History Literature / PeaceTalks

* BigBlackout: [[spoiler: Ethniu]] announces her intentions by unleashing a magical EMP that shuts down everything electrical in and around Chicago. [[spoier:Harry notes that later on there were nearly ''1,500'' automobile accidents in the single moment and scores of resulting deaths]].

* AncientEvil: Ethniu and Corb are old enough that they remember when Mab was a child.

* BerserkButton: As if flagrantly mocking the Unseelie Accords and SacredHospitality wasn’t enough, Corb ''really'' pisses off Mab [[spoiler:when he mocks how Merlin kicked her out.]]

* BigBlackout: [[spoiler: Ethniu]] announces her intentions by unleashing a magical EMP that shuts down everything electrical in and around Chicago.

** The Valkyries view all of the Forest People as monsters because Grendel was one of the Forest People who took to war against them.

* ItsPersonal: When Harry flat out asks Ebenezar what his problem with vampires is, Ebenezar says they took someone from him. Harry asks “Mom?” and McCoy [[CrypticBackgroundReference replies “her too.”]]

* DirtyCoward: Marcone asks Carter [=LaChaise=] if he is one and states if he and his kin [[spoiler:run, hide, and refuse to honor the Accords' mutual defense pact]] then he will be seen as one to the entire Supernatural community.

** Lara Raith, Ebenezar [=McCoy=], Justine and Carlos Ramirez all play major roles. [[spoiler: Carlos is still limping, thanks to the events of ''Literature/ColdCase'', and is still bitter about it, indirectly calling Molly a monster.]]

* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Battle Ground''. Apparently, one of the reasons ''Peace Talks'' took so long to be released was that the initial draft turned into a Creator/DavidEddings level {{Doorstopper}}. The publisher gently suggested to Butcher that perhaps it would be better served as a two-part story. Butcher split up the character developments, came up with a second Action Plot and re-wrote both parts into the final ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground''.

** Lara Raith, Ebenezar [=McCoy=], Justine and Carlos Ramirez all play major roles. [[spoiler: Carlos is still limping, thanks to the events of ''Cold Case'', and is still bitter about it, indirectly calling Molly a monster.]]

** Randolph's investigation into Murphy and Dresden's involvement in the events of ''Skin Game'', and the question of who put him onto them.

* WarArc: The peace talks are meant to finally end the mostly offscreen conflict with the Fomor that's been happening since the aftermath of ''Changes''. [[spoiler: Instead, it acts as the prelude of an outright invasion of Chicago that will continue in ''Battle Ground''.]]
* WebcomicTime: Due to the six years between the release of ''Skin Game'' and ''Peace Talks''. The previous books occurred more or less in real time, released yearly with in-universe intervals lasting between six months to roughly a year. In the book trailer, Harry and Murphy are shown sitting cosily on the couch together, with Karrin's left knee still wrapped in bandages from her injuries in ''Skin Game''. Harry says that he's been a full-time dad to Maggie for "over a month." This together implies that it's only been six weeks or so since ''Skin Game.''

** The Chicago Police have this for Murphy, believing that she must have been corrupted due to the events of ''Skin Game.'' Rudolph, of course, is happy to believe she's a DirtyCop and doesn't care about the truth. He just wants to bring her down.

* HeroicSacrifice: This is how [[spoiler:Austri's death protecting Etri]] is seen. The fact he does so to protect his sovereign means that it moves it beyond what weregild can buy.

* BerserkButton:
** As if flagrantly mocking the Unseelie Accords and SacredHospitality wasn’t enough, Corb ''really'' pisses off Mab [[spoiler:when he mocks how Merlin kicked her out.]]
** The Wardens are suspicious of Harry getting involved with the White Court, which Harry can understand, if still be annoyed at their suspicion and angry at their hypocrisy in lying to him. He storms away, however, when they determine he's been sexually active and start trying to pry into his private life with Murphy.
** Harry, being LockedOutOfTheLoop, unwittingly presses Ramirez's when he tries to lighten the mood and make a joke about picking up women. Given Ramirez's last sexual encounter in ''Cold Case'', he instantly goes sullen and cold.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Wouldn't you know it? Hours before a major gathering of Accord members, Sanya's plane is delayed in Chicago ... '''seven times'''. Surely it won't be needed.

** [[spoiler: Who threatened Justine in order to blackmail Thomas into attacking Etri.]]

** The Valkyries view all of the Forest People as monsters because Grendle was one of the Forest People who took to war against them.

