I enjoyed the previous volume in the series despite its lack of a truly satisfying ending, which says good things about Jim Butcher's skill in the art of spinning out a narrative. The mix of humor, conflict, magic, and mystery always keeps me coming back for more.

I enjoyed Battle Ground too, but again it was a liking despite elements. I knew Battle Ground would hold a lot of action. I knew conflicts of duty, honor and heart-ties would multiply, and decisions would come home to roost. I knew all those things going in, and it was still a grueling read. A GOOD read, but a hard one.

No one coming into book 16 needs me to tell them what's good about this series. So. Below, the things that stuck out to me as memorable.

There were no breathers beyond a paragraph or or two of character interplay between epic fights and interpersonal demolition derbies. There just wasn't page space for narrative relaxation or much of the typical Dresden banter. The whole book takes place over a single night of nonstop end-of-the-world battling. The stakes are sky-high, the forward momentum is relentless, and the tone is... blood-drenched.

Character Development? I didn't see much, but I didn't expect much. There are big revelations, uncomfortable epiphanies, and questionable choices, all the juicy, twisty goodness that makes Dresden a wonderful train wreck of a character to follow, but nuance took a back seat to plot raveling.

That blood-drenched tone I mentioned? I don't see it lightening up any time soon. This book is the beginning of the end, the rise into the big, bad boss resolution of the whole series, which looks like a war to end All Of Time And Space..

That means there's some hard moral work for Harry Dresden ahead, and after his performance in Battle Ground, I am not sure he's up to the task. That's disappointment enough to pull my liking for the book down a bit.<br>I'm sure I'm meant to feel doubt, but the ambiguity never develops.
Will Harry turn to the light or the dark? Will he make the selfless decision when it comes down to the wire? Battle Ground leaves that answer thoroughly up in the air yet again, and not in a way that felt character-driven.

My last impression concerns the "redemptive power of a child" trope. The larger story arc has already headed far down that road. Now, I love reading and writing about family bonds, and I am all-in on the ineffable wonder of love, but, um. It isn't up to bearing the weight of so much narrative. I reserve judgment until the series is finished, but Harry's relationship with his daughter makes me uneasy. It's precious but feels...awfully pat.<

In summary:
Battle Ground is everything Harry Dresden turned up to eleven, the good parts and the problematic ones both. And with all the the virtues and vices of protagonist and plot are cranked up past maximum volume, some of the things I like about the music got lost in the noise.

(All that said, I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT)

In my review of the previous book, Peace Talks, I noted that it felt like Butcher was setting up all the chess pieces of an epic plot and then the book abruptly stopped with a cliffhanger. I was right about a game being set up, but instead of chess, it’s more like continual boss fights for about 90% of the book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be mentally exhausting, especially with so many characters from previous books reappearing that you have to recall and track their storyline in relation to Dresden. I’ve been reading the series as it comes out since the beginning, so I found myself using a fandom wiki to jog my memory on some details.

Even with the Final Boss being defeated, it’s still not the final level. There are scenes, some just hints, about the greater enemies from the Outside and that so much of what Dresden has been through is just a warm up for an even Bigger Bad. Which makes sense if Butcher is sticking with the idea of having 20-ish “case books” planned, capped off by an “Apocalyptic trilogy”, and this is book 17 which was “an apocalypse with a little a”. Though I’ve also seen Butcher talking about possible spin-off series set in the Dresdenverse, so it’s not over until he decides it is.

Even with the devotion to ongoing battles, there are some major events and reveals, including character deaths, but the biggest thing is now magic has been forced out into the open by the Formor attacking Chicago, and regular people defending their town alongside the Accorded Nations of various supernatural and other in-the-know entities. Now the question is whether those regular humans will turn on the paranormal in general or not, and Dresden is trying to do his best to get the Accorded Nations to prevent that from happening, but I wouldn’t doubt that at least some do hunt the supernatural at some point.

