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!!'''''Warning!''''' All spoilers for previous books are unmarked on this page!
%% And please no spoilers for future books.
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/df_17_bg.png]]
''Battle Ground'' is book #17 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
[[TheOneWith The one where]] Harry and a whole bunch of others go to war.
Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. The only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, is Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done.
''Battle Ground'' was released September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first]] [[https://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/battle-ground-17/battle-ground-chapter-3 three teaser chapters were released online]], as was a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
----
!!''Battle Ground'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Justine]]. Or rather, [[spoiler: Nemesis a.k.a. He-Who-Walks-Beside in Justine's body]].
* BigBadassBattleSequence: ''The entire book'' functions as this, with only brief moments in between action sequences.
* BondVillainStupidity: Marcone sneers at Ethniu for this, noting that if she had just attacked without warning, she would have crushed her opposition, but instead she had to grandstand and make speeches.
* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process. Thorned Namshiel returns as well [[spoiler: as companion to Sir Baron Marcone]].
* BreakingSpeech: Marcone gives one to ''Ethniu'' when he points out she's just overcompensating for the fact her original role in Celtic Mythology was that of the MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter and LoveInterest followed by being the mother to a real hero.
* BrokenMasquerade: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the government arrives and blames it on a massive terrorist attack that caused hallucinations via chemical weapons. The people of Chicago don't really believe it and plenty know the truth but are willing to go along with it anyway.]]
* BrickJoke: [[Literature/BloodRites "For my next trick, anvils!"]] becomes this. Literally. Harry intentionally directs his conjuritis into creating a vast anvil to squash a powerful Black Court vampire and immediately afterwards says, IToldYouSo.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], [[spoiler: Hendricks]] gets skewered by Ethniu while protecting [[spoiler: Marcone]], and [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* ChekhovsGun: The mysterious disappearance of Thorned Namshiel's coin in ''Literature/SmallFavor'' is finally explained - [[spoiler: Marcone had it, and has, in fact, been a renegade Denarian ever since]]. Even ''Mab'' didn't know.
* DeaderThanDead: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Murphy is recruited as an Einherjar after her death, so she will eventually come back. The catch is, she can only do so once she has faded from living memory, so neither Harry nor the reader will ever see it happen. Hendricks will also undergo the same fate.]]
* DynamicEntry: [[spoiler:Titania]] drops onto the battlefield in a huge blast of lightning and brings the mother of all rainstorms along for the ride.
* EnemyMine: Many of the heavy hitters from the past sixteen books align to battle a Titan of unimaginable power, including many whom have been extremely hostile to each other beforehand.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Even [[AffablyEvil Lara]] is not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have her and Harry marry immediately]] - while she'd planned it beforehand, [[spoiler: Murphy's barely cold]], and out of respect for Harry [[spoiler: and his grief]], she consequently argues to have it deferred for a year.
* ExactWords: Dresden needs to convince everyone that he doesn't have [[spoiler:The Eye of Balor]], but as a member of Mab's court he's not supposed to explicitly lie. So instead he says he doesn't know where it is. This is technically true intuit he doesn't know it's exact location (because he gave it to an ally to hide and ordered the ally not to tell Dresden where it was), and if everyone present then assumes Dresden doesn't possess it at all, that's their problem.
* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve" (which is set after ''Battle Ground'' but was released several months earlier), readers knew Harry, Maggie, Mouse, Michael, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) would survive the events of the book. Sadly, that story also confirmed that thousands of people ''do'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
* GivenNameReveal: Turns out Hendricks’s first name is Nathan. Who knew?
* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's not entirely clear what [[spoiler: Drakul]] wants, other than that he was interested in recruiting more minions and having a bit of fun in the process.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Listen is this to Corb’s PointyHairedBoss, making reasonable suggestions and pointing out logical flaws with Corb’s suggestions. Ethniu even points this out and prefers Listen’s advice and company to Corb’s, which is the highest of praise considering her opinion of mortals.
* TheJuggernaut:
** Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously'', even ''after'' River shuts down his TeleportSpam.
* TheMenInBlack / CreatureHunterOrganization: It turns out that there's a division of the Library of Congress which is supposed to 'learn' about magical creatures. Even major supernatural powers think they're dangerous.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time she began working for Lara, right back before ''Literature/WhiteNight''.]]
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despite the failed attempts of both Butters and Sanya to get through to him.]]
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, after Harry demands he ''act'' like the Lord of Chicago, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
* NoSell: Ethniu spends most of her screentime protected by her Titanic Bronze armor and the fact that she is an order of magnitude more powerful than any supernatural being we have seen so far....but perhaps the most unfair awesome-to-nope instance is when she is completely unphased by [[spoiler: Listens-to-Wind's orbital tactical grizzly strike]].
* NighInvulnerable: The number of immortals present means that there's a lot of this going around, with Ethniu as the chief example, being encased in Titanic Bronze - an alloy of Olympian Bronze and Mordite.
* PetTheDog: Mab ensures that [[spoiler: Murphy]] [[DueToTheDead will be honoured and renowned throughout Winter]] for [[spoiler: her]] deeds.
* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after Harry's informed that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's grave]], you can't really blame him, though.
--> Those ''fuckers.''
* RecklessGunUsage: Rudolph tries to arrest Harry again at the start of the book, and both Harry and Bradley angrily point out he’s dancing around with his finger on the trigger like a madman. [[spoiler:This turns tragic later on when Rudolph still hasn’t learned, continues to keep his finger on the trigger, and accidentally shoots Murphy through the neck, killing her.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
** Harry, again, after [[spoiler: Rudolph kills Murphy]]. It takes both Knights of the Cross to stop him and talk him down.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: King Corb flees in terror when Ethniu comes, reaching DirtyCoward levels when he runs over his own troops in the process.]]
* ShoutOut: Wouldn’t be a Dresden book without ‘em.
** The Juggernaut from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
** Harry notes the Fomor have [[Film/ClashOfTheTitans released the kraken.]]
** Harry’s unasked for callsign is ComicBook/BoosterGold.
* SpitefulSpit: [[spoiler:Hendricks]] gives one to Ethniu as she kills him.
* SpottingTheThread: [[spoiler:Ethniu shows Harry a memory pulled from her mortal soldiers showing them entering the Carpenter home and massacring everyone inside, including Maggie. Harry quickly figures out it’s a setup since the memory has no sign of Mouse. This thread was deliberately left by Molly so Harry would see through it.]]
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler: Hendricks takes a spear for Marcone.]]
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler: Drakul's]] favourite tactic, one that [[spoiler: Marcone, wielding Thorned Namshiel, copies]].
* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.'' The exact same thing happens with Detective Bradley. More generally, he's established as this at the end of the book. He decides that he's okay with it.
* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Literature/PeaceTalks''. 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''.
* UncertainDoom: No one is sure what the hell happened to [[spoiler:Chandler.]] He was hit by a teleport spell no one recognised and doesn’t show up again even when everything is over.
* UngratefulBastard: The White Council [[spoiler: banishes Harry from their organization, strips him of his Warden status, and enacts a bunch of draconian laws that make him a keeper of TheMasquerade as well as subject to random searches. Carlos is taken aback when Harry just says, "No, we're not going to do that."]]
** Harry and Murphy save Rudolph - '''again''' - and [[spoiler:Murphy gets a bullet for her trouble.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Ethniu. She doesn't have much skill or sophistication - as Harry notes, she lacks real combat experience. The terrifying thing is that she's so powerful that even when up against the likes of Mab, it doesn't matter.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: [[spoiler:In the grand scheme of things, surprisingly averted. The overall plan from the outset is for Harry to use the Spear of Destiny to bind Ethniu in Demonreach, which is exactly what happens. The amount of carnage he has to wade through to get there is the hard part.]]
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered the events of both ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'']], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]]. Also, Drakul [[spoiler:is a starborn, implying he has the power to repel Outsiders just like Harry and Elaine, and Listen heavily implies that he may be one too.]]
* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler: Marcone sitting up after his neck has been broken by Ethniu]] is enough of a shock on its own, but he does take the opportunity to snark a little:
--> "Honestly, Dresden, did you think I would stop with just a title?"
** And another, when [[spoiler: Listen]] explains why he is far more valuable to [[spoiler: Ethniu and Corb]] than he appears:
--> [[spoiler: '''Listen''':]] "How many starborn are there wandering about, this close to the endgame?"
** Mab manages a hell of a line near the end of Chapter 7, when she issues a magical warning to everyone about to be affected by the events of the book.
--->"Accorded nations, stand to arms. [[spoiler: Mortal men of Chicago, remain in the homes that offer you your only safety.]] The enemy has come for this city."
* WorthyOpponent: A flame giant from Muspelheim identifies Harry as such, asking him who he is so he may have the honour of knowing who he will be trying to kill.
----
%% And please no spoilers for future books.
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/df_17_bg.png]]
''Battle Ground'' is book #17 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
[[TheOneWith The one where]] Harry and a whole bunch of others go to war.
Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. The only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, is Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done.
''Battle Ground'' was released September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first]] [[https://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/battle-ground-17/battle-ground-chapter-3 three teaser chapters were released online]], as was a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
----
!!''Battle Ground'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Justine]]. Or rather, [[spoiler: Nemesis a.k.a. He-Who-Walks-Beside in Justine's body]].
* BigBadassBattleSequence: ''The entire book'' functions as this, with only brief moments in between action sequences.
* BondVillainStupidity: Marcone sneers at Ethniu for this, noting that if she had just attacked without warning, she would have crushed her opposition, but instead she had to grandstand and make speeches.
* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process. Thorned Namshiel returns as well [[spoiler: as companion to Sir Baron Marcone]].
* BreakingSpeech: Marcone gives one to ''Ethniu'' when he points out she's just overcompensating for the fact her original role in Celtic Mythology was that of the MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter and LoveInterest followed by being the mother to a real hero.
* BrokenMasquerade: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the government arrives and blames it on a massive terrorist attack that caused hallucinations via chemical weapons. The people of Chicago don't really believe it and plenty know the truth but are willing to go along with it anyway.]]
