Little Things

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Synopsis

The pixie, Toot-toot, and his ‘Za Lord's Army stop by Harry's castle for pizza. While it's baking, Toot is alerted to intruders who haven't yet been noticed by Harry and the other bigguns, so Toot takes matters into his own hands to defend his lord's domain and save their pizza from destruction.

Review

"Little Things" is a short story in the Dresden Files series that takes place after Battle Ground, and it's written from Harry's pixie friend, Toot-toot's POV. Harry is hosting a number of displaced people at his newly acquired castle, so money is tight. Toot-toot and his ‘Za Lord's Army stop by, wanting pizza. Still suffering the aftereffects of the recent battle, Harry drags himself down to the kitchen to put some frozen pizza in the oven for them. While waiting for it to bake, Toot hears noises, which immediately alert him that the castle is under attack from gremlins, who are too small for the bigguns to notice. So Toot and his army, with an assist from Harry's cat, Mister, set out to defeat the intruders, defend their lord's home, and save the pizza.

Toot-toot has always been one of my favorite characters, but this marks the first time we've gotten a story from his perspective. Toot has a big heart and a tremendous amount of courage for one so small. He feels bad for Harry losing his lady and wants to comfort him, but doesn't quite know how. So instead, he defends the castle against their gremlin intruders. After the battle, he and Harry share a sweet moment. Toot is still head-over-heels for Lacuna, who continues to be very prickly but starts to warm up a little by the end of the story. I like that Mister got in on the action as well. I also liked Bob's new job. Overall, this was a really cute story that was an absolute pleasure to read. I certainly wouldn't mind reading more from Toot's POV. "Little Things" can be found in the anthology Heroic Hearts.

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Jim Butcher