Let me start off with this: I do not agree with the decision to slice this story into two parts. For various reasons including but not limited to:
1. Neither story is complete without the other half. Each leaves you feeling like it wasn't a complete book.
2. Feels/looks like a cash grab.
3. I don't know if this is directly related to splicing the book but either a) new editor and not a great one or b) Butcher is starting to really lean on repeating not only words but also sentiments. I'm not actually sure how many times I read about muddy ground.
4. Maybe 3 isn't something new but Marsters does a phenomenal job of inflection so I just never picked up on it?
5. Last one: The first few chapters feel off- in a way that they seem like filler was built in (which, in splitting this story makes sense). Don't let that stop you. The story picks up and flows naturally just a few chapters in.

Okay, now that my cons are out of the way, let's discuss what Butcher does well.


Love. Loss. Binding. Bonds. Calculation.
I cried more than once because Butcher knows how to write loss. Heavy loss. Like someone who has experienced true grief.
I laughed more than once because Butcher knows how to inject tense situations with the perfect amount of humor to balance the utter despair that Dresden faces. Not as often in Battle Ground but it shouldn't have been as light hearted as stories of the past so it balances perfectly.
I gasped more than once because while I had suspicions of certain characters from Peace Talks, I also didn't have THOSE suspicions.
Butcher is a king at building a world that doesn't only revolve around his main character. We see the story from Dresden's recounting but the world is happening around him in ways that he [Dresden] couldn't see. Every step of the way, the reader is given front row to the memories while Butcher also makes it possible for us to piece together the frame that Harry cannot.


Also, I'm just going to say- I never knew just what exactly made the Dresden Files lure me in. In Battle Ground I got it- It's the pure Urban, this world is ours and exists but it's also full of magic we will never know balance that works. Humans are limited in knowledge of the supernatural of Dresden's world, and despite it being thrown around, the average person isn't going to pick up on it. Dresden may be overpowered by his mantle but it's also breaking him. This is something that he chose not for himself, it was chosen to help others that he loves. I appreciate that he isn't becoming more and more powerful because he is a chosen one but because of his decisions- which directly impact his world. His decisions (rarely) lead to everything working out for him. But he is doing the best he can with the knowledge he has.
In Peace Talk we see the White Court fracturing from him- they see the forest where Harry sees the trees. He blunders ahead, reacting to threats put in front of him. Battle Ground is a turning point- Harry has seen the forest and it is dark and full of danger.

Now I want to jump back to my point #1. Butcher is becoming a master at weaving story lines and excels at fight sequences. PT is pure build. It's necessary for BG to be what it is. We NEED that back story. Likewise, PT is pure build- there isn't enough tension to make it a full story. BG balances and completes that. I'd rather see a 400 page story than half of one.

Battle Ground is the other half of an amazing entry in The Dresden Files. It is the missing third act that wasn't present in Peace Talks. It picks up right where the former left off, and is non-stop action, carnage, and death. So much death. It resolves most of the plot threads dropped in Peace Talks, and several others from the last few entries. Taken together with Peace Talks, it feels like the book we've waited for since Changes, and could be arguably one of the best entries in the series. On its own . . . you be the judge.

Harry Dresden, professional wizard and semi-pro smart aleck, is about to have the worst night of his life. A vengeful Titan named Ethniu has come to wipe Chicago and its eight million pesky humans off the map. Then she'll get down to business. Between her hordes of terrifying minions and her supernatural superweapon, she has the means. All of Harry's friends and a good number of his foes will fight tooth and nail until dawn to save humanity, but even if they win nothing will ever be the same. Despite being one long fight sequence, it does not get bogged down.

I always like Butcher's writing - he's a great storyteller. This is what I had hoped for in Peace Talks. Where' Peace Talk fizzled to it's end, Battle Grounds popped!

The book is everything I wanted it to be and more. Twists that I saw coming, twists that I totally didn't see coming. I normally have a tendency to skim battles, but I was in for every moment of this book. You should definitely read the entire series before this book, but you MUST read at least Peace Talks or you will be completely lost. I can't wait for the next book!

