To Make Or Break The Series
As seen on Jim Butcher’s website the 18th book in the Dresden Files is now in the writing phase. For me the series as a whole perfectly built up to Peace Talks and Battle Grounds and this next book has the potential to make or break the series for myself (In Jim Butcher I trust).
Peace talks felt like walking on a tightrope (in a nice way). Unfortunately when I first finished the book I did feel a little underwhelmed. On the other hand, picking up Battleground straight away soon fixed that. As the two books were originally written as one, hearing it was getting split due to the price of a hardback that size both made me laugh and lit a fire of excitement in me as it meant two Butcher releases in a year.
Battleground was everything I had been hoping for in the Dresden Files. A mixture of heart wrench, action, comedy, pop culture whilst being laced with everything else we know the dresden files for. Certain chapters had me crying in a train station waiting for my partner’s train to arrive. Others had me turning the pages so quickly I got paper cuts.
For me now the series is a must read for fantasy lovers. The mixture of comedy, plot, characters, relationships, character arcs/development, politics, bob the skull and betrayal have not been matched in any other series I have read (please recommend a series to me if you have found something similar)
Twelve Months Dresden Files And The The Series Structure
The Dresden Files was the series that made me fall in love with both reading and the fantasy genre. It remains one of the best fantasy books for beginners to get a taste of the modern genre (more specifically the urban sub genre).
What we know so far is that the series will come to around 25 books including a “post-apocalyptic” trilogy. Meaning that there is only 4 books remaining (including Twelve Months). Not only does the thought of the Dresden Files coming to an end frighten me it also excites me like no other series has before (a close second is the ‘The Expanse’).
Why The Short Stories Are Important
Peace Talks and Battlegrounds really weaved in a lot of the plot and characters from the two short story collections. In my opinion this is one thing we didn’t see too much throughout the series. Meeting characters like ‘Bigfoot’ and ‘Kringle’ who feature in the two latest books made the reading experience even better as they already have a foundation laid out.
Reflecting On The Law
One of the only downsides with Peace Talks and Battlegrounds is that it left me wanting more Dresden. Picking up The Law was the perfect scratch to that itch. Reading what felt like early Dresden Files with a bit of spice from the aftermath of Battlegrounds has cemented itself as a key part of the series.
Not only do I recommend it as a Dresden filler but I now couldn’t imagine picking up the next book without reading it. The same with Side Jobs and Brief Cases.