HARRY DRESDEN IS BACK AND READY FOR ACTION, in the new entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files. When the Supernatural nations of the world meet up to negotiate an end to ongoing hostilities, Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, joins the White Council’s security team to make sure the talks stay civil. But can he succeed, when dark political manipulations threaten … political manipulations threaten the very existence of Chicago—and all he holds dear?
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Ooooh how I have missed you Harry Dresden! It was so easy, even after all this time waiting for the next book(s) in the series, to fall back into this story and characters, and I’ve already purchased the next book, Battle Ground.
If you are not familiar with the books, The Dresden Files is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels. The first novel in the series, Storm Front, was published back in 2000. The books are written in first-person narrative from the viewpoint of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in the current-day city of Chicago.
As of this year, there are now 17 novels set in the Dresden Files collection, plus a number of short stories—some of which are collected in the anthologies. The series has also been released in audiobook format, narrated by James Marsters who is brilliant as a narrator and is my preferred format for these stories.
I highly highly recommend this series, the characters, the adventures, and sarcastic humor is written perfectly.
Harry Dresden is back after a long absence. This book puts you right back into the action, and while it ends with a lot of things unresolved at least there won’t be a long wait. Battle Ground is set to be released in just a week.
Harry is back, and neither wind, snow, or the black ice of winter will hold him back. If you’ve read Jim Butcher it’s a must read, if not…check him out.
It’s About Time
Well I have to say it’s been so long since I read the last book I forgot a lot that happened but this was still a good edition. Harry just can’t stay out of trouble. It finds him wherever he goes. Thank goodness we don’t have to wait long for the next installment.
Glad to see Harry Dresden back wielding his Staff, wearing his old duster, and protecting Chicago from the evils of the VERY underworld again. I’ve missed him. Jim Butcher has a great character in Chicago’s only practicing Wizard and Private Detective who is now also the Winter Knight for a Faerie who is the Queen of Winter and Warden of the Magical Prison where the worst of the worst of the dark evil magical creatures and evil magicians have been and will be imprisoned for eternity. A great read, and always entertaining, The Dresden Series will keep you guessing how Harry will get out his latest trouble.
I love the Dresden Files books, but was somewhat disappointed that this one is a ‘part I’ instead of being fairly stand alone… I feel like there was no ending.
Harry is at again working against enormous supernatural odds to keep peace talks from turning into outright war and the destruction of Chicago. He has to rescue his brother Thomas, accused of assassinating a high ranking foreign dignity, which is likely to throw gasoline on the flames and after all that you are left hanging waiting for a Part 2. This is Harry in great form and it will enjoyed by every fan of Harry Dresden until you get at the ending that isn’t an ending.
I’m madly in love with Harry Dresden and have been for years. I ordered a signed copy of this eagerly anticipated next sage of the Dresden files. I highly recommend this series any anything Jim Butcher writes!
Another awesome Dresden book, which ends far too soon.love to spend time revisiting characters of past adventures. Recommend it highly. Dresden is still my favorite fictitional character! Can’t wait for the sequel in September?
Sets up the next book, Battle Ground. Introduces all the groups from previous books and a new villain that threatens all of them. Loved the time spent will them all.
I kept putting off writing this review because whenever someone wants a fantasy recommendation, The Dresden Files is the first series I mention… and Peace Talks by Jim Butcher just wasn’t as good as usual. Sure it was nice catching up with some of the characters, like Bigfoot, but some of the catching up was just a mention of seeing someone across the room and realizing years have passed and Ivy the Archive is now a teen.
And then there was the awkwardness of Harry acting like a teenage boy with all of his sexual urges because of the Winter’s mantle wanting to be in control of Harry’s sex drive. Although he didn’t have a lot of sex, all of the mentions of thinking about sex started to make me feel like I was reading an Anita Blake novel (and I stopped reading that series awhile back because of all the sex and not a lot of substance when it came to the plot.)
Besides all the repetition with thinking about sex, there was a bunch more in regards to mentioning how the Winter’s mantle allows you to ignore the pain of injuries but doesn’t cure it, Murphy with her not wanting to be handled with kid gloves even though she is still recovering from major injuries and is 100% human, and Grandpa McCoy stating over and over that vampires are evil.