Wow. This book was a roller coaster of emotions I was not expecting. I got teary several times. Some happy tears and some very, very sad tears. This will be a hard one to top, but I’m looking forward to the author trying in the next installment of the series.

I have been reading these books for a while and I always wonder where the next book will go. The author never disappoints. I am surprised and delighted every time. I love that they are adding some backstories to some of the characters that are not in the starring roles. A must-read if you love stories of the Fey and kick-butt hero with a slice of romance and mystery. Be prepared this one takes a wild ride and you will need a box of kleenex to get through some of it.

Breathless and non-stop, Battle Ground is a game changer for The Dresden Files. Like Peace Talks it is only half of a book, but because it is the second half it is much more satisfying.

Absolutely bloody stellar. Butcher is at the top of his game with this one. A necessary (perhaps multi-copy) purchase for collections where the series is popular.

I loved this book! Literally non-stop action. It picks up directly following book #16, PEACE TALKS, with all the magical beings connected with Chicago as well as the merely mortal humans backing Wizard Harry Dresden as he fights a the Titan Ethinu to save his beloved city.

I love superhero movies. I love movies with great big special effects and amazing fight scenes. And this book is ONE BIG FIGHT SCENE. And Butcher knows how to write them! This is all I ever wanted from a Butcher book.

So, I've given you the plot. Ethniu, a Titan, has declared her intention to remake the whole world in her image. She's pissed off about a lot of things and is ready to fight EVERYBODY. This means that the wizard's High Council, the White Court of Vampires, the entire Faerie Court, Gentleman John Marcone and his crew, River Shoulders the sasquatch, and pretty much any character who's ever been in a Dresden book has to come out to fight for the city of Chicago.

Also, the city of Chicago is about to become violently aware that the supernatural exists. The genie's not going back in that bottle.

So, there's not too much more I can say because it's a BIG BRAWL and spoilers abound. There's a pretty massive Chekhov's gun that Harry is gathering on a shelf and I wonder when it will be fired- undoubtedly, as bad as this Big Bad is, there is worse to come. We don't get any real hints of that yet in this book, but clearly everyone is leveling up for a reason.

FUN! I'm waiting for the next one now. Too bad they are so much faster to read than to write!

Jim Butcher is a major league heavy hitter. Every book is at least a triple and most of them are blown right out of the park.
Part of the strength of the Dresden Files is the wonderful world building. His characters have well defined limitations. Neither the villains nor any of the other characters are unassailable. So very powerful, but with realistic limits. These limits make and keep the story "real."
If urban fantasy is anything you like, and you've not read Jim Butcher, you've got seventeen great adventures awaiting you!
























1









1

*spoiler alert*

I got this from NetGalley to preview.
This is the second half of the story begun in Peace Talks.


We lose some people. I won't tell you who unless you ask me privately.

And some people are not who they seem to be.

This book was sucker punch after sucker punch...by the third one I was so numb that I couldn't rightly process them anymore.

And then the last bomb...I'm not even sure that Butcher can write through that one...but it will make for a very intriguing next book or...gross and weird and just messed up, but intriguing.

At least Maggie is okay, and Mouse. And Harry gets his lab back...

Well... I’ve finished a galley of Battle Ground before Peace Talks has been released. That really limits what I can say in this review without going from spoiler territory into I’d really have to be an ***** to tell you territory...
I certainly have thoughts on this book. And opinions... And emotions...
What I feel I can say to anyone that’s reading a review for a book 17 is yup, you’re in this to read to the end too aren’t you? We all know that the end game stakes are going to be high. Unless I am misremembering I believe Butcher said 20 books plus a final apocalyptic trilogy... These last books will be an interesting ride,
I’m ready to see what happens next no matter where the dice might fall. Aren’t you?

