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 war is one that involves many of the old gods and the safety of the world. The problem is that Thomas can't tell Harry or it might make the situation more difficult.

I have always found Thomas to be an interesting character. Since he is a variant of a vampire, he represents everything that Harry stands for. In fact, Harry must keep his relationship with his brother a secret from everyone else in the wizarding community. With that said, Thomas has always jumped into help his brother when he was needed.

The book is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novelette so it is quite the quick read at 70 pages. It includes a couple of illustrations by a pretty big comic book artist (see the graphic above for a sample). As with most of the books in the series, there is a lot of action. My only complaint is that the ending seems really rushed and ties up too quickly. I would rather the book be a bit longer than have such a quick ending.

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