History Literature / DeadBeat

* UnwittingPawn: A few times near the end. [[spoiler:In particular, Harry inadvertently does Cowl's work for him by calling up the Erlking (and, because Harry was trying to keep him trapped, all Cowl had to do was whack Harry in the back of the head to set the Erlking loose), then ends up leading Grevane to the ''Word of Kemmler'', something Grevane could not have done on his own. He gets better, though]].

* LovableCoward: Subverted by Butters. [[SelfDeprecation He admits it about himself]], and Thomas points it out in a genial fashion, but despite his frequent screaming Harry realizes that Butters never actually does anything cowardly.

* LetsGetDangerous: An off-screen moment when [[spoiler:the ''entire'' Senior Council goes to the front lines of the war to reclaim the captured warden]].

* InMysteriousWays: Some of God's plans from previous books have consequences that play out here and help Harry. In particular, Michael helped Harry stop a mad ghost from killing infants in a hospital in ''Grave Peril'', and in this book Harry meets a man who helps Harry only because he knows Harry did something and the cases of Sudden-Infant Death Syndrome dropped significantly after that night.

* IJustWantToBeBadass: Waldo Butters, about 120lbs soaking wet, tried to become part of the US military but washed out of boot camp. Same with the police. He failed both times but still had the push to be stronger. [[spoiler:This spark helped him push past his fear and control so that he could help Harry at crucial moments]].

* ExecutiveMeddling: Butcher'd originally planned ''Dead Beat'' to be the ''eighth'' Dresden novel, but his publishers urged him to make his seventh book an especially spectacular one to mark the first hardcover release of the series, so he swapped this one and ''Proven Guilty''. Cue the [[spoiler:zombie dinosaur]].

* ChekhovsSkill: Butters is taught [[spoiler:how to create a magic circle around himself to keep out stray magical influences thus allowing him to use a GPS device]]. He then uses this skill [[spoiler:to keep specters from killing him]].

** [[spoiler:Mab and her explanation of what happened to Lea. Also, the knife she wore. Those guns aren't fired until later books in the series, however]].

** [[spoiler:Mab and her explanation of what happened to Lea. Also, the knife she wore]].

*** To clarify, Harry uses several different wards on his apartment to achieve the "shocked to paste" effect. [[spoiler:The Merlin uses a ''single'' ward to stop an army of vampires, an army which included ''Outsiders, beings that are normally immune to magic''.]]

* PolkaDork: Butters is an [[SubvertedTrope absolutely badass one.]] And only his bass drum [[ChekovsGun is low enough for Sue to hear.]]

* PolkaDork: Butters is an [[SubvertedTrope: absolutely badass one.]] And only his bass drum [[ChekovsGun is low enough for Sue to hear.]]

** A more minor one; one of the necromantic hotspots Harry visits is Wacker Drive. Wacker is well known for having two levels, called Upper Wacker and Lower Wacker. While the description makes it clear that he's on Upper Wacker, anyone who knows Chicago as well as Harry does would have specified if it was on Upper or Lower Wacker.

** A more minor one; one of the necromantic hotspots Harry visits is Wacker Drive. Wacker is well known for having two levels, called Upper Wacker and Lower Wacker. Anyone who knows Chicago as well as Harry does would have specified if it was on Upper or Lower Wacker.

** And, of course, there was Kemmler himself. He created a ritual that enabled the caster to ascend to godhood. Fortunately, they took him down before he could pull it off himself, but even then it took the entire council to take him down. The ''whole'' White Council, which included the aforementioned Merlin, the other six members of the Senior Council, [=McCoy=], Luccio, all the Wardens every other available spellcaster, and every other friend, ally, or frenemy the Council could scrounge up to make sure he stayed dead this time. Yes, he was dangerous.

* ChekhovsMisfire: After he gets it removed, Harry keeps the shuriken Li Xian put into his leg. While this was a potential set-up for later, the shuriken disappears and isn't mentioned again.

** [[spoiler:Lasciel]] didn't see [[spoiler:Butter's coming to where she was with Harry, thus breaking the illusions]].

** [[spoiler:Butter's act of saving Harry from a former Knight of the Blackened Denarius would help shape the man in ways he couldn't imagine]].

* CommicallyMissingThePoint: After Harry gives a complete rundown of his day and assorted dire happenings to Thomas the latter's immediate response is "You have a ''date''?"

'''''Dead Beat''''' is book #7 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Now has its own [[ShoutOut/DeadBeat Shout Out]] page.

* CompleteMonster: Kemmler. Bob the Skull who is innocent to most forms of morality calls him evil. And Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of the wicked Fae, calls him one.

** And, of course, there was Kemmler himself. He created a ritual that enabled the caster to ascend to godhood. Fortunately, they took him down before he could pull it off himself, but even then it took the entire council to take him down. The ''whole'' White Council, which included the aforementioned Merlin, the other six members of the Senior Council, [=McCoy=], Luccio, all the Wardens and every other available spellcaster. Yes, he was dangerous.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Dresden is death cursed to "die alone"]]. This cannot be good.

He's just been [[{{Blackmail}} hired]] to find The Word of Kemmler, the personal spellbook of a powerful necromancer, which is also being hunted by any number of Kemmler’s apprentices and, really, anyone who would want to unlock the secrets of powerful necromancy--including a spell that would allow the caster to become a demi-god by devouring the spirits of the dead.

