dresden novel.

I have to admit I pre-ordered my Backup from Subterranean Press way back in January when it was announced at Bucher's site. Therefore, I was gouged the full $20, but even at the reduced Amazon price this is still overpriced.

I really felt it was a rip-off in many ways: The novella is actually 70 pages, NOT 80 as it has been listed. Even within that, there are MAYBE 55 actual pages of story (and even then it is a very small book in size so translated to regular HC or PB it would be even less), thanks to blank pages before chapter breaks and the Mignola illustrations (which are kinda "eh", they don't offer much).

An average Dresden Files book is about 400 pages in large HC format and usually you can get one for $15 around release thanks to Amazon pre-order pricing, so the fact that Backup was more expensive than a full Files books is just a joke.

People complained about "Welcome to the Jungle" because it was a Graphic Novel/Comic, but there is definitely more story and, I think, more text in that story than this one, not to mention the nice art and little extras at the end.

The story itself is good. I like Thomas, and being a fan of the Dresden books it was a nice supplementary tale. There is some good information about Thomas and "Oblivion War" that would never have been revealed in a Harry-centered tale, but it is (at least at this point) of no real consequence to the Dresden Files main story. If I was rating it just based on the story, I would have given it 4 star review, but unless you are a hardcore Dresden fan, it is NOT worth the price of admission.

Id recommend borrowing it from a friend for 40 minutes, that is about all it will take to read. Between this and the short-story anthologies, I am starting to feel a bit annoyed at the cost of minor side stories to the Dresden Files. $15 for this, $10 for a short story anthology (x4 now) with ONE minor Dresden tale, it is just too much for too little. Stick with the main Files books, they are worth the money.

Same as everyone else...I ordered the book before I realized it is maybe twenty real pages long. He has made it is a really small "hardcover" format, with really small pages, really large font, and a lot of spacing between each line...and it is still only 53 pages of actual text. And I counted all the pages that were half full because they were the end of a chapter. So like I said, maybe twenty real pages of writing here. You are looking at about 70 cents per page. I can't really blame the author, if someone were offering me rates like that, I would take it to. But you and I probably shouldn't pay for it.
Besides that, it is a good enjoyable read.

Too expensive for what you get. Love Butcher, love his characters. Authors need to remember fans have long memories and don't like to get ripped off. Okay--nothing wrong with a graphic novel or a short story, unless you think you are buying a regular length novel. And, I might add, paying for that novel you THINK you are getting! Sorry, Jim. I'll pass. And I'll be more careful about automatically buying anything you publish in the future. No fair sticking it to the fans. Twice in a row, too!

This book and the comics "Welcome to Jungle" were both written to please author not me. This book is not even big enough for introduction to normal Dresden files book and lacks the depth at all. Do not spend your money on it if you expect something like "Dead Beat". If you want to help the author to path through his crisis - you can just send him a check for 50 cents or more directly.

I'm a huge butcher fan. Back in the "good ol days" I'd think nothing of spending bucks weekly on just released hardbacks, especially his Dresden and Fury series. Those days are GONE, along with my well paying job. I will no longer automatically purchase a Jim Butcher novel after this latest burn. I honestly thought I was getting a novel length story, not a quickie on the back of a cereal box story. Large Print, a few pictures, a low hanging fruit story - its not even 70 pages. Its cheaper to go to the movies AND buy a small popcorn - you get an extra 45 minutes of entertainment. My "escapism" budget is blown for this month..(heavy sigh)

This would have made a nice fanboy podcast..

Love the Dresden files. Love Jim Butcher. But I paid $13 for 60 pages??
Numbered pages are 70 but the story starts on page 7 and includes 3 pictures. This should have been a novella in a magazine, not a hardbound book.
Looking again, it is less than 60 pages. 3 more pages are blank and one additional picture 56 pages. Probably wrote this in a day.

When I first ordered this book, I wasn't sure what to expect: a graphic novel? a novella? What I got was the first story focusing solely on Thomas Raith, Harry's vampire brother, who has so far occupied a sidekick role in the series. In this story, beautifully illustrated by Mike Mignola, Thomas steps up into his own, taking on monsters just like Harry but with a voice that reflects his personality beautifully. With a quick pace that makes for easy reading, Butcher has made a lovely little book that brings us more information on the world around Harry Dresden and gives Thomas his time to shine. I enjoyed it thoroughly for the illustrations as well, and as Mignola's work on the acclaimed Hellboy series proves, the man is a master of dark and creepy imagery.

All in all, this little hardcover is going on my shelf and not going anywhere. I hope Butcher looks into expanding the Dresden-verse further with more stories from other characters, and if this is any indication, the world is a rich one with plenty to offer.

I'll confess right up front that I am an unabashed fan of Thomas Raith, Harry Dresden's psy-vampire half-brother, and when I first heard about this book, I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough. As short as it is, it's a great read, and it gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of a character who is far more than the mere pretty face he may pretend to be. We get a first-hand sense of Thomas's struggle to keep his literal inner demon-symbiote in check, and of his concern for his little brother. And we also get some stunning if deceptively small revelations about the world in which they both live and work and fight to keep the things that go bump in the night in check. The illustrations by legendary graphic novel artist Mike Mignola more than complete this great little book!

This is very good. An expansion of the Dresden Files world. As the previous review stated, it was a short but pleasant tale.
I would like to read more tales of this type exploring the lives of other characters in the Dresden Files' world. Karren Murphy, even Bob, Mouse or Mister could be fun in a short tail (so to speak ;)). I enjoyed this story immensely.
I can hardly wait for the next full length adventure in the main story, but this was a pleasant addition to the entire adventure.

I am a great fan of the dresden series an have every book and dont get me wrong i loved this short story but why charge the price of a full novel for 70 pages couldnt this have been included at the back of small favour or maybe the new book coming out i dont know it just seemed to pricey for the final packaging

excellent novellette (novella?)... took me only about an hour and a half to read, but thats the only drawback. was very well written and adds a whole new dimension to thomas.