* BrickJoke: [[Literature/BloodRites "For my next trick, anvils!"]] becomes this. Literally. Harry intentionally directs his conjuritis into creating a vast anvil to squash a powerful Black Court vampire and immediately afterwards says, IToldYouSo.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], [[spoiler: Hendricks]] gets skewered by Ethniu while protecting [[spoiler: Marcone]], and [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* ChekhovsGun: The mysterious disappearance of Thorned Namshiel's coin in ''Literature/SmallFavor'' is finally explained - [[spoiler: Marcone had it, and has, in fact, been a renegade Denarian ever since]]. Even ''Mab'' didn't know.
* DeaderThanDead: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Murphy is recruited as an Einherjar after her death, so she will eventually come back. The catch is, she can only do so once she has faded from living memory, so neither Harry nor the reader will ever see it happen. Hendricks will also undergo the same fate.]]
* DynamicEntry: [[spoiler:Titania]] drops onto the battlefield in a huge blast of lightning and brings the mother of all rainstorms along for the ride.
* EnemyMine: Many of the heavy hitters from the past sixteen books align to battle a Titan of unimaginable power, including many whom have been extremely hostile to each other beforehand.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Even [[AffablyEvil Lara]] is not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have her and Harry marry immediately]] - while she'd planned it beforehand, [[spoiler: Murphy's barely cold]], and out of respect for Harry [[spoiler: and his grief]], she consequently argues to have it deferred for a year.
* ExactWords: Dresden needs to convince everyone that he doesn't have [[spoiler:The Eye of Balor]], but as a member of Mab's court he's not supposed to explicitly lie. So instead he says he doesn't know where it is. This is technically true intuit he doesn't know it's exact location (because he gave it to an ally to hide and ordered the ally not to tell Dresden where it was), and if everyone present then assumes Dresden doesn't possess it at all, that's their problem.
* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve" (which is set after ''Battle Ground'' but was released several months earlier), readers knew Harry, Maggie, Mouse, Michael, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) would survive the events of the book. Sadly, that story also confirmed that thousands of people ''do'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
* GivenNameReveal: Turns out Hendricks’s first name is Nathan. Who knew?
* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's not entirely clear what [[spoiler: Drakul]] wants, other than that he was interested in recruiting more minions and having a bit of fun in the process.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Listen is this to Corb’s PointyHairedBoss, making reasonable suggestions and pointing out logical flaws with Corb’s suggestions. Ethniu even points this out and prefers Listen’s advice and company to Corb’s, which is the highest of praise considering her opinion of mortals.
* TheJuggernaut:
** Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously'', even ''after'' River shuts down his TeleportSpam.
* TheMenInBlack / CreatureHunterOrganization: It turns out that there's a division of the Library of Congress which is supposed to 'learn' about magical creatures. Even major supernatural powers think they're dangerous.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time she began working for Lara, right back before ''Literature/WhiteNight''.]]
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despite the failed attempts of both Butters and Sanya to get through to him.]]
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, after Harry demands he ''act'' like the Lord of Chicago, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
* NoSell: Ethniu spends most of her screentime protected by her Titanic Bronze armor and the fact that she is an order of magnitude more powerful than any supernatural being we have seen so far....but perhaps the most unfair awesome-to-nope instance is when she is completely unphased by [[spoiler: Listens-to-Wind's orbital tactical grizzly strike]].
* NighInvulnerable: The number of immortals present means that there's a lot of this going around, with Ethniu as the chief example, being encased in Titanic Bronze - an alloy of Olympian Bronze and Mordite.
* PetTheDog: Mab ensures that [[spoiler: Murphy]] [[DueToTheDead will be honoured and renowned throughout Winter]] for [[spoiler: her]] deeds.
* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after Harry's informed that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's grave]], you can't really blame him, though.
--> Those ''fuckers.''
* RecklessGunUsage: Rudolph tries to arrest Harry again at the start of the book, and both Harry and Bradley angrily point out he’s dancing around with his finger on the trigger like a madman. [[spoiler:This turns tragic later on when Rudolph still hasn’t learned, continues to keep his finger on the trigger, and accidentally shoots Murphy through the neck, killing her.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
** Harry, again, after [[spoiler: Rudolph kills Murphy]]. It takes both Knights of the Cross to stop him and talk him down.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: King Corb flees in terror when Ethniu comes, reaching DirtyCoward levels when he runs over his own troops in the process.]]
* ShoutOut: Wouldn’t be a Dresden book without ‘em.
** The Juggernaut from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
** Harry notes the Fomor have [[Film/ClashOfTheTitans released the kraken.]]
** Harry’s unasked for callsign is ComicBook/BoosterGold.
* SpitefulSpit: [[spoiler:Hendricks]] gives one to Ethniu as she kills him.
* SpottingTheThread: [[spoiler:Ethniu shows Harry a memory pulled from her mortal soldiers showing them entering the Carpenter home and massacring everyone inside, including Maggie. Harry quickly figures out it’s a setup since the memory has no sign of Mouse. This thread was deliberately left by Molly so Harry would see through it.]]
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler: Hendricks takes a spear for Marcone.]]