What a ride! I was so glad I didn’t have to wait a year or more to read this after the cliffhanger ending of Peace Talks. The two books feel more like one long book, and it would have been agony to wait. I was disappointed with a couple of the plot choices, and I wish I weren’t still in the dark about some things, but overall, this was a satisfying follow-up to Peace Talks. I wasn’t sure if Peace Talks had all the Dresdeny mojo I’ve come to expect in this series, but Battle Ground did. And I think it set up future plots quite well without resorting to another cliffhanger. Keep ‘em coming, Butcher!
4.5 stars

It turns out the peace talks weren't so peaceful this time around. The city of Chicago is about to suffer an apocalypse with a little "A" and Harry and his allies are squaring up for the fight of their lives. But hey, no big deal, Harry just needs to be good enough to earn the title Titan-killer! It's not like it's gonna take everything he has to give, or anything like that....

Once again, I am blown away by how Jim Butcher writes action and emotion. This book puts the epic in fantasy, seriously. Battle Ground is all about alliances and not giving up, even in the face of unbearable odds. Harry has realized exactly how small he is compared to the big players in magical Chicago, but he doesn't let that stop his smart mouth! I laughed, I CRIED, I died a little inside. Peace Talks was definitely a build-up novel to this curb-stomp battle, and I feel like Dresden and I both deserve a vacation after this installment. There was so much magic in this book, and I love the versatility that each magic user exhibits to make it their own. The intricate plotting in this book shook me to my core, and I was thrilled I couldn't guess what was going to happen next. The chaos of Battle Ground was bloody, dramatic, and absolutely brilliant!

This is definitely the book Dresden fans have been waiting for. It's a culmination of quite a few plot points, and I would recommend reading the series before diving off this cliff of a read. That being said, if you're looking for a magical battle of titanic proportions that just doesn't quit, this book is the one for you! I was as exhausted as the characters by the end, this really is just non-stop action. I kept thinking Butcher couldn't go much higher, but congrats, ya proved me wrong over and over again. Also thanks for the tears, I hate them. And while this book tore me up, put me back together, and then ripped me apart again, I could not recommend it more. I now feel like reading the entire series again, and that's really the best praise I could possibly give.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Harrys back! Again! After the looooong multi-year wait we get a second Dresden Files book in the same year! The story literally picks up right where Peace Talks left off, and hoo boy is the Battle Ground title ever accurate. The action comes fast and furious as Harry must juggle his many responsibilities as a Wizard, and Warden, of the White Council, the current Winter Night to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Thomas's brother, Murphy's boyfriend, and maybe most important, Chicago's resident Wizard P.I. and general defender of the city, against Ethniu the last of the Titans, who is hell bent of destroying Chicago in the first step of her thirst for vengeance. You've got Wizards, vampires, gangsters, Vikings, trolls, giants, you name it, they are here, and it's a real battle royal. And when the dust settles, wow, nothing will ever be the same. I am so excited to see where Jim Butcher takes things next!

If the Harry Dresden books were a video game, Battle Ground is when Harry gets to the big boss fight. *THE* fight.

The vast majority of the book takes place within a couple of hours, tops, and is really one huge fight scene. Sure, it's exciting. But if you're a speed reader who gets bogged down by details, this will take a while to read. Every punch. Every spell. Every tumble. I got a little tired of reading after a while, which is not how I usually feel with Harry Dresden.

There are a few unexpected treats, though. Some characters really get their time to shine, and during the worst of circumstances, you really see what people are made of -- the good and the ugly.

Any book called "Battle Ground" is going to have at least one or two people die who you wish would have survived, so don't be surprised.

So, while this is my least favorite Dresden book, I still enjoyed it. I still want to talk about it with people. And that's the mark of a really great series -- even when I don't love it, I still like it.

It may feel a little bit like the end of the series, at times, but there are plenty of loose ends pointing the way to at least a few more books.

This book lives up to its title! Truly nonstop battle. Butcher wraps up a lot of plot threads and character's arcs in this one while building the narrative for future books. So many heartrending scenes.

I cried no less than six times while reading this. Screw you, Jim Butcher. You know what you did.

But what a book.

Battle Ground takes off immediately where Peace Talks ends, catapulting the reader into a 500 page battle of epic proportions. Little-a apocalypse has arrived on the shores of Chicago, and Harry and crew have one heck of a fight to put up. Butcher manages to keep the reader feeling the nitty gritty details and horrors of battle on the ground without losing the epic scope of what is going on across Chicago. I left this book emotionally exhausted but blown away by what was accomplished here.