Peace Talks
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- Create Date：2021-07-07 09:16:15
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Jim Butcher
- ISBN：0356500977
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Summary
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？
Reviews
Robin Strich
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Pretty conflicted。。。The first three-quarters really feel like an average introduction part of a Dresden book， but blown up to four times the normal page count。What happens at the end though， is as grandiose and epic in scale as I could wish for in the current state of the series。 Only problem: No conclusion。I'll have to wait for Battle Ground to really be able to rate this first half。。。 They don't belong splitted。But It iiiis what it iiiis （Illum est quod est）This is a normal entry in the series Pretty conflicted。。。The first three-quarters really feel like an average introduction part of a Dresden book， but blown up to four times the normal page count。What happens at the end though， is as grandiose and epic in scale as I could wish for in the current state of the series。 Only problem: No conclusion。I'll have to wait for Battle Ground to really be able to rate this first half。。。 They don't belong splitted。But It iiiis what it iiiis （Illum est quod est）This is a normal entry in the series so I'm gonna give 4* with the note that the ending deserves the usual 5*。 。。。more
Rob
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Okay， so I know that as of my last reading of "The Dresden Files" Butcher and I were on the ropes。 I was feeling like I really needed to just finish the books and put an end to my journey through the series。 But in a lot of ways， coming back to the series after a break felt like reuniting with an old friend。 So I am not going to lie， the series still feels a little bit like some incel's sex fantasy at times。 I've said it before， but Harry Dresden portrays himself as a White Night， but often desc Okay， so I know that as of my last reading of "The Dresden Files" Butcher and I were on the ropes。 I was feeling like I really needed to just finish the books and put an end to my journey through the series。 But in a lot of ways， coming back to the series after a break felt like reuniting with an old friend。 So I am not going to lie， the series still feels a little bit like some incel's sex fantasy at times。 I've said it before， but Harry Dresden portrays himself as a White Night， but often describes female characters （even those who may have been underage or are in a boss/apprentice relationship with him） in sexual terms first。 This whole aspect of his character （and the series） makes me really uncomfortable honestly。 I have thought several times about dropping the series and considered whether continuing means I am condoning the kind of behavior he is writing。 I decided to continue because I felt like the merits outweigh the creepiness， because I feel like I am in the middle of the sunken cost fallacy with these books， and because （for better or worse） I feel like I am hooked in the series。 So yes， there is still some sexual tension and sexual objectification in this book， but I felt like it was pretty much on the level。 You know， between consenting adults。 Compared to other books in the series， it was actually quite benign。 The plot of this book seemed a little well tread at times。 I was frustrated that Harry had to basically save someone from their own actions， who's reasons we are never really explained。 Also the idea of a power GREATER than even the existing powers in this universe seems a little cliche。 Like something out of an ongoing Dragonball Z arch or something。 I'm not a fan of establishing a Universe with unknowable， unmeasurable beings only to pull in a new character at the last moment who is even MORE unknowable and unmeasurable because you ran out of ideas with your existing assortment of powers。 But with all that said， I enjoyed the book。 These are just my gripes with the series and this entry in particular。 Overall it is very accessible and enjoyable if you can get over these complaints。 I have been reading a lot of "Award Winning" fiction lately that has been intentionally obtuse， difficult to grasp and confusing to read。 So in a lot of ways it was great to take a break from the proverbial caviar and filet mignon and just eat a really delicious double bacon cheeseburger。 If you're 16 books into the series by now， then really who am I to tell you to stop or keep going。 You're probably just like me and feel an obligation to continue， and if you're looking for the final book in the series to break the camel's back and convince you to quit reading， this book isn't it。 In fact， more so than any other book in the series with the exception of "Changes"， this is the one book that almost requires you to keep reading。 。。。more
John Patrick Boyce
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Things getting scaryA good read。 Harry continues to entertain。Less action than previous installments but still a page turner。Can't wait to read the next one Things getting scaryA good read。 Harry continues to entertain。Less action than previous installments but still a page turner。Can't wait to read the next one 。。。more
Gary Parker
，
The Dresden Files never fails to impress。
Troy Ruckman
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A set up book， but a good one。 I could see why people rate this one a bit lower， but I thought it was an interesting read。 The “side plots” were good enough to be their own story and I can see why Butcher wanted to split the original one into two。 Very excited for the next installment！
Thayer Parker