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler: Drakul's]] favourite tactic, one that [[spoiler: Marcone, wielding Thorned Namshiel, copies]].
* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.'' The exact same thing happens with Detective Bradley. More generally, he's established as this at the end of the book. He decides that he's okay with it.
* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Literature/PeaceTalks''. 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''.
* UncertainDoom: No one is sure what the hell happened to [[spoiler:Chandler.]] He was hit by a teleport spell no one recognised and doesn’t show up again even when everything is over.
* UngratefulBastard: The White Council [[spoiler: banishes Harry from their organization, strips him of his Warden status, and enacts a bunch of draconian laws that make him a keeper of TheMasquerade as well as subject to random searches. Carlos is taken aback when Harry just says, "No, we're not going to do that."]]
** Harry and Murphy save Rudolph - '''again''' - and [[spoiler:Murphy gets a bullet for her trouble.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Ethniu. She doesn't have much skill or sophistication - as Harry notes, she lacks real combat experience. The terrifying thing is that she's so powerful that even when up against the likes of Mab, it doesn't matter.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: [[spoiler:In the grand scheme of things, surprisingly averted. The overall plan from the outset is for Harry to use the Spear of Destiny to bind Ethniu in Demonreach, which is exactly what happens. The amount of carnage he has to wade through to get there is the hard part.]]
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered the events of both ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'']], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]]. Also, Drakul [[spoiler:is a starborn, implying he has the power to repel Outsiders just like Harry and Elaine, and Listen heavily implies that he may be one too.]]
* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler: Marcone sitting up after his neck has been broken by Ethniu]] is enough of a shock on its own, but he does take the opportunity to snark a little:
--> "Honestly, Dresden, did you think I would stop with just a title?"
** And another, when [[spoiler: Listen]] explains why he is far more valuable to [[spoiler: Ethniu and Corb]] than he appears:
--> [[spoiler: '''Listen''':]] "How many starborn are there wandering about, this close to the endgame?"
** Mab manages a hell of a line near the end of Chapter 7, when she issues a magical warning to everyone about to be affected by the events of the book.
--->"Accorded nations, stand to arms. [[spoiler: Mortal men of Chicago, remain in the homes that offer you your only safety.]] The enemy has come for this city."
* WorthyOpponent: A flame giant from Muspelheim identifies Harry as such, asking him who he is so he may have the honour of knowing who he will be trying to kill.
----
to:
%% And please no spoilers for future books.
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/df_17_bg.png]]
''Battle Ground'' is book #17 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
[[TheOneWith The one where]] Harry and a whole bunch of others go to war.
Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. The only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, is Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done.
''Battle Ground'' was released September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first]] [[https://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/battle-ground-17/battle-ground-chapter-3 three teaser chapters were released online]], as was a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
----
!!''Battle Ground'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Justine]]. Or rather, [[spoiler: Nemesis a.k.a. He-Who-Walks-Beside in Justine's body]].
* BigBadassBattleSequence: ''The entire book'' functions as this, with only brief moments in between action sequences.
* BondVillainStupidity: Marcone sneers at Ethniu for this, noting that if she had just attacked without warning, she would have crushed her opposition, but instead she had to grandstand and make speeches.
* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process. Thorned Namshiel returns as well [[spoiler: as companion to Sir Baron Marcone]].
* BreakingSpeech: Marcone gives one to ''Ethniu'' when he points out she's just overcompensating for the fact her original role in Celtic Mythology was that of the MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter and LoveInterest followed by being the mother to a real hero.
* BrokenMasquerade: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the government arrives and blames it on a massive terrorist attack that caused hallucinations via chemical weapons. The people of Chicago don't really believe it and plenty know the truth but are willing to go along with it anyway.]]
* BrickJoke: [[Literature/BloodRites "For my next trick, anvils!"]] becomes this. Literally. Harry intentionally directs his conjuritis into creating a vast anvil to squash a powerful Black Court vampire and immediately afterwards says, IToldYouSo.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], [[spoiler: Hendricks]] gets skewered by Ethniu while protecting [[spoiler: Marcone]], and [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* ChekhovsGun: The mysterious disappearance of Thorned Namshiel's coin in ''Literature/SmallFavor'' is finally explained - [[spoiler: Marcone had it, and has, in fact, been a renegade Denarian ever since]]. Even ''Mab'' didn't know.
* DeaderThanDead: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Murphy is recruited as an Einherjar after her death, so she will eventually come back. The catch is, she can only do so once she has faded from living memory, so neither Harry nor the reader will ever see it happen. Hendricks will also undergo the same fate.]]
* DynamicEntry: [[spoiler:Titania]] drops onto the battlefield in a huge blast of lightning and brings the mother of all rainstorms along for the ride.
* EnemyMine: Many of the heavy hitters from the past sixteen books align to battle a Titan of unimaginable power, including many whom have been extremely hostile to each other beforehand.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Even [[AffablyEvil Lara]] is not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have her and Harry marry immediately]] - while she'd planned it beforehand, [[spoiler: Murphy's barely cold]], and out of respect for Harry [[spoiler: and his grief]], she consequently argues to have it deferred for a year.