If you were to take out all the reiteration you could have taken the book down about 75 pages or more and combined books 16 and 17, since Battle Ground is just going to be the complete ending to Peace Talks.
And I missed Bob.
So as a long time fan of The Dresden Files, of course you are going to read Peace Talks… but maybe wait until right before the end of September when Battle Ground comes out so you can continue the book/story right away. And with all the lead up in Peace Talks I’m hoping/thinking Battle Ground is going to be epic… as long as Harry can stop thinking with his little head.
Another great adventure for Harry Dresden, easy to read and follow along with. This author makes the main character so relatable and enjoyable to roof for. It is like an old friend has stopped by after a long absence to catch up and chat in comparison for reading this series. I have to go back and read the previous novel to get caught up again. I cannot wait for the sequel to this story line, great cliffhanger.
Harry Dresden, you sure do have a way of hopping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
For years the Dresden Files has been building towards this epic showdown, now it looks like that day has finally arrived. This novel had me gasping and covering my mouth in shock at all that unfolded. Thank goodness the next installment comes out later this year. After that ending, I don’t think I could survive another two-year wait.
I love anything by Jim Butcher. I just wish Harry Dreden lived down my street!
Excellent installment of Harry Dresden. I bing-listened to all the others, so this was the first listen I had to wait on…the author did a great job–through events in the story–of reminding readers of what had happened earlier in the series. This one is a true cliffhanger, though. Not that I think any Dresden readers won’t be back for the next one.
Buyer Beware — This is only half a book!
I was eagerly looking forward to the latest in the Harry Dresden saga. This book got off to a good start, but I was very disappointed to discover it stopped virtually mid-word. It is only half a story. Presumably the next in the series, Battle Ground, which is currently scheduled to be released in September 2020, will complete the story. I would have rated Peace Talk higher if there were more of it.
I’ve seen mixed reactions to this book. It’s been five or more years since Butcher released a book in the Dresden Files series. I follow a couple forums and a number of people did a re-read of the previous books before Peace Talks came out. This makes some of the criticism more understandable. I only went to Wikipedia and read through the book summaries to refresh my memory.
I’ve seen some people say that this book is way too much of a re-hash of things we’ve seen before. I’m wondering if it wasn’t planned that way – to bring people up to speed and set up the next book, which is coming out in the fall, more than anything. If that’s the case, then I think it served its purpose well. Which also means that if you are new to the series, you don’t really HAVE to go back and read the others. You may want to eventually, but you can start here.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up with Butcher’s characters. Harry Dresden is still the wise-cracking wizard detective, very aware of his own inadequacies, but he has grown in some ways.
“Then I ran my tongue thoughtfully over my teeth and closed it. Honestly, it’s really kind of startling how many problems that avoids. I should think about doing it more often.”
He still has some growing to do too.
“I felt awkward. I was never much good at parties.”
There are peace talks about to be joined that will take place in Chicago and require Harry’s presence as a member of the security team, complicated by the fact that his brother is under a kind of arrest, for murder, and Harry’s own status as a member of the White Council is in question.
So many characters from the former books come into play.
Butters, oh Butters, our polka-loving, Jedi blade-wielding, medical examiner.
Michael, former Knight of the Cross, whose stalwart presence always tries to lead Harry back to the most righteous path. (I hear a deep, resonant, measured and careful voice, in my head when Michael is speaking.)
I like Butcher’s unique way of describing things that’s culturally relevant and, as it is from Harry’s perspective, provides real insight into Harry’s mentality.
“When it got fully dark, Marcone’s castle looked like it was holding a flashlight under its chin.”
From horrible monsters and magic to more mundane, but no less important, concerns of family and home, it is lovely reading about Harry’s life again.
A thoroughly enjoyable interlude and adventure.
But for those who haven’t read it yet, if the cliff hanger is going to bother you, you might want to wait until closer to the next book to read it.
jJst another of the wonderful series that pits a troubled magical individual against the worst of the worst in the magic world. A must read.
What’s not to like about Harry Dresden?
The long awaited book has finally arrived. The first line line cracked me up!! Harry and Thomas are out for a run. I will not say! But on to the story. The Fomor want to have peace talks with the Worlds Supernatural powers. Harry is on the White Council’s security team. Along with being The Knight of the Winter Court. So much happens. There is a cliffhanger because they split up the book! Battle Ground comes out in September.