* LetsYouAndHimFight: This is part of [[spoiler:Corb and Ethniu ]]'s plot. If the villains succeed in [[spoiler:razing all of Chicago to the ground, then it will draw the outrage and notice of the entire mortal world, which they will make war on all the Supernatural forces. And while they fight, the Fomor and Ethniu will watch safely from under the seas]].

* NeverTrustATrailer: ''Peace Talks'' was billed as the bloodiest entry in Literature/TheDresdenFiles to date. [[spoiler: No one dies "on screen," and the only named character who dies is introduced in this book and has only a single, relatively unimportant scene.]] This is probably because the book grew too long and was split into two, with the latter half being the one the trailer refers to.

* ThePowerOfLove: Harry learns that [[spoiler:his sex with Karrin early in the book has cloaked him in Love's protection, which Lara finds out when she is burned by him when breaking Thomas out of Marcone's cells]].

** Harry notices that [[spoiler:Alfred Demonreach when Harry decides that he will need the Spear of Destiny and Placard of Christ to fight Ethniu]].

* DecapitationPresentation: Corb enters the meeting chamber and the first thing he does is fling Gwynn ap Nudd‘s head into the middle of everyone.

* FantasticRacism: Ebenezar can't comprehend that a vampire of any Court can be anything other than a scheming monster. He'll kill one at the slightest excuse, [[spoiler: even his own grandson.]]

* TheBusCameBack:
** Lara Raith, Ebenezar [=McCoy=], Justine and Carlos Ramirez all play major roles. [[spoiler: Carlos is still limping, thanks to the events of ''Cold Case'', and is still bitter about it, indirectly calling Molly a monster.]]
** The peace talks themselves include numerous characters who haven’t appeared in some time. Many amount only to cameos, but [[LongList the list]] includes, in addition to the above, Marcone, Hendricks, Gard, Childs, Vadderung, Ferrovax, Ivy, Sarissa, Fix, Cristos, Martha Liberty, Listens-to-Wind, Wild Bill, Chandler, Yoshimo, the Redcap, and Gary the paranoid Paranetter. Even Mavra gets name-checked for the first time in a while when it’s mentioned she’s been seen recently, although she doesn’t make an appearance.
-->'''Harry''': [[LampshadeHanging "Reunion week out here."]]
** Some characters from the short stories and comics are referenced too. River Shoulders, who showed up in the Bigfoot short story trilogy, is an important character. Gwynn ap Nudd, who appeared in the short story "Curses" about the Billy-Goat Curse, also makes an appearance, sadly it's because he was killed offscreen. Riley from "Jury Duty" shows up as one of Lara's top bodyguards. Even Airavata, the naga from the obscure comic "Ghoul, Goblin" is here.
** Sanya is in town as well, having had his flight cancelled seven times.
** Marci the werewolf reappears briefly. She, Andi and Butters engage in three-ways now. Butters begs Harry not to tell anyone.
** Unfortunately for all concerned, [[HateSink Rudolph]] also makes a reappearance, investigating the events of the last book.

* InfoDrop: We finally get an explanation of what it means to be "starborn." [[spoiler: Harry was born when "the stars were right," an event that happens once every [[NumberOfTheBeast six hundred and sixty-six years]]. This allows him to use magic on Outsiders without [[GoMadFromTheRevelation slowly going nuts.]]]]

* LetYouAndHimFight: This is part of [[spoiler:Corb and Ethniu ]]'s plot. If the villains succeed in [[spoiler:razing all of Chicago to the ground, then it will draw the outrage and notice of the entire mortal world, which they will make war on all the Supernatural forces. And while they fight, the Fomor and Ethniu will watch safely from under the seas]].

* ShoutOut: The cornerhounds are creatures created by Creator/FrankBelknapLong called the Hounds of Tindalos. They're [[WeirdAlEffect attributed to]] Creator/HPLovecraft, though.

* GeniusBonus: An old Dresden Files short story, "Curses," said that the 'Billy Goat Curse' which prevented the Chicago Cubs from winning the World Series was cast by a fey king named Gwynn ap Nudd. Since that story's publication, the Cubs finally went on to win the World Series (in the real world). And indeed, in this story, we learn that Gwynn ap Nudd was killed offscreen by the Fomor at some point... which would explain why the curse is no longer functioning and the Cubs are able to win.

