At a Glance

Title: Peace Talks

Author: Jim Butcher

Series: #16 in The Dresdan Files

Expected Publication: July 14, 2020 by Orbit Books

Page: 352

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Series

Goodreads Rating: 4.42 out of 5

My Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis

“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 the very existence of Chicago–and all he holds dear?”

---

About the Series

The Dresden Files is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, Storm Front, was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are written as a first-person narrative from the perspective of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago. Butcher’s original proposed title for the first novel was Semiautomagic, which sums up the series’ balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. Peace talks is the 16th book in the series and is being published as the series celebrates it’s 20th anniversary.

My Thoughts

I started reading this series last year (January 2019) because I needed a good series to listen to while half marathon training. The series is narratored by James Marster and has the perfect amount of character voices and a good main character sound. I’m extremely picky about my audiobook narrators but I definitely recommend these on audio. Peace Talks was my first book of the series to actually ‘read’ and no listen too, and I still read the book in Marster’s voice.

The entire series is a bit of Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter with an adult vibe. The main character Harry Dresden, has a bit of a superhero complex but also is a very likable character. The amount of times I’ve laughed in this series is pretty high. The mix of comedy with action is what keeps me coming back.

Butcher does a great job of world building and making the reader feel immersed in the story. Peace Talks is a much shorter story than some of the other books, and it ends on such a huge cliff hanger. Most of the other books tend to end with at least one resolution. They have a main event that takes place within the greater story, but the main event always seems to wrap up well. Peace Talks seems to be all consumed by the larger story and then just ends. While Butcher is pretty consistent on publishing (16 Dresden books in 20 years) I would probably recommend waiting til the 17th books is out to read this one. All in all though, it’s still very enjoyable and I’m planning on re-listening to all of the audios this year to re-fresh on the story.

This book comes out July 14th! All my Dresden fans, pre-order your copy HERE!

Dresden File books in order

Click on the book title to order

1. Storm Front – When the police bring Harry Dresden in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, He’s seeing a solution to his financial difficulties. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name…
2. Fool Moon – Lately, Harry hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work – magical or mundane. But just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses. And the first two don’t count …Magic – it can get a guy killed.
3. Grave Peril – All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble—and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone—or something—is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn’t figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself…
4. Summer Knight – The Winter Queen of Faerie has an offer Harry can’t refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him—and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen’s right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen’s name.
5. Death Masks – For Harry Desden, whenever things are going good, the only way left for them to go is bad. Way bad. Recent examples: a duel with the Red Court of Vampires’ champion, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards; professional hit men using Harry for target practice; the missing Shroud of Turin (less missing than expected) and a headless corpse the Chicago police need identifying . . . Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, still struggling with her semi-vampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man. Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging.
6. Blood Rites – Harry Dresden has had worse assignments than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Still, there’s something more troubling than usual about his newest case. The film’s producer believes he’s the target of a sinister curse—but it’s the women around him who are dying, in increasingly spectacular ways. Harry’s doubly frustrated because he only got involved with this bizarre mystery as a favor to Thomas—his flirtatious, self-absorbed vampire acquaintance of dubious integrity.
7. Dead Beat – Karrin Murphy is the head of S. I. and Harry’s good friend. So when a killer vampire threatens to destroy Murphy’s reputation unless Harry does her bidding, he has no choice. The vampire wants the Word of Kemmler (whatever that is) and all the power that comes with it. Now, Harry is in a race against time—and six merciless necromancers—to find the Word before Chicago experiences a Halloween night to wake the dead…
8. Proven Guilty – The White Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City. As he adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it’s all in a day’s work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob…
9. White Night – Someone is targeting the members of the city’s supernatural underclass—those who don’t possess enough power to become full-fledged wizards. Some have vanished. Others appear to be victims of suicide. But now the culprit has left a calling card at one of the crime scenes—a message for Harry Dresden. He sets out to find the apparent serial killer, but his investigation turns up evidence pointing to the one suspect he cannot possibly believe guilty: his half-brother, Thomas.
10. Small Favor – The White Council’s war with the vampiric Red Court is easing up, no one’s tried to kill Harry lately, and his eager apprentice is starting to learn real magic. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow. Mab, monarch of the Sidhe Winter Court, calls in an old favor from Harry he can’t refuse…one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills—and loyalties—to their very limits.
11. Turn Coat – None hold Harry Dresden in more disdain than Morgan, a veteran Warden with a grudge against anyone who bends the rules. But now, Morgan has been accused of cold-blooded murder. He’s on the run, wanting his name cleared, and he needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. So it’s up to Harry to uncover a traitor within the Council, keep Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head.
12. Changes – Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry’s Dresden’s lover. She disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it. Now, she needs Harry’s help more than ever. The vengeful Duchess of the Red Court has discovered a secret Susan has long kept from everyone—including Harry—and she plans to use it.
13. Ghost Story – After someone puts a bullet through his chest and leaves him to die in the waters of Lake Michigan, things really start going downhill for Harry Dresden. Trapped between life and death, he learns that his friends are in serious trouble. Only by finding his murderer can he save them and move on. Worse still are the malevolent shadows that roam Chicago, controlled by a dark entity that wants Harry to suffer even in death. Now, the late Harry Dresden will have to pull off the ultimate trick without using any magic—or face an eternity as just another lost soul…
14. Cold Days – Harry Dresden is now Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Her word is his command. And her first command is the seemingly impossible: kill an immortal. Worse still, there is a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could mean the deaths of millions. Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent an apocalypse, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound infinite powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…
15. Skin Game – Mab has traded Harry’s skills to pay off a debt. And now he must help a group of villains led by Harry’s most despised enemy, Nicodemus Archleone, to break into a high-security vault so that they can then access a vault in the Nevernever. Problem is, the vault belongs to Hades, Lord of the Underworld. And Dresden is dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any of his crew to survive the experience.

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on Peace Talks. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books. Huge thank you to Orbit books for my advanced copy!

About the Author

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.

Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990’s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.

All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and recommendation. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.