Peace Talks by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files: Book 16)

Following Skin Game, Peace Talks immediately sets up the first of a brand-new set of difficulties. There were a lot of expectations for this instalment because it came after the series’ finest book by a wide margin and an extremely lengthy layoff. Butcher responds by providing the traditional Dresden tale with a few noteworthy twists. To create something that seems both the same and different, cosy and unexpected, it requires some ability. I finished reading the book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed being back in Harry’s Chicago.

The only major problems, in my opinion, were structural. It seems like this chapter is only part of a larger work. Whether it’s accurate to say that Butcher authored a single book before splitting it into two for publishing or not, that’s how it seems, and it does explain why the second instalment will be out in September. Even though I was aware that it would probably finish on a cliffhanger, I still had the strange dissociation and sense of incompleteness that come with a hurried conclusion. I have a feeling that some people will be really dissatisfied by this.

The tale is kept moving along with more than enough action and tension, but everything that occurs in this chapter serves to set up the epic fight that will take place in, er, Battle Ground. Clearly, the name of the game is a clue. Battle Ground will, in some manner, eliminate the issues that Peace Talks, the book, lays out.

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However, this is not a waste of time. In Peace Talks, there is a generous helping of much-needed character development, presented through powerful and memorable episodes that give enduring favourites additional layers to both their character and past. Some are rather amazing in their implications and obviously important to the subsequent book and beyond. The connections between family members, both blood and adopted, are definitely the main emphasis of this story, with some of them undergoing significant changes.

The greater political and diplomatic nightmare known as the Peace Talks is intertwined with these private problems. The stakes in this shitshow are quite high, but Harry finds himself in situations like this all the time. The potential repercussions loom over the story like a gloomy cloud, heightening the gravity and desolation of Harry’s predicament. He still makes his trademark goofy quips and wry observations, but there is a discernible attitude shift. Harry, maybe you’re finally mature now. It’s taken you a long time, but it could make all the difference.

Harry hasn’t always felt like much more than an unenthusiastic participant, forced into many fights, succeeding as much by chance as by judgement, despite all the throw downs and great wins. Before now. Oh, he’s still being used as a pawn by greater players, but he now exudes new assurance. This book demonstrates that he has made choices about what and who are truly important to him and what he is willing to sacrifice for them. Additionally, he is more reflective or perhaps better able to understand how his actions appear to others. This fresh viewpoint offers the chance for an intriguing examination of Harry’s expectations for himself and our expectations of him as a result. Harry as an adult is significantly more risky, which presents a variety of new opportunities. A good prelude to Battle Ground in September, it’s a good read.