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Knowing now that the book is essentially the first in a mini-series， it makes more sense how much time was spent on setting up the situation。 That said， it was a bit annoying to be more than halfway through the book before the real action begins。 If I wasn't reading it after the next book had been released， I would have been really upset about the cliffhanger ending。 It feels like this was meant to be part of a longer book and a decision was made to split it into segments， resulting in a novel t Knowing now that the book is essentially the first in a mini-series， it makes more sense how much time was spent on setting up the situation。 That said， it was a bit annoying to be more than halfway through the book before the real action begins。 If I wasn't reading it after the next book had been released， I would have been really upset about the cliffhanger ending。 It feels like this was meant to be part of a longer book and a decision was made to split it into segments， resulting in a novel that's almost entirely set-up。I've heard plenty of negative feedback about sexism in the Dresden Files books （mostly based on how the character perceives women， generally by noticing their bodies first）。 After just re-reading all the previous books， that never bothered me that much - it seemed like a believable way for the character to react and think。 That said， this book had the first section that really gave me pause， when he was noticing how mature Michael's young teenage daughter was getting。 Although it was in a context of protection rather than lust， it still seemed like the sort of observation you shouldn't be making about a girl that young。Once the action picked up towards the end of the book， I was quite enjoying it。 Which made the irritation at the overly long exposition more palpable。 Hopefully the next book makes up for it with more action than this one。 。。。more
Rukshala Illukkumbura
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It's been ages since the last Dresden Files book。 This was a delight to get back to and see all the different players from the books so far。 It's been ages since the last Dresden Files book。 This was a delight to get back to and see all the different players from the books so far。 。。。more
CB
，
Excellent as always and a good setup for the next book （which seems like a knock-down， drag-out magical fight）。
Lani
，
Essentially， this is part one of the Peace Talks/Battle Ground "double book" -- this sounds dumb for a series that as of this book is on its 16th installment， but really， book 16 & 17 were clearly written at the same time as the same episode， but got so long it warranted splitting in half; indeed， after book 15 （Skin Game）， readers waited years for the book we knew would be called Peace Talks， and then when its release date was finally announced， we got the word that there were two books and tha Essentially， this is part one of the Peace Talks/Battle Ground "double book" -- this sounds dumb for a series that as of this book is on its 16th installment， but really， book 16 & 17 were clearly written at the same time as the same episode， but got so long it warranted splitting in half; indeed， after book 15 （Skin Game）， readers waited years for the book we knew would be called Peace Talks， and then when its release date was finally announced， we got the word that there were two books and that they'd drop just a few months apart。So， complaints that Peace Talks feels "unfinished" are understandable if not wholly warranted。 That said， I enjoyed it as I have enjoyed the others。 The tension is building to a big climax， Harry （and the world's -- or at least Chicago's） peril is ratcheting up， as usual。 Some relationships （one in particular that many readers have been rooting for） finally make decided progress to the next step （or even the next one after that！）， and Harry is as much as a smartass as ever。Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans will note at least one huge verbatim homage from the show， and Buffy alum James Marsters （Spike） once again brings a masterful， many voiced/accented full performance， though there is a bit of inconsistency with voices from previous installments （notably， Carlos' voice/accent is changed here， but I can note it starts to creep back toward its former incarnation in Battle Ground）。All in all， highly， highly recommended。 。。。more
Ashley Bradshaw
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AwesomeIf you read the series， you know。 It's the golden child of fantasy fiction。 The world， the characters， the story。 It's a living， breathing thing that demands residence in your mind。 AwesomeIf you read the series， you know。 It's the golden child of fantasy fiction。 The world， the characters， the story。 It's a living， breathing thing that demands residence in your mind。 。。。more
Dan Mccarthy
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Shortest of the books so far。 It feels like I've just read part one of a two or three part story， the rest being the next book。 Because of that， this is the first one that doesn't feel like it's own story like the others' have。 Shortest of the books so far。 It feels like I've just read part one of a two or three part story， the rest being the next book。 Because of that， this is the first one that doesn't feel like it's own story like the others' have。 。。。more
Becky
