[Filark]

Soooo . . . I read "Restoration of Faith" and am well into Storm Front. I can't believe how many important people appear right away! It's fun rereading. Everything that happens and everyone I meet has a context they didn't the first time through.

Spoiler:

Given that Jim Butcher wrote it in college and was unable to sell it as a stand-alone short story, I expected "Restoration of Faith" to have a slightly different Harry and a slightly different world -- sort of a rough draft feel to it. But all the elements were there! The writing didn't flow as smoothly as it does in Storm Front (imho), but it was set in the recognizable Dresdenverse, complete with a pre-promotion Murphy in braids!