* BusCrash: Gwynn ap Nudd, a baseball-loving fairy king whom Dresden met and befriended in the short story "Curses," was killed offscreen. His head is presented by Corb.

* HypocriticalHumor: Harry makes a mental note that the Paranet refers to White Court vampires as "Whampires" but he refuses to sink so low as to do so. This coming from the guy who referred to Black Court vampires as "Blampires".

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Harry is freaked when a cornerhound shows up. Not because of the hound itself, but because its appearance results in [[spoiler:Ebenezar]] exhibiting fear.

* SecretKeeper: Lara. As it turns out, not only does she know that Thomas and Harry are brothers (as she has for a while) but also that [[spoiler: their grandfather is Ebenezar [=McCoy=] and apparently has since Thomas was a baby]]. According to her, listening is an underrated skill in her family.

* ThreesomeSubtext: Butters is implied to now have ''two'' werewolf girlfriends, though he refuses to go into any detail on what that entails.

* InfoDrop: We finally get an explanation of what it means to be "starborn." [[spoiler: Harry was born when "the stars were right," an event that happens once every [[NumberOfTheBeast six hundred and sixty-six years]]. This allows him to use magic on Outsiders without [[GoMadFromTheRevelation slowly going nuts.]]

* TemptingFate: From the trailer:
--> '''Ebenezar''': Boy, tell me you ain't dumb enough to try this.\\
'''Harry''': Oh... (plants staff on ground, glowing spell-work appears) I'm more than dumb enough.

* TheAlliance: A consequence of EvilCannotComprehendGood in that the [[spoiler: Formor were sent to break up the Unseelie Accords by attacking Mab with their goddess Ethniu. What it did was unite all of them against them. It sadly may not be enough to defeat them.]]

* BatmanGambit: Harry is getting remarkably good at these. [[spoiler: He manages to survive Ebenezer's wrath by using a doppelganger created by Molly Carpenter that he projects his essence into. It distracts Ebenezer long enough to get Thomas to safety. Played with by Lara Raith assuming Harry imprisoning Thomas in stasis is one of these when it was really just the only way to keep him alive.]]

* BolivianArmyEnding: [[spoiler: Harry and Murphy as well as the entirety of the Unseelie Accord races are going off to fight the Last Titan and the entire court of the Formor. Harry and Murphy have some ArtifactOfDoom help as well as Demonreach but it does feel very much like a last stand.]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler: Harry's pedestal of Ebenezer was already broken by the discovery he routinely broke the Laws of Magic as the Blackstaff. However, it's almost completely destroyed when Ebenezer attempts to murder Thomas and ends up killing Harry's doppelganger.]]

** While never evil, Ebenezer has always been far more down the {{Antihero}} scale than Harry. He does not understand why Harry would defend Thomas even if it means turning against him. [[spoiler: And results in Ebenezer killing Harry's doppelganger]].

* FictionalDisability: Harry develops “Conjurvitis”, a disorder where an image in his head becomes real when he sneezes. Ebenezar and Lara give him odd looks and claim it usually hits magically-gifted adolescents.

* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The ending of the book [[spoiler: results in the Unseelie Accord Nations all forced to engage in open warfare against the Formori with TheMasquerade almost irretrievably shot]].

* VanHelsingHateCrimes: A DownplayedTrope with Ebenezer as he considers Thomas Raith to be a monster by virtue of being a White Court member. Normally, he'd be right but Thomas is a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire [[spoiler: and unknowingly Ebenezer's grandson]].

* BerserkButton: As if flagrantly mocking the Unseelie Accords and SacredHospitality wasn’t enough, Corb ''really'' pisses off Mab [[spoiler:when he mocks how Merlin kicked her out.]]

** The peace talks themselves include numerous characters who haven’t appeared in some time. Many amount only to cameos, but [[LongList the list]] includes, in addition to the above, Marcone, Hendricks, Gard, Childs, Vadderung, Ferrovax, Ivy, Sarissa, Fix, Cristos, Martha Liberty, Listens-to-Wind, Wild Bill, Chandler, Yoshimo, and Gary the paranoid Paranetter. Even Mavra gets name-checked for the first time in a while when it’s mentioned she’s been seen recently, although she doesn’t make an appearance.

* SecretKeeper: Lara. As it turns out, not only does she know that Thomas and Harry are brothers (as she has for a while) but also that [[spoiler: their grandfather is Ebenezar [=McCoy] and apparently has since Thomas was a baby]]. According to her, listening is an underrated skill in her family.