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This book was entirely exposition， just Harry having one conversation with another side character after another and then often repeating it。 I could forgive that if it hadn't been 350 pages of what could have served as a security briefing before the battle in the next book， because other than the facts to start the next book， none of what Harry discussed with his friends was new。 The White Council doesn't trust him。 McCoy is still mad。 Butters and Michael are concerned。 Murphy is still Murphy an This book was entirely exposition， just Harry having one conversation with another side character after another and then often repeating it。 I could forgive that if it hadn't been 350 pages of what could have served as a security briefing before the battle in the next book， because other than the facts to start the next book， none of what Harry discussed with his friends was new。 The White Council doesn't trust him。 McCoy is still mad。 Butters and Michael are concerned。 Murphy is still Murphy and the magic of physical therapy will be ignored by everyone。Honestly， can Butcher please start saving us pages and pages of repetitive descriptions？ The winter mantle makes Harry super horny and a rapey （you can call its bestial conquest， but cmon） and then he gulps and gains control of himself。 Unnecessary， and man， I'm just tired of hearing that in particular。 Also， the constant， nearly identical descriptions of women。 He described so much soft flesh in this book that I started putting Jergens on the skin because I didn't want to get the hose。 The female descriptions arent new， but。。。。 I'm less amenable to them in 2021。 Maybe its the last few years， maybe its being older， maybe its mainly reading women authors in 2020， but I cannot stomach it like I used to and would've hoped that the writing would have developed a bit。 This was by far the most boring book of the series。 But is that *that* bad？ There are seventeen books in the series！ There are going to be some duds。 Yes， I wish I had skipped this book and just read the wiki。 But also， yes， I'm still excited for the big battle in the next book and hoping that I still love this series， and that my disgust is literally just with this one。 。。。more
Andy Hunsucker
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Really hate that this is part 1 of a 2 part story and there’s no resolution in this book。
Tracy
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While this reader normally loves a good Harry Dresden yarn， this Jim Butcher novel plays on that fandom。 The entire novel is one immense piece of filler leading to the next novel， where， I assume， something will actually happen。 As these books are far from expected character development， this book felt like a rehash or catch up for someone entering the series for the first time。 The best description of reading this book is “hurry up and wait。”
Billycongo
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This feels like half a book。 Maybe less。 It's enjoyable， but it ends like a TV show where there is so much up in the air。 I'm going to start right in with the next， and lets hope it doesn't end like that。 This feels like half a book。 Maybe less。 It's enjoyable， but it ends like a TV show where there is so much up in the air。 I'm going to start right in with the next， and lets hope it doesn't end like that。 。。。more
Ryan Scyence
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This is basically everything you could want from a Dresden Files book。 Crime mystery， character drama， political intrigue， intense action， and every mythological creature come to life in our modern world。The ending is the biggest cliffhanger in the series， so get a copy of Battle Grounds （book #17） before you finish Peace Talks。
Giani
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Good read， but it is half a book！ Too long a wait for such a good story。 On par with the other stories in this series though。
Roger Caramanica
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Hate to say it but I feel like this series is starting to fall off a bit。 I agree with the sentiment that 'someone' made the call to split the content into two books （this one and the next one "Battleground"） and it just didn't work very well。 This book reads all like set up and the next one reads all battle。 Still， some of the best Urban Fantasy around but not the 5 stars of the earlier books。 If you do read 16 and 17 read them back to back。 Hate to say it but I feel like this series is starting to fall off a bit。 I agree with the sentiment that 'someone' made the call to split the content into two books （this one and the next one "Battleground"） and it just didn't work very well。 This book reads all like set up and the next one reads all battle。 Still， some of the best Urban Fantasy around but not the 5 stars of the earlier books。 If you do read 16 and 17 read them back to back。 。。。more
Andrew
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Might be my new favorite in the series
Sydney
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Actual star rating: 3。5。 This was good， but definitely different than I expected！
Rebecca Angel
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35% female speaking characters48 total31 male17 femaleAuthor: maleMC: maleAs always， Butcher is able to weave multiple storylines coherently and very entertainingly together through the eyes of one of my favorite literary characters， Harry Dresden。 This was Part 1 of an adventure and I look forward to reading the next book。
Ramon Mercado
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So far the second worst from the series。 It’s a good book and if you’re as invested as I am you’ll read it。 But I found it slow and a bit boring。
Marcy
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Audiobook。After waiting so long for this book， I am disappointed。 This series is running into the issues so many series face - the author writes it for somebody that hasn't read the rest， so they're constantly summarizing things that have happened in the past。 It felt like he was even re-explaining things that had already been explained within this book！ Seriously - I'm tired of hearing how horny the winter mantle makes him and how sexy some of the female characters are （especially since he's su Audiobook。After waiting so long for this book， I am disappointed。 This series is running into the issues so many series face - the author writes it for somebody that hasn't read the rest， so they're constantly summarizing things that have happened in the past。 It felt like he was even re-explaining things that had already been explained within this book！ Seriously - I'm tired of hearing how horny the winter mantle makes him and how sexy some of the female characters are （especially since he's supposedly in love with Murphy）。 The author also keeps coming up with bigger and badder bad guys， but I just want the storyline with the "black counsel" to wrap up。 At a certain point， it's not realistic that he can beat them without new powers all of a sudden showing up （which of course they did）。 It also felt like 5 different storylines were introduced that didn't go anywhere， like the police investigation and Harry getting voted off the White Counsel。 I liked the beginning where he was figuring out how to be a father to Maggie。 I also liked the part where they rescued Thomas。 Those felt the most like the heart & action I'd come to expect from the Dresden Files。 The rest just seemed to be missing something。。。 。。。more
