Jim Butcher and John M. Ford should go bowling together. In the last week I’ve read contemporary fantasy novels penned by each (Butcher’s Dresden Files and Ford’s “The Last Hot Time“) to discover they have some uncanny similarities. Some are common enough elements in fantasy, but the combinations in each are eerily alike. Each tale takes place in a Chicago where humans live alongside magical beings…where one would be wiser to withhold one’s true name. Both delve into small-scale scrapping and epic battles…ensorcellments…and elves and fey allergic to cold iron. But the strangest similarity is a shared piece of trivia…a tidbit I hadn’t heard before. Each author makes mention of Mongol Warriors who “wore densely-woven silk undershirts, so that when an arrow pierced the outer armor it would force the unpierced silk into the flesh. Then the arrow could be removed by pulling gently at the silk shirt. Silk helped plug the wound and not tear the flesh.” Spooky.