* ExactWords: Dresden needs to convince everyone that he doesn't have [[spoiler:The Eye of Balor]], but as a member of Mab's court he's not supposed to explicitly lie. So instead he says he doesn't know where it is. This is technically true intuit he doesn't know it's exact location (because he gave it to an ally to hide and ordered the ally not to tell Dresden where it was), and if everyone present then assumes Dresden doesn't possess it at all, that's their problem.
* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve" (which is set after ''Battle Ground'' but was released several months earlier), readers knew Harry, Maggie, Mouse, Michael, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) would survive the events of the book. Sadly, that story also confirmed that thousands of people ''do'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
* GivenNameReveal: Turns out Hendricks’s first name is Nathan. Who knew?
* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's not entirely clear what [[spoiler: Drakul]] wants, other than that he was interested in recruiting more minions and having a bit of fun in the process.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Listen is this to Corb’s PointyHairedBoss, making reasonable suggestions and pointing out logical flaws with Corb’s suggestions. Ethniu even points this out and prefers Listen’s advice and company to Corb’s, which is the highest of praise considering her opinion of mortals.
* TheJuggernaut:
** Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously'', even ''after'' River shuts down his TeleportSpam.
* TheMenInBlack / CreatureHunterOrganization: It turns out that there's a division of the Library of Congress which is supposed to 'learn' about magical creatures. Even major supernatural powers think they're dangerous.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time she began working for Lara, right back before ''Literature/WhiteNight''.]]
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despite the failed attempts of both Butters and Sanya to get through to him.]]
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, after Harry demands he ''act'' like the Lord of Chicago, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
* NoSell: Ethniu spends most of her screentime protected by her Titanic Bronze armor and the fact that she is an order of magnitude more powerful than any supernatural being we have seen so far....but perhaps the most unfair awesome-to-nope instance is when she is completely unphased by [[spoiler: Listens-to-Wind's orbital tactical grizzly strike]].
* NighInvulnerable: The number of immortals present means that there's a lot of this going around, with Ethniu as the chief example, being encased in Titanic Bronze - an alloy of Olympian Bronze and Mordite.
* PetTheDog: Mab ensures that [[spoiler: Murphy]] [[DueToTheDead will be honoured and renowned throughout Winter]] for [[spoiler: her]] deeds.
* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after Harry's informed that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's grave]], you can't really blame him, though.
--> Those ''fuckers.''
* RecklessGunUsage: Rudolph tries to arrest Harry again at the start of the book, and both Harry and Bradley angrily point out he’s dancing around with his finger on the trigger like a madman. [[spoiler:This turns tragic later on when Rudolph still hasn’t learned, continues to keep his finger on the trigger, and accidentally shoots Murphy through the neck, killing her.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
** Harry, again, after [[spoiler: Rudolph kills Murphy]]. It takes both Knights of the Cross to stop him and talk him down.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: King Corb flees in terror when Ethniu comes, reaching DirtyCoward levels when he runs over his own troops in the process.]]
* ShoutOut: Wouldn’t be a Dresden book without ‘em.
** The Juggernaut from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
** Harry notes the Fomor have [[Film/ClashOfTheTitans released the kraken.]]
** Harry’s unasked for callsign is ComicBook/BoosterGold.
* SpitefulSpit: [[spoiler:Hendricks]] gives one to Ethniu as she kills him.
* SpottingTheThread: [[spoiler:Ethniu shows Harry a memory pulled from her mortal soldiers showing them entering the Carpenter home and massacring everyone inside, including Maggie. Harry quickly figures out it’s a setup since the memory has no sign of Mouse. This thread was deliberately left by Molly so Harry would see through it.]]
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler: Hendricks takes a spear for Marcone.]]
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler: Drakul's]] favourite tactic, one that [[spoiler: Marcone, wielding Thorned Namshiel, copies]].
* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.'' The exact same thing happens with Detective Bradley. More generally, he's established as this at the end of the book. He decides that he's okay with it.
* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Literature/PeaceTalks''. 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''.
* UncertainDoom: No one is sure what the hell happened to [[spoiler:Chandler.]] He was hit by a teleport spell no one recognised and doesn’t show up again even when everything is over.
* UngratefulBastard: The White Council [[spoiler: banishes Harry from their organization, strips him of his Warden status, and enacts a bunch of draconian laws that make him a keeper of TheMasquerade as well as subject to random searches. Carlos is taken aback when Harry just says, "No, we're not going to do that."]]
** Harry and Murphy save Rudolph - '''again''' - and [[spoiler:Murphy gets a bullet for her trouble.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Ethniu. She doesn't have much skill or sophistication - as Harry notes, she lacks real combat experience. The terrifying thing is that she's so powerful that even when up against the likes of Mab, it doesn't matter.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: [[spoiler:In the grand scheme of things, surprisingly averted. The overall plan from the outset is for Harry to use the Spear of Destiny to bind Ethniu in Demonreach, which is exactly what happens. The amount of carnage he has to wade through to get there is the hard part.]]
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered the events of both ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'']], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]]. Also, Drakul [[spoiler:is a starborn, implying he has the power to repel Outsiders just like Harry and Elaine, and Listen heavily implies that he may be one too.]]
* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler: Marcone sitting up after his neck has been broken by Ethniu]] is enough of a shock on its own, but he does take the opportunity to snark a little:
--> "Honestly, Dresden, did you think I would stop with just a title?"
** And another, when [[spoiler: Listen]] explains why he is far more valuable to [[spoiler: Ethniu and Corb]] than he appears:
--> [[spoiler: '''Listen''':]] "How many starborn are there wandering about, this close to the endgame?"
** Mab manages a hell of a line near the end of Chapter 7, when she issues a magical warning to everyone about to be affected by the events of the book.
--->"Accorded nations, stand to arms. [[spoiler: Mortal men of Chicago, remain in the homes that offer you your only safety.]] The enemy has come for this city."
* WorthyOpponent: A flame giant from Muspelheim identifies Harry as such, asking him who he is so he may have the honour of knowing who he will be trying to kill.
----
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* BondVillainStupidity: Marcone sneers at Ethniu for this, noting that if she had just attacked without warning, she would have crushed her opposition, but instead she had to grandstand and make speeches.
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* DynamicEntry: [[spoiler:Titania]] drops onto the battlefield in a huge blast of lightning and brings the mother of all rainstorms along for the ride.
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* SpottingTheThread: [[spoiler:Ethniu shows Harry a memory pulled from her mortal soldiers showing them entering the Carpenter home and massacring everyone inside, including Maggie. Harry quickly figures out it’s a setup since the memory has no sign of Mouse. This thread was deliberately left by Molly so Harry would see through it.]]
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* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: [[spoiler:In the grand scheme of things, surprisingly averted. The overall plan from the outset is for Harry to use the Spear of Destiny to bind Ethniu in Demonreach, which is exactly what happens. The amount of carnage he has to wade through to get there is the hard part.]]
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* ExactWords: Dresden needs to convince everyone that he doesn't have [[spoiler:The Eye of Balor]], but as a member of Mab's court he's not supposed to explicitly lie. So instead he says he doesn't know where it is. This is technically true intuit he doesn't know it's exact location (because he gave it to an ally to hide and ordered the ally not to tell Dresden where it was), and if everyone present then assumes Dresden doesn't possess it at all, that's their problem.
* TheMenInBlack / CreatureHunterOrganization: It turns out that there's a division of the Library of Congress which is supposed to 'learn' about magical creatures. Even major supernatural powers think they're dangerous.
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** [[TheJuggernaut]] from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
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** [[TheJuggernaut]] The Juggernaut from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
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''Battle Ground'' was released September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two teaser chapters have been released]], as has a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
to:
''Battle Ground'' was released September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two first]] [[https://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/battle-ground-17/battle-ground-chapter-3 three teaser chapters have been released]], were released online]], as has was a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
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* DeaderThanDead: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Murphy is recruited as an Einherjar after her death, so she will eventually come back. The catch is, she can only do so once she has faded from living memory, so neither Harry nor the reader will ever see it happen.]]
to:
* DeaderThanDead: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Murphy is recruited as an Einherjar after her death, so she will eventually come back. The catch is, she can only do so once she has faded from living memory, so neither Harry nor the reader will ever see it happen. Hendricks will also undergo the same fate.]]
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* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Harry, Maggie, Mouse, Michael, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will survive the events of the book. Sadly it also confirms that thousands of people ''will'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
to:
* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Eve" (which is set after ''Battle Ground'' but was released several months earlier), readers knew Harry, Maggie, Mouse, Michael, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will would survive the events of the book. Sadly it Sadly, that story also confirms confirmed that thousands of people ''will'' ''do'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
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* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered the events of both ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'']], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]].
to:
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered the events of both ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'']], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]]. Also, Drakul [[spoiler:is a starborn, implying he has the power to repel Outsiders just like Harry and Elaine, and Listen heavily implies that he may be one too.]]
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**Mab manages a hell of a line near the end of Chapter 7, when she issues a magical warning to everyone about to be affected by the events of the book.
--->"Accorded nations, stand to arms. [[spoiler: Mortal men of Chicago, remain in the homes that offer you your only safety.]] The enemy has come for this city."
--->"Accorded nations, stand to arms. [[spoiler: Mortal men of Chicago, remain in the homes that offer you your only safety.]] The enemy has come for this city."
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* NoSell: Ethniu spends most of her screentime protected by her Titanic Bronze armor and the fact that she is an order of magnitude more powerful than any supernatural being we have seen so far....but perhaps the most unfair awesome-to-nope instance is when she is completely unphased by [[spoiler: Listens-to-Wind's orbital tactical grizzly strike]].
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* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler: Marcone sitting up after his neck has been broken by Ethniu]] is enough of a shock on its own, but he does take the opportunity to snark a little:
--> "Honestly, Dresden, did you think I would stop with just a title?"
** And another, when [[spoiler: Listen]] explains why he is far more valuable to [[spoiler: Ethniu and Corb]] than he appears:
--> [[spoiler: '''Listen''':]] "How many starborn are there wandering about, this close to the endgame?"