Quarkie Sparticle
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If I could do half stars， 3。5。 I think it's just a setup for the next one。 If I could do half stars， 3。5。 I think it's just a setup for the next one。 。。。more
April
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As feared all along; this was a huge， repetitive， mostly pretty dull prelude set up novel for the next book when apparently All The Stuff is actually going to happen。 Others have done excellent descriptions of what’s in here that’s disappointing so I leave that to them。 Just know you can get all of the gist from the reviews and just skip this one outright unless repetitive， dull， side-quest nonsense is your jam。
Josh Treece
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It ends， in a way， like The Two Towers: with the stage set。 A more low key book than others in the series。 And， if you’re listening to it on audio， the narrator almost whispers it。 As if he’s feeling the fatigue that Harry feels。
Christian Sweeney
，
These books get better and better with each new book。
Nathan hull
，
Maybe my least favorite of the series。 Crushingly sad， and the characters are overpowered。
Scott
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I love the dresden files， but this is by far the weakest entry in the series。If you've gotten this far you know what to expect from one of these books so i'll just outline what's different from the usual fare。1。Thoroughly developed characters react in new and different ways。 Some of this can be explained away as character growth， or a character reacting to wildly new circumstances， but nearly two thirds of the cast is behaving oddly。 At first I thought this might be some sort of subtle twist tha I love the dresden files， but this is by far the weakest entry in the series。If you've gotten this far you know what to expect from one of these books so i'll just outline what's different from the usual fare。1。Thoroughly developed characters react in new and different ways。 Some of this can be explained away as character growth， or a character reacting to wildly new circumstances， but nearly two thirds of the cast is behaving oddly。 At first I thought this might be some sort of subtle twist that would be explained later but， unfortunately， that's not the case。2。（This is solely for the audiobook version） The voice acting has taken a hit， causing some characters to easily be confused with others， or just causing a somewhat jarring experience for the reader。 This is understandable on occasion since the voice actor could be working years between books but this one happens multiple times for multiple characters。3。The story is quite literally unfinished。 The book appears to be on the cusp of confronting the big bad when。。。 it suddenly ends。 The author does try to build up the final pages or chapters into one of those epic final fights that the series is knowns for， but it falls flat。 4。Possibly just personal preference here， but the author uses the annoying trope of "I must keep this secret and people assume something much worse。" Not including the big bad， about half of the drama in this book could be avoided by a simple one sentence explanation， but of course， without that， we wouldn't have as much conflict and wouldn't have a big third act fight so it has to be included。 This book was so frustrating that I'm taking a short break from the series before finishing the next book。 I'm grateful that I decided to reread the whole series before picking this one up so that there's a second book available to read。 I can't imagine how frustrated anyone would be if they were reading something and it ended right in middle of a sen。。。 。。。more
Redsteve
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Very enjoyable， despite essentially being a set up for BATTLE GROUND。 OK， not really， but as I understand it， Butcher basically wrote a double-length novel and then was forced to break it up into two （which certainly explains why it took forever for PEACE TALKS to come out， while BATTLE GROUND came out so quickly after that if this book had an appendix， BATTLKE GROUND would have been inside it）。 As a result， even the "climax" of this book， is essentially laying the groundwork for the next。 Despi Very enjoyable， despite essentially being a set up for BATTLE GROUND。 OK， not really， but as I understand it， Butcher basically wrote a double-length novel and then was forced to break it up into two （which certainly explains why it took forever for PEACE TALKS to come out， while BATTLE GROUND came out so quickly after that if this book had an appendix， BATTLKE GROUND would have been inside it）。 As a result， even the "climax" of this book， is essentially laying the groundwork for the next。 Despite all that， I liked this book; it was readable， pretty fast-paced， lots of snarky dialogue， and despite having a massive number of characters， didn't feel crowded。 3。5 stars - I couldn't quite justify it as a "4" because of the whole "setup for BATTLE GROUND" thing。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Peace Talks
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Peace Talks&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Peace Talks&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0