Peace Talks (2020)

Harry's got an uneasy truce going with the White Council and he's trying to balance his different loyalties - Winter, wizardry, humanity, his daughter, his brother ... it's an impossible job but he can't do anything else. This is really part one of a two part story arc. ( )

Some light Spoilers ahead so if you plan to read this book just don't read the review.

I'm going to be honest, I think this is half a book. It feels very much like one book split into two. The next book will be a big part of this story. However even as half a story this is still better than 3/4 of the other stuff out there. It wasn't a Thrill a minute book but it was a good setting up book ready for BATTLEGROUND. I am very excited about the prospect of this.

All the pieces are in place and it feels a little like a recap of all the major players and all the major things that will play a big part in book 17. Very excited to see where this goes.

It does it'd job to remind you how Big Harry'd world has gotten and who he can call "Allies" and who are his "enemies" but even that isn't as easy as you think.

It feels like the episode before a season finale, so deep breath wait till Battleground and heres hoping he can "Swing for the Fences." ( )

With expectations as high as the sky, it was inevitable that Peace Talks couldn't match them. The first half was slow as readers are reintroduced to the status quo. Harry is still struggling with being the Winter Knight, most of his allies are in bad shape after the last book (poor Murph!) and just abput every supernatural faction is against at him. That said, the second half kicked into gear and Harry is back!

He has never been the most powerful player, but for too long, Harry was losing and then getting kicked while he was down. He survived only by owing favors to very dangerous beings without his moral compass. That still happens, however, Peace Talks brings back the cleverness, planning ahead and outhinking his adversaries that was a hallmark of the earlier books. That and dumb luck has started to level the playing field once again.

I was disappointed with the introduction of another "all-powerful" enemy, but the possibility that Harry might be able to pay off some debts and own his own soul again may be worth it. Peace Talks ends on a cliffhanger of sorts so have Battle Ground at the ready! ( )

It has been over two years since we received a new Harry Dresden novel from Jim Butcher. Given the length of time that we had to wait for a new book, readers could only have high expectations for the next book in a serious. Thankfully, Peace Talks is completely worth that wait.

I love how Mr. Butcher eases us back into Dresden’s world. He balances telling his story along with reminding readers of the key players and their relationships with Harry. Even better, we get to see some of what Harry has been doing in the time away as well. His relationship with his daughter and his experiences as a father are particularly poignant, as is his amazement that he has Karen as his girlfriend.

The thing that strikes me the most about Peace Talks is that I feel like we are getting the chance to see Harry as a person rather than Harry the wizard. Not only do we see his careful protectiveness towards his daughter, but also most of the novel shows him choosing family over duty. This is a man who values family above all else and who is willing to turn friends into enemies because of this.

Between Karen and Maggie, his interactions with Butters and Michael, as well as his choices surrounding Thomas, we see Harry as happy and content as we have ever seen him. As the situation turns sour, his determination to protect that happiness impacts the choices he makes. At the same time, this Harry is not the same Harry from the first few books. He most definitely is wiser and more cautious in his actions, which shows that he learned his lessons well.

Peace Talks is not the most action-packed of novels, but I believe that is a deliberate choice by Mr. Butcher. For one, the slower pace allows us to remember everything Harry faced over the course of the first fifteen books. Secondly, it highlights the physical, emotional, and psychological changes Harry incurred during those books. Lastly, the slower pace emphasizes everything Harry now values above all else and hints at just what he is willing to do to protect his part of the world he holds most dear. As we enter the last portion of the whole series, I suspect this last point will become even more salient.

At first, it feels unusual that Peace Talks ends without a major battle, one hell of a cliffhanger, and a story very much left untold. However, it does explain why Penguin released the next book a mere two months after this one. One could argue that Peace Talks is nothing more than the first half of a two-part story, which is okay. I enjoyed the opportunity to renew my acquaintance with Harry and friends and appreciated the lack of constant action. Peace Talks is much more cerebral a story than past ones, and I like that. It also means that the next book should make up for the missing action. ( )

(This is the 16th book in a 20 book series…so here be spoilers, aargh, beware. They’re for the series, not this book. )

Harry Dresden is my problematic fave. I’m well aware that if he were a real, non-magical person the crime-solving, wizard-for-hire hero of the Dresden Files would probably be a creepy neckbeard in the local gaming shop–the one with the “edgy” jokes and wandering eyes. In a lot of ways, Harry is the peak of mediocre white dude wish fulfillment fantasy–a geek with more force than talent, surrounded by better people than him, who is still somehow accorded phenomenal cosmic power and hot babes everywhere he turns. ⠀
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