Battle Ground (Dresden Files #17)
Oct. 5th, 2020 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkI could borrow this from a friend so soon because he said he wants to reread the entire series first, which is doubly convenient for me because it means I can later ask him about the people/events from prior books I only vaguely remember. (Though the wiki tells me some of them are from short stories, which makes it harder.)
I enjoyed this book, though in general I think it would have been better if this one and "Peace Talks" hadn't been split up.
Especially in "Battle Ground" it would have been easy to cut out several action scenes, there were so many of them that after a while it just got tiring. It was obvious that Butcher wanted to emphasize that this was a war/massive battle ground (duh), not just one fight, but even that didn't need that many action scenes. Harry's "banner," and him being able to feel the people following him but also their deaths, showcasing just how many of them didn't make it, worked well for that.
One of my favorite scenes was early on, when Harry was on his way to meet some of the most powerful people in the world, who'll need his help to defeat the monster trying to destroy the whole city, and he gets stopped by two cops and realizes this poses an actual problem, because he still wants to live in the city afterwards and being on trial would be bad especially considering his daughter. And then Rudolph panics and points a gun on him and despite all of Harry's power, it's a dangerous and tense situation.
And then we get the reprise of that later. I did not see Murphy dying coming :( Right after she killed a giant with a rocket launcher, she gets shot by an incompetent cop. I'm glad Butcher emphasized the heroic part of that instead of just how utterly stupid and avoidable it was. I liked Harry going after Rudolph and Butters and Sanya stopping him.
Speaking of Butters and Sanya, they were both great here in general.
I really liked Harry's relationship with Mab in this book, and how he slowly starts to realize that he can understand her better and better, and that he's becoming more similar to her, which scares him. A core of willpower and ice-cold (heh) pragmatism concerning the good of the many. Mab riding into battle, and especially withstanding a direct attack by the Eye, was pretty cool. (In contrast it was weird just how vulnerable she and the other Sidhe were to iron spears, seems like the enemy could have exploited that more.)
Apart from a few very cool moments like that though (like Harry summoning Titania), many of the big battles were just not that exciting. It was clear that they would all hammer away at Ethniu until eventually she would weaken, and so it was just one super powerful force attacking after another, with every once in a while a thought that they could have coordinated that better.
(Speaking of coordination though, Molly getting her family to safety and not creating a double for Mouse as a clue for Harry was smart, and a good reveal when Harry figured it out.)
Some of the forces were a surprise: I did not expect Marcone to have picked up a Denarius coin! Though apparently it was set up back in "Small Favor." Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense for Marcone, who finds himself a "normal" human dealing with all these super powerful entities, to want a supernatural upgrade for himself. And he could probably find out that people with sufficiently powerful will can withstand being subsumed by a Denarian's will, at least for some time. Picking one of the most powerful sorcerers among them is just good tactics, and Marcone knows how to make a deal.
(I am a little bit sad to lose one of my favorite examples of the "Badass Normal" character type.)
I did enjoy Harry and Marcone facing off, and probably even more so in the future. Marcone probably didn't take the Eye because he knew that at that point he wasn't powerful enough to hold it, and it would just make him a massive target, and then Harry managed to make it appear like he'd taken it anyway ^^
Justine being possessed by Nemesis – poor Justine, and Thomas. That sucks. Hopefully they'll be able to find her, and the baby, though I wonder if that'll be before or after they find a way to get Thomas out of Demonreach.
(Another disadvantage of the book being split in too was that the answer to who'd sent Thomas on his assassination mission seemed like an afterthought that didn't really fit with the rest of "Battle Ground", which was a shame.)
"They" being Harry and Lara, who are now, because Mab said so, engaged xD Fun. I think Harry and Lara could make a great "couple" as close allies and friends who are technically married (and probably fuck sometimes); I'm a lot more skeptical about the idea of an actual romance between them. But I'm open to future books convincing me that it could work.
Plus, bonus, Thomas finding out will be hilarious.
Harry was also thrown off the White Council. That confrontation with Ramirez, ouch. Carlos apparently blames him for the entire thing and sixty thousand dead people because he thinks it might have been avoided if Harry had only talked to him? Understandable to look for a guilty party when one is grieving but still. Yes, Harry lied to him, and used him, but blaming him for Ethnius' victims is a step far.
And now the Council wants to set terms – limit public magic use, inspections etc. – and if Harry breaks them they'll send McCoy to kill him, ouch. And Harry decides fuck those terms, they can't control his life anymore, he's powerful enough to defend himself. Which seems overly optimistic? I wouldn't bet a dollar on him if McCoy decided to assassinate him without warning, so Harry is basically banking on the fact that his grandfather wouldn't do that and the Council won't send anyone else to do it first. Poor McCoy.
(Speaking of, Harry and McCoy apparently just decided not to talk about Thomas and their fight, which admittedly was smart at that moment because they have bigger priorities but still has to happen at some point.)
The people of Chicago know about the supernatural now, that was impossible to miss, but apparently everywhere else they're claiming it was terrorist attacks + hallucinogenic bio-weapons etc., so not the big supernatural reveal I was expecting for most of the book. Still, at this point it seems inevitable at some point, probably not too far in the future. Temporary energy and communications black-out or not, there is no way that with so many dead and destruction and witnesses it can all be suppressed like that.
