McAnally

McAnally, usually called Mac, is the owner of McAnally's Pub. He first appears in Storm Front.

Description
"A man of many talents and few syllables is Mac."

- Harry Dresden, on Mac’s ability to speak Japanese.

McAnally is a tall, gangly man with a shaved head and of indeterminate age, any age between thirty five and fifty. He is a man of few words and few overt expressions, but when he says or emotes something, it is generally noteworthy. When he works, he wears black pants, a white shirt, and a white apron that is always spotless. He seems to be generally very wise and imperturbable. He makes the best ale in Chicago, and gets irritated if one wants it served cold, as that would ruin its flavor. After he brought out his private stash, Dresden called Mac a "master beeromancer".

He makes lemonade ice-cubes to go with his lemonade, so that it doesn't get watered down. He specializes in steak and steak sandwiches.

He is something of an unsolved mystery throughout the series. By all appearances, he's nothing but human, yet he knows an enormous amount about the supernatural community, has managed to designate his bar as neutral territory under the Unseelie Accords, and he seems to be on first-name basis with both of the Faerie Ladies and Fix, as well as with Anastasia Luccio and Donald Morgan.

He opened the tavern a few years before Harry Dresden moved to Chicago. He knows something about weapons and always moves like someone that can handle himself. Because he isn't exactly a chatterbox, Dresden doesn't have the faintest idea of why or where Mac had learnded the business of violence.

Furthermore, in Cold Days, the Outsider He Who Walks Before knew who Mac was, calling him "Watcher". In Skin Game, Mab shows Mac much more respect than she shows Nicodemus Archleone.

He drives a white '89 Trans Am, that he loans to Dresden in Storm Front. He speaks at least a little Japanese.

Storm Front
In Storm Front, MacAnally informs Dresden that he has never seen anything like ThreeEye. He tells Dresden that he was followed into the bar by Susan Rodriguez before going about preparing meals. Being wise, he refuses to take sides when Dresden asks for help with Susan's questioning and then calls Dresden "dumb" after listening to him "complain" about her. He gives Dresden a doggy-bag for Mister on the way out.

Mac lends Dresden his car before warning him with a look when Donald Morgan enters the bar behind him. After Dresden knocks Morgan out, Mac walks over and confirms that he is still alive before warning him that the "council will be pissed" and offering him luck in his upcoming battle with Victor Sells.

Fool Moon
In Fool Moon, McAnally serves Harry Dresden and Kim Delaney at his pub and seems content with the size of the evening's crowd.

Death Masks
In Death Masks, when Harry Dresden entered the bar, McAnally caught his eye then nodded to a sign on the wall that said: " ACCORDED NEUTRAL TERRITORY ", before pulling a shotgun out from under the bar and asking, "Got it?", to which, Dresden answers: "No problem". This was just before the meeting of the seconds with the emissary to establish weapons for the duel between Harry Dresden and Paolo Ortega. Mac understands and responds to Shiro Yoshimo's Japanese.

Dead Beat
In Dead Beat, McAnally helps Harry Dresden clear the bar of patrons, sending them out to get behind a threshold before the Darkhallow. He appears disturbed when Dresden mentions that Necromancy is afoot and is clearly familiar with both Heinrich Kemmler and Donald Morgan.

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty, Mac gives Harry Dresden an unamused look at the suggestion of serving a cold beer and then prepares a private table for Dresden, Fix and Lily. He bows his head to Lily when she enters, calling her by her first name. He brings them lemonades with lemonade ice cubes throughout their meeting and once it is done, replaces Dresden's with beer, drawing the comment "Mac can sometimes be downright angelic". When Dresden remarks on the changes that Fix and Lily have gone through, Mac replies with "They grew up".

White Night
In White Night, McAnally takes Harry Dresden's keys from him after he indicates that he intends to drink a lot. Dresden asks Mac to sit with him when he notices that the pub is empty. Mac 'explains', in his trademark very few words, that the place has emptied because Dresden is now a Warden. When Dresden pushes him for any information he might have on the victims, he refers to the "Accorded Neutral Ground" sign before asking Dresden if he is the killer. He then gives Dresden "a start" in the case by writing down some information on a piece of paper.

"Heorot"
In Heorot, McAnally introduces Roger Braddock to Harry Dresden on account of Braddock's wife having disappeared. On her return to her husband, MacAnally toasts Dresden and Ms. Gard on the successful completion of the mission.

Small Favor
In Small Favor, Mac provides Karrin Murphy with a beer courtesy of Harry Dresden, who is late for their meeting. When he eventually shows up, Dresden hurriedly orders two more beers, which according to Murphy, saves his life. Mac stares in shock at Murphy when she challenges "Tiny" Gruff who shows up to confront Dresden. Following the encounter, Mac grabs three black bottles from beneath the bar and joins them for a drink. He salutes Murphy, finishing his drink in one pull and announcing "Bravely done," before leaving them with the bottled ambrosia.

"Last Call"
In "Last Call", Harry Dresden finds Mcanally and a number of his customers beaten up and hurt in the Mac's pub; a spell cast on Mac's beer has caused them to become violent and attack each other.

Changes
In Changes, he is the first person Harry Dresden talks to about his daughter. Mac listens intently as Dresden tells him about Susan Rodriguez, about being an orphan and that he will not let that happen to his child. Mac then responds with some profound, and somewhat prophetic, wise words.

Aftermath
In Aftermath, William Borden mentions him as a source of the information that half a dozen people disappearing in the day and a half before the kidnapping of Georgia and Andi Macklin.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, when the Outsider, He Who Walks Before, demands that Harry Dresden be sent out to him under threat of attack on his pub. Dresden offers to take it outside under the Accords; but McAnally does not accept the proposition. Sharkface recognizes Mac and the reason behind his presence there. Mac, Dresden, and Thomas fight him off till he leaves. Dresden pressed Mac for what he knows about this Outsider but Mac refuses to give Dresden any overt information stating "I'm out". Just before Dresden left, Mac covertly passed information to him using three beer bottle to symbolically say that there of three of them (meaning three Walkers as Dresden later finds out).

Later, Mac, along with Dresden's other friends—Butters, Andi Macklin, and Justine—were kidnapped by the Redcap. Unlike Dresden's other friends however, Mac does not appear to have been tied up. That or he's able to heal so quickly that no marks are left on his wrists. He is shot in the abdomen but appears to heal from this wound within the hour as well.

Skin Game
In Skin Game, McAnally closes down his pub for a private meeting between Dresden and Kringle. Mab bows her head to him deeply, greeting him respectfully. Mac acknowledges the gesture and returns her compliment, making Mab smile and refer to him as a "flatterer."

Word of Jim
According to Jim Butcher, more will be revealed about McAnally later on the series. He's not a god, nor the scion of a god. He is, however, dangerous.

In a talk at the Trails West Library, Independence, MO, Jim stated about Mac, "I've already told you who he is, but you'd have to be pretty nerdy..." He went on to say that if someone DID figure it out and asked him about the correct name, he'd say no.