*** To clarify, Harry uses several different wards on his apartment to achieve the "shocked to paste" effect. [[spoiler: The Merlin uses a ''single'' ward to stop an army of vampires, an army which included ''Outsiders, beings that are normally immune to magic''.]]

** The GPS system in Georgia's SUV. It does not actually show up itself, but the GPS itself gives Harry his EurekaMoment when he realizes that [[spoiler: the numbers on Bony Tony's flash drive are GPS coordinates]].
** Butters's one-man Polka suit (and ability to play it) become a combination of ChekhovsGun and ChekhovsSkill later in the book, as they're used to keep a [[spoiler: zombie T-Rex]] under control.

* ColdBloodedTorture: The museum scene, [[spoiler: where Cassius tortures Harry for no reason other than personal enjoyment. Of course, this is the guy that Harry himself [[CallItKarma tortured not two books earlier for information]].]]
* CommicallyMissingThePoint: After Harry gives a complete rundown of his day and assorted dire happenings to Thomas the latter's immediate response is "You got a ''date''?"
* {{Conscription}}: Because [[spoiler:the Wardens lost many in the recent attack by the Reds, Harry is drafted into the Wardens]].

--> "Now entering Helsinki."
* CoolSword: Part of the defenses in the Warden's anti-magic blade is that only the Wizard it was crafted for could draw out its power. [[spoiler:For this reason, when Morgan sees Anastasia Luccio in the body of a 20-something woman wielding her blade and drawing on its power, he knows she is truly his Captain]].

* ExecutiveMeddling: Butcher'd originally planned ''Dead Beat'' to be the ''eighth'' Dresden novel, but his publishers urged him to make his seventh book an especially spectacular one to mark the first hardcover release of the series, so he swapped this one and ''Proven Guilty''. Cue the [[spoiler: zombie dinosaur]].

* HijackingCthulhu: Harry successfully summons [[spoiler:the Erlking, a king of TheFairFolk and]] one of the most powerful beings in the series, and traps it in the summoning circle. Although he by no means has control of it, he is able to keep it from attacking him or leaving. [[spoiler: Until someone bonks him on the head, that is]].

* HopeSpot: After realizing the scope of the problem he is dealing with, Harry calls in the Wardens, who respond promptly and provide him with much needed back-up. [[spoiler: All five of them--who reveal that of the 200 or so Wardens the council had, a little more than 40 survived a recent, massive Red Court attack. They even go as far as to draft Harry into their ranks on the spot]].
* HumansAreSpecial: In a dark way. Mortal magic has one thing no other magic can do: [[spoiler:Mortal magic can summon the worst of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, the Outsiders. The fact that some showed up to aid the Red Court attack on the Senior Council means there has to be a Council-level mage helping the Red Court]].

** Harry himself gets to take a turn with this. The Laws of Magic are very clear that turning people into undead is a big no-no. It's a bit fuzzier about [[spoiler: turning a Tyrannosaurus Rex into a zombie.]]

* NonHumanUndead: Also something of a plot point, as Harry exploits a loophole in the White Council's Necromancy prohibition by animating an animal as a zombie. Specifically, [[spoiler: a freaking ''Tyrannosaurus Rex''.]]

--> "Polka will never die!"

* RaisingTheSteaks: A loophole in the Laws of Magic. Necromancy cannot be used on a dead person. Animals aren't included. So Harry raises [[spoiler: a T-Rex]] in a [[CrowningMomentofAwesome Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: When Harry told Luccio [[spoiler:about Morgan hounding him and trying to push Harry into trying to kill him and then kill Harry in "self-defense" Luccio makes it clear not only didn't she know, but she is furious about this and believes Harry despite the little evidence he has]].

--> '''Cowl:''' "Again I will ask it. Give me your copy of the book."\\
'''Harry:''' "And again do I answer thee. Bite me."

* UnwittingPawn: A few times near the end. [[spoiler: In particular, Harry inadvertently does Cowl's work for him by calling up the Erlking (and, because Harry was trying to keep him trapped, all Cowl had to do was whack Harry in the back of the head to set the Erlking loose), then ends up leading Grevane to the ''Word of Kemmler'', something Grevane could not have done on his own. He gets better, though]].
* VillainBall:

* WeaponsOfMassDestruction: The Red Court use [[spoiler: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin sarin gas]], which legally ''is'' a weapon of mass destruction, to attack the White council hospital in the Congo]]. Also shows exactly ''why'' this is classed as a WMD. [[spoiler: The Red Court attack didn't just kill off the wounded Wardens, it also wiped out most of the city in which the hospital was located.]]

%%* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Butcher'd initially penciled this story in for book eight (see ExecutiveMeddling), to follow after ''Proven Guilty''. As originally planned, [[spoiler: apprentice Molly]] would have filled Butters's role as a recipient of Harry's info-dumps about necromancy and the Wild Hunt.

* DeathStare: Harry hits Cowl and Kumori with one that actually has them swaying backwards - or maybe it was the wind.

He’s just been [[{{Blackmail}} hired]] to find The Word of Kemmler, the personal spellbook of a powerful necromancer, which is also being hunted by any number of Kemmler’s apprentices and, really, anyone who would want to unlock the secrets of powerful necromancy--including a spell that would allow the caster to become a demi-god by devouring the spirits of the dead.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne: It was Kemmler's fault, apparently. He spent over a hundred years preparing the foundations of it.
* UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo: Kemmler sided with ThoseWackyNazis to turn the war into his own personal undead playground. The White Council sided with the Allies, and were finally able to [[DeaderThanDead punch his ticket]].