Between the too many action scenes and pacing issues and idk why, I didn't find it as satisfying as earlier installments, but overall I enjoyed the book.
I enjoyed this book, though in general I think it would have been better if this one and "Peace Talks" hadn't been split up.
Especially in "Battle Ground" it would have been easy to cut out several action scenes, there were so many of them that after a while it just got tiring. It was obvious that Butcher wanted to emphasize that this was a war/massive battle ground (duh), not just one fight, but even that didn't need that many action scenes. Harry's "banner," and him being able to feel the people following him but also their deaths, showcasing just how many of them didn't make it, worked well for that.
One of my favorite scenes was early on, when Harry was on his way to meet some of the most powerful people in the world, who'll need his help to defeat the monster trying to destroy the whole city, and he gets stopped by two cops and realizes this poses an actual problem, because he still wants to live in the city afterwards and being on trial would be bad especially considering his daughter. And then Rudolph panics and points a gun on him and despite all of Harry's power, it's a dangerous and tense situation.
And then we get the reprise of that later. I did not see Murphy dying coming :( Right after she killed a giant with a rocket launcher, she gets shot by an incompetent cop. I'm glad Butcher emphasized the heroic part of that instead of just how utterly stupid and avoidable it was. I liked Harry going after Rudolph and Butters and Sanya stopping him.
Speaking of Butters and Sanya, they were both great here in general.
I really liked Harry's relationship with Mab in this book, and how he slowly starts to realize that he can understand her better and better, and that he's becoming more similar to her, which scares him. A core of willpower and ice-cold (heh) pragmatism concerning the good of the many. Mab riding into battle, and especially withstanding a direct attack by the Eye, was pretty cool. (In contrast it was weird just how vulnerable she and the other Sidhe were to iron spears, seems like the enemy could have exploited that more.)
Apart from a few very cool moments like that though (like Harry summoning Titania), many of the big battles were just not that exciting. It was clear that they would all hammer away at Ethniu until eventually she would weaken, and so it was just one super powerful force attacking after another, with every once in a while a thought that they could have coordinated that better.
(Speaking of coordination though, Molly getting her family to safety and not creating a double for Mouse as a clue for Harry was smart, and a good reveal when Harry figured it out.)
Some of the forces were a surprise: I did not expect Marcone to have picked up a Denarius coin! Though apparently it was set up back in "Small Favor." Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense for Marcone, who finds himself a "normal" human dealing with all these super powerful entities, to want a supernatural upgrade for himself. And he could probably find out that people with sufficiently powerful will can withstand being subsumed by a Denarian's will, at least for some time. Picking one of the most powerful sorcerers among them is just good tactics, and Marcone knows how to make a deal.
(I am a little bit sad to lose one of my favorite examples of the "Badass Normal" character type.)
I did enjoy Harry and Marcone facing off, and probably even more so in the future. Marcone probably didn't take the Eye because he knew that at that point he wasn't powerful enough to hold it, and it would just make him a massive target, and then Harry managed to make it appear like he'd taken it anyway ^^
Justine being possessed by Nemesis – poor Justine, and Thomas. That sucks. Hopefully they'll be able to find her, and the baby, though I wonder if that'll be before or after they find a way to get Thomas out of Demonreach.
(Another disadvantage of the book being split in too was that the answer to who'd sent Thomas on his assassination mission seemed like an afterthought that didn't really fit with the rest of "Battle Ground", which was a shame.)
"They" being Harry and Lara, who are now, because Mab said so, engaged xD Fun. I think Harry and Lara could make a great "couple" as close allies and friends who are technically married (and probably fuck sometimes); I'm a lot more skeptical about the idea of an actual romance between them. But I'm open to future books convincing me that it could work.
Plus, bonus, Thomas finding out will be hilarious.
Harry was also thrown off the White Council. That confrontation with Ramirez, ouch. Carlos apparently blames him for the entire thing and sixty thousand dead people because he thinks it might have been avoided if Harry had only talked to him? Understandable to look for a guilty party when one is grieving but still. Yes, Harry lied to him, and used him, but blaming him for Ethnius' victims is a step far.
And now the Council wants to set terms – limit public magic use, inspections etc. – and if Harry breaks them they'll send McCoy to kill him, ouch. And Harry decides fuck those terms, they can't control his life anymore, he's powerful enough to defend himself. Which seems overly optimistic? I wouldn't bet a dollar on him if McCoy decided to assassinate him without warning, so Harry is basically banking on the fact that his grandfather wouldn't do that and the Council won't send anyone else to do it first. Poor McCoy.
(Speaking of, Harry and McCoy apparently just decided not to talk about Thomas and their fight, which admittedly was smart at that moment because they have bigger priorities but still has to happen at some point.)
The people of Chicago know about the supernatural now, that was impossible to miss, but apparently everywhere else they're claiming it was terrorist attacks + hallucinogenic bio-weapons etc., so not the big supernatural reveal I was expecting for most of the book. Still, at this point it seems inevitable at some point, probably not too far in the future. Temporary energy and communications black-out or not, there is no way that with so many dead and destruction and witnesses it can all be suppressed like that.
Between the too many action scenes and pacing issues and idk why, I didn't find it as satisfying as earlier installments, but overall I enjoyed the book.
