YMMV / Skin Game

• Anticlimax Boss: Lasciel and Hannah are defeated disappointingly quickly; they could have been great returning villains. Lasciel in particular is a major letdown; after several books' worth of establishing just how powerful, manipulative and dangerous she is, especially after seeing the effects Lash had on Harry, when we meet Lasciel proper; she basically acts like a jilted stalker who is furious with Harry for rejecting her. Which is admittedly what Jim promised, but still...
  • After the build up surrounding the difficulty of bypassing the various Gates, they are rather disappointingly one note.
  • That said...apparently the Genoskwa survived, leaving the possiblity of Lasciel returning as well...
• Broken Base:
  • Harry managing to turn the tables on Nicodemus by having made a secret deal with Goodman Grey is probably the most contentious part of the book. Some think it's awesome, and admire that Harry was actually able to plan ahead. Others think it's a cheap Deus ex Machina, and a writing cheat that just does not work in a first-person narrative.
  • Butter's ascension to Knighthood and reforging the Sword of Faith into a lightsaber has been met with vast approval or intense dislike and hatred, especially considering Murphy was badly and permanently injured to achieve it.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Hades. Averting Everyone Hates Hades, Hades himself is a rather fun character that readers loved. He takes Harry to his study, the two have a nice chat, and even explains why he named Cerberus "Cerberus"!
• Genius Bonus: When Ascher says that the Salamander was much bigger than in the Xanth books, Harry wonders if Hades gave it hormone treatment. There's a species of real world salamanders called axolotls which do not metamorphose into adult forms that normal salamanders do, but the metamorphosis can be induced by a hormone shot.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • In Ghost Story, Butters commented that he'd accept fight training from Marcone's hired Einherjar five minutes after getting a functional lightsaber. Come this book...
  • In Small Favor Harry put a bogus service-dog cloak on Mouse to get him into public facilities. Now Mouse is a legit one helping out Maggie in school.
• Rewatch Bonus: Upon a second reading, the knowledge of the codeword Harry and Grey were using to communicate in secret — to wit, Grey would call Harry "wizard" to allow himself (or Harry) to ask a question about the current situation, with the first word or two in response being the true answer — makes quite a few conversations more interesting. It also puts a new perspective on Harry's reticence with Butters, and a great many other conversations, knowing that Harry knows someone may be listening.
  • For a much less happy example... Tessa's motivation for getting in Nicodemus's way, and her private conversation with Deirdre, makes a lot more sense if you know Deirdre's ultimate fate...
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: This is the first time Harry has come face to face with Marcone since before his death in Changes, and both of them act as they always have to each other for a frustratingly brief scene. Granted, he and Mab have probably discussed it so he's aware of the circumstances, but given the loaded reunions Harry had with most characters in Cold Days, his first meeting with Marcone after those events is somewhat underwhelming.

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