Seriously, last chance. You’ve been warned.

Spoilers for Books 1 to 15

Peace Talks starts off with Harry and Thomas running together. Thomas has big news. He’s about to be a dad. Newly a dad himself, Harry is nonetheless shocked. A few pages later, Warden Ramirez shows up to tell Harry about the upcoming meeting in Chicago for peace talks between the Fomor and the Accorded supernatural nations. Complication one, complication two. Oh and the talks are being hosted by Baron John “Gentleman” Marcone, Harry’s mortal nemesis. Complication three. Peace Talks, like all Dresden Files books, starts off by layering complication upon complication upon clusterfuck on Harry. But in Peace Talks we see a slightly more mature Dresden as he has stepped up to care for his own daughter.¹ He’s living with the svartalfs now in Molly’s apartment. His daughter, Maggie, lives there educating the spirit of intellectus that Harry gave birth to. Harry’s grandfather, Ebenezar McCoy the Blackstaff, stops by for a chat, and the familial friction begins.

As I said earlier, Peace Talks primary theme concerns family: the lengths we’ll go to protect our family, the ways that we hurt each other, and the way that we see each other. I’m fascinated by the relationship in this book between Harry and Ebenezar. Though they are family, they’re strangers to one another. Harry lived with Ebenezar after killing Justin DuMorne, but he didn’t have the full picture. The recent revelation of Ebenezar as Harry’s grandfather and potential executioner hasn’t changed how Harry sees the old man. When Harry sees McCoy, he sees a mentor, a senior council member, and a magical hitman. In there, he doesn’t see the person that McCoy is. McCoy’s humanity comes through a bit more in this book. Instead of an all-powerful, all knowing wizard, the reader gets a chance to see McCoy in ways that remind us of Harry. McCoy must have been a lot like Harry when he was younger. I appreciated McCoy’s treatment as man living with mistakes here.

Conversely, McCoy doesn’t see Harry’s intense need for family, nor the wisdom he’s gained over the years, nor the skilled operator that Dresden has become. The Blackstaff buys into the White Council propaganda about monsters and the belief that Harry is becoming a monster by association. Though they are both founding members of the so-called Grey Council, McCoy still acts according to the White Council’s rules and methods. This is understandable as he has decades, if not centuries, of living in that culture. McCoy recognizes the need to operate outside the councils strictures – hell, as Blackstaff he can break the laws of magic – but he still acts with the White Council mentality. Harry, Harry is truly a grey wizard. His actions, while not breaking the laws of magic, necessitate alliances with the “bad guys.” Since the White Council has always treated Harry as an outsider and tolerates him on the fringes of wizard society. This and his natural personality have let him question their methods and learned of better ways to accomplish his goals. As with any ancient organization, the White Council views change with not only deep skepticism but fear. McCoy sees that Harry does good and makes a difference in the world, but he believes that his grandson is losing his way, potentially his soul.

Marcone hosts the peace negotiations with the Accorded Nations and the Fomor. At this table, we see a number of our favorite supernatural baddies. Ferrovax makes a return. (I’m eager to see what uses Butcher has for this character in the future. Though we haven’t seen much of him, he’s made an impact on me.) All our favorites, who have signed Mab’s Accords, are there. But Harry’s not there in his role as the Winter Knight. No, he’s there as a Warden of the White Council to guard the three members of the senior council in attendance.

While the book, like all other Dresden Files, stays within Harry’s limited viewpoint, he does observe some of the politicking. I enjoyed these scenes so much. Mr. Butcher does a lot of work with few descriptions. Dresden has also formed alliances of his own and is able to maneuver and manipulate like a more experienced politician. I would love a book from another perspective that dug more into the operations of the players at negotiation. How does Ramirez view what’s going on? What nuances does Butcher’s world is vast, and the political nuances among creatures of vast power, who are possibly timeless, would be fascinating. To them, Harry’s brute force method must be annoying. Well, annoying to everyone except Mab, who found a way to use that method to her benefit. I think a Dresden-verse version of Scandal would be amazing.

Ex-lieutenant Murphy is one of my favorite characters of whole Dresden Files series. I’m sure I’m not the only one there either. In the course of the series, she goes through the wringer, and Skin Game left her badly injured. We get to see the extent of those injuries, and they’re not pretty. She’s not supernatural; so, healing for her isn’t the same. Injuries have consequences for mortals in the Dresden Files, and now we see Karen’s. At the same time, she and Harry have decided to see where their feelings lead them. It made me happy to see them together. They both deserve a bit of happiness in their life, and though it’s momentary, they got it in Peace Talks.