I’m going to review Jim Butcher’s “Peace Talks” and “Battle Ground” together, because they are basically one book broken into two halves. This is unusual for Mr. Butcher, as all of his other Dresden books have been stand alone novels. Apparently, after a six year hiatus, the author had so much to say he couldn’t put it all into one book.
I am a big fan of the Dresden stories, and these books are no exception. Generally speaking these are both fun and entertaining reads.
BUUTTT, in my opinion, neither one is among the top 10 of the Dresdenverse novels (these two are books 16 & 17 in the series). There is just something off about these two books, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It still features the wisecracking wizard from Chicago and all his fascinating friends, allies and enemies, but the spark that filled the earlier novels for whatever reason just seems to be missing.
Peace Talks is primarily exposition to setup Battle Ground, and thus is somewhat slow going. Battle Ground, on the other hand is almost all action scenes, and to be honest, after awhile it gets boring and repetitive. It reminded me of the lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan near the end of Revenge of the Sith: it just goes on and on and on, and starts to become tedious.
It is my understanding that Mr. Butcher’s life has gone through a lot of upheaval since he last published a Dresden novel (Skin Game) in 2014. Divorce, new marriage, kid grew up and he had a house built that apparently turned into an ordeal. Perhaps, with all that going on, he just burned out on writing his Dresden novels.
Or perhaps the issue is me. Ever have a craving for something that you can’t satisfy immediately? Say it’s a restaurant that you used to visit a lot, but for whatever reason you just can’t get to right now. In your mind you remember it as the best food you ever ate. Months go by and your craving gets worse, while the memory of how awesome the food was gets more intense. Finally, you are able to go to said restaurant. Whereupon you discover that while the food is very good, it’s just not quite amazing as your fickle mind remembered. Is that what happened to me with these two books? I don’t know.
I’m still looking forward to the next Dresden novel, as long as it doesn’t take another 6 years to arrive. If you are a fan of Harry Dresden, Peace Talks and Battle Ground are worth reading. Just be aware that there’s a possibility that they might not meet your expectations.
If you haven’t ever read a Dresden novel and you love fantasy novels, then I recommend you rush out and pick up Fool Moon, the first in the Dresden series. Excellent book!