We do get an answer about why Thomas apparently killed someone for no apparent reason in the last book, and the implications are rather horrifying. Nothing is as it appears, and hasn’t been for some time. The only difference now is Dresden is starting to push harder to find out all about this “starborn” and “Endless Night” stuff, and there’s a hint in this book that an enemy may have the information the White Council has been unwilling to share, and there’s possibly other sources of information with various levels of danger involved. Whether or not this is Butcher’s plan remains to be seen, but the White Council has been playing their cards close to their chest about what’s really going on with Dresden, to the point they’re willing to cut him off if they even suspect he’s not 100% with them.

Dresden has been beaten down on multiple fronts, but the various alliances he’s made throughout the series came to his aid in the Battle of the Bean, and most (but not all) are still on his side in some fashion. Those who have shifted away from him have seen what he can do, and they’re afraid of him, and they should be. Harry Dresden is always trying to do what he thinks is right, but he’s been manipulated his whole life and doesn’t even know to what extent.

Looking forward to the next installment, and hopefully it will be a one year wait this time.

After a six year wait, fans of The Dresden Files were given "Peace Talks," followed by "Battle Ground." When comparing the two, "Peace Talks" is only an appetizer when compared to the buffet of activity presented in "Battle Ground."

Taking place immediately after "Peace Talks," Harry Dresden finds himself in a battle of epic proportions, pitting the signatories of the Unseelie Accords against a mad Titan and her army of Fomor. With fast paced scenes, attention to detail, characters coming back into the fold, and the sheer number of events within the book, "Battle Ground" will hold your attention well beyond when you finish.

Well written, well paced, and quite simply "epic" in all definitions of the word, "Battle Ground" is what Dresden Files fans have been waiting six years for, and it has been well worth the wait.

Straight up: I am already a big fan of Jim Butcher and his creation Harry Dresden. This title "Battle Ground" follows closely on the heels of the previous book "Peace Talks". Let's face it, they really should be one big book.

All of the great things that I noted in "Peace Talks" appear in "Battle Ground". The writing is tight, the storytelling is exciting, involving, complex. The characters go from strength to strength. Dresden's life history (the struggles, villains, allies, friends) is on full, complicated (like his life) display here, at his moment of truth. The author really demonstrates his ability to juggle multiple characters and handles the battle scenes (much of the book) really well. I did not lose the train of events, I did not skip ahead (some books having me skimming during overlong, overly detailed and confusing action. The reader here cares about the characters, the consequences, the unpredictable results.

My one criticism of "Battle Ground" is that I felt a bit lost during the first couple of chapters. Butcher usually connects the reader adroitly to the previous action (in "Peace Talks"). But in "Battle Ground" I felt initially adrift, like I should know immediately what was going on. Usually the author gives us a first chapter of action, then backtracks to let us in on what got the characters to that point in time. The lack of this format had me briefly struggling-- and hoping that other readers would not have this issue. Going to go back and read these books back to back, as they should be. Looking forward to one, long, all together five-star ride.

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!

Battle Ground is a natural continuation of the novel Peace Talk and Jim Butcher is at his best as a creator of fabulous battle scenes and magical action as a major part of his novels.
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Chicago's wizard extraordinaire and defiant Winter knight, is facing something he was born for to accomplish. Defeating supernatural outsiders who do not belong to our world and our reality is the mission that can be delivered only by a professional wizard of his calibre. In the book Harry will face a battle of epic proportions with a Titan, another fight for his own humanity and one of the biggest tragedies of his life.
This totally new stage of Harri’s life opens new original possibilities for the future plot development in these best selling Dresden Files series that legion of fans won’t be able to put down.

Holy cow, what a book!! All of the built up tension in Peace Talks explodes in the form of hellfire and brimstone in Battle Ground. A near book length battle ensues with numerous shocking moments throughout that will reverberate for the remainder of the series. Bravo to Jim Butcher!!

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!
























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*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?