** [[spoiler: Marcone sitting up after his neck has been broken by Ethniu]] is enough of a shock on its own, but he does take the opportunity to snark a little:
--> "Honestly, Dresden, did you think I would stop with just a title?"
** And another, when [[spoiler: Listen]] explains why he is far more valuable to [[spoiler: Ethniu and Corb]] than he appears:
--> [[spoiler: '''Listen''':]] "How many starborn are there wandering about, this close to the endgame?"
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''Battle Ground'' is due out September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two teaser chapters have been released]], as has a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
to:
''Battle Ground'' is due out was released September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two teaser chapters have been released]], as has a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
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* HypercompetentSidekick: Listen is this to Corb’s PointyHairedBoss, making reasonable suggestions and pointing out logical flaws with Corb’s suggestions. Ethniu even points this out and prefers Listen’s advice and company to Corb’s, which is the highest of praise considering her opinion of mortals.
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* WorthyOpponent: A flame giant from Muspelheim identifies Harry as such, asking him who he is so he may have the honour of knowing who he will be trying to kill.
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* ShoutOut: Wouldn’t be a Dresden book without ‘em.
** [[TheJuggernaut]] from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
** Harry notes the Fomor have [[Film/ClashOfTheTitans released the kraken.]]
** Harry’s unasked for callsign is ComicBook/BoosterGold.
** [[TheJuggernaut]] from ''ComicBook/XMen'' gets mentioned a few times in comparison to the heavy hitters on the field.
** Harry notes the Fomor have [[Film/ClashOfTheTitans released the kraken.]]
** Harry’s unasked for callsign is ComicBook/BoosterGold.
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* DeaderThanDead: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:Murphy is recruited as an Einherjar after her death, so she will eventually come back. The catch is, she can only do so once she has faded from living memory, so neither Harry nor the reader will ever see it happen.]]
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* RecklessGunUsage: Rudolph tries to arrest Harry again at the start of the book, and both Harry and Bradley angrily point out he’s dancing around with his finger on the trigger like a madman. [[spoiler:This turns tragic later on when Rudolph still hasn’t learned, continues to keep his finger on the trigger, and accidentally shoots Murphy through the neck, killing her.]]
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** Harry and Murphy save Rudolph - '''again''' - and [[spoiler:Murphy gets a bullet for her trouble.]]
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* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process.
to:
* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process. Thorned Namshiel returns as well [[spoiler: as companion to Sir Baron Marcone]].
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* BigBadassBattleSequence: ''The entire book'' functions as this, with only brief moments in between action sequences.
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* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils!" becomes this. Literally. Harry conjures them with his conjuritis.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], while [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], while [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
to:
* BrickJoke: [[Literature/BloodRites "For my next trick, anvils!" anvils!"]] becomes this. Literally. Harry conjures them with intentionally directs his conjuritis.
conjuritis into creating a vast anvil to squash a powerful Black Court vampire and immediately afterwards says, IToldYouSo.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], [[spoiler: Hendricks]] gets skewered by Ethniu while protecting [[spoiler: Marcone]], and [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], [[spoiler: Hendricks]] gets skewered by Ethniu while protecting [[spoiler: Marcone]], and [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
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* EveryoneHasStandards: Even [[AffablyEvil Lara]] is not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have her and Harry marry immediately - while it was planned beforehand, Murphy's barely cold]].
to:
* EveryoneHasStandards: Even [[AffablyEvil Lara]] is not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have her and Harry marry immediately immediately]] - while it was she'd planned it beforehand, [[spoiler: Murphy's barely cold]].cold]], and out of respect for Harry [[spoiler: and his grief]], she consequently argues to have it deferred for a year.
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* GivenNameReveal: Turns our Hendricks’s first name is Nathan. Who knew?
to:
* GivenNameReveal: Turns our out Hendricks’s first name is Nathan. Who knew?knew?
* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's not entirely clear what [[spoiler: Drakul]] wants, other than that he was interested in recruiting more minions and having a bit of fun in the process.
* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's not entirely clear what [[spoiler: Drakul]] wants, other than that he was interested in recruiting more minions and having a bit of fun in the process.
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** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously''.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time she went working for Mab. Nearly at the beginning of the series.]]
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despite Sansa's presence.]]
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time she went working for Mab. Nearly at the beginning of the series.]]
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despite Sansa's presence.]]
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
to:
** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously''.
''simultaneously'', even ''after'' River shuts down his TeleportSpam.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time shewent began working for Mab. Nearly at the beginning of the series.Lara, right back before ''Literature/WhiteNight''.]]
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despiteSansa's presence.the failed attempts of both Butters and Sanya to get through to him.]]
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, after Harry demands he ''act'' like the Lord of Chicago, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine turns out to have been a host for Nemesis since the time she
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave. This prevents Harry from murdering [[spoiler: Rudolph outright despite
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, after Harry demands he ''act'' like the Lord of Chicago, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
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* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered it all]], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]].
to:
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered it all]], the events of both ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'']], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]].
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%%* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils!" becomes this. Literally.
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* BrokenMasquerade: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the government arrives and blames it on a massive terrorist attack that caused hallucinations via chemical weapons. The people of Chicago don't really believe it and plenty know the truth but are willing to go along with it anyway.]]
* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils!" becomes this. Literally. Harry conjures them with his conjuritis.
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%%* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine - or rather, Nemesis in Justine's body]].
%%* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave.
%%* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave.
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%%*
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the
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* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: King Corb flees in terror when Ethniu comes, reaching DirtyCoward levels when he runs over his own troops in the process.]]
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* UngratefulBastard: The White Council [[spoiler: banishes Harry from their organization, strips him of his Warden status, and enacts a bunch of draconian laws that make him a keeper of TheMasquerade as well as subject to random searches. Carlos is taken aback when Harry just says, "No, we're not going to do that."]]
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Some ZCE and indentation cleanup
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* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils!" becomes this. Literally.
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* TheJuggernaut: Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
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* TheJuggernaut: TheJuggernaut:
** Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
** Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
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* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine - or rather, Nemesis in Justine's body]].
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave.
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave.
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* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after [[spoiler: Ramirez]] informs [[spoiler: Harry]] that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's]] grave, you can't really blame him, though.
to:
* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after [[spoiler: Ramirez]] informs [[spoiler: Harry]] Harry's informed that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's]] grave, Karrin's grave]], you can't really blame him, though.
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* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
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* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
** Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
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* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils."
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* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils."anvils!" becomes this. Literally.
* NobleDemon: Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle when they need protection, and fights beside Harry to defeat Ethniu.
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** Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle.
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* BrickJoke: "For my next trick, anvils."
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** Marcone letting nearby civilians into the BFS castle.
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* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler: Hendricks takes a spear for Marcone.]]
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* GivenNameReveal: Turns our Hendricks’s first name is Nathan. Who knew?
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* SpitefulSpit: [[spoiler:Hendricks]] gives one to Ethniu as she kills him.
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* UncertainDoom: No one is sure what the hell happened to [[spoiler:Chandler.]] He was hit by a teleport spell no one recognised and doesn’t show up again even when everything is over.
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* BigBad: [[spoiler: Justine]]. Or rather, [[spoiler: Nemesis a.k.a. He-Who-Walks-Beside in Justine's body]].
* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], while [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* ChekhovsGun: The mysterious disappearance of Thorned Namshiel's coin in ''Literature/SmallFavor'' is finally explained - [[spoiler: Marcone had it, and has, in fact, been a renegade Denarian ever since]]. Even ''Mab'' didn't know.
* TheBusCameBack: Mavra reappears, finally revealing [[spoiler: Drakul]] in the process.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Karrin Murphy gets shot by a panicking Rudolph]], while [[spoiler: Wardens Yoshimo and Wild Bill die at the hands of the Black Court]].
* ChekhovsGun: The mysterious disappearance of Thorned Namshiel's coin in ''Literature/SmallFavor'' is finally explained - [[spoiler: Marcone had it, and has, in fact, been a renegade Denarian ever since]]. Even ''Mab'' didn't know.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Even [[AffablyEvil Lara]] is not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have her and Harry marry immediately - while it was planned beforehand, Murphy's barely cold]].
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* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.''
to:
* TheJuggernaut: Ethniu, who lays the smackdown on almost literally everyone she goes up against - not through skill, but sheer power. However, it costs her, each and every time.
** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously''.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine - or rather, Nemesis in Justine's body]].
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave.
* NighInvulnerable: The number of immortals present means that there's a lot of this going around, with Ethniu as the chief example, being encased in Titanic Bronze - an alloy of Olympian Bronze and Mordite.
* PetTheDog: Mab ensures that [[spoiler: Murphy]] [[DueToTheDead will be honoured and renowned throughout Winter]] for [[spoiler: her]] deeds.
* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after [[spoiler: Ramirez]] informs [[spoiler: Harry]] that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's]] grave, you can't really blame him, though.
--> Those ''fuckers.''
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
** Harry, again, after [[spoiler: Rudolph kills Murphy]]. It takes both Knights of the Cross to stop him and talk him down.
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler: Drakul's]] favourite tactic, one that [[spoiler: Marcone, wielding Thorned Namshiel, copies]].
* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.'''' The exact same thing happens with Detective Bradley. More generally, he's established as this at the end of the book. He decides that he's okay with it.
** [[spoiler: Drakul]] powers through everyone and everything he encounters, including Listens-to-Wind and River Shoulders, ''simultaneously''.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Justine - or rather, Nemesis in Justine's body]].
* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Murphy]] to Harry, even from beyond the grave.
* NighInvulnerable: The number of immortals present means that there's a lot of this going around, with Ethniu as the chief example, being encased in Titanic Bronze - an alloy of Olympian Bronze and Mordite.
* PetTheDog: Mab ensures that [[spoiler: Murphy]] [[DueToTheDead will be honoured and renowned throughout Winter]] for [[spoiler: her]] deeds.
* PrecisionFStrike: From ''Michael'', of all people, after [[spoiler: Ramirez]] informs [[spoiler: Harry]] that he's now [[spoiler: outcast from the Council and that if he doesn't toe the line, the Blackstaff will be sent to kill him]]. It then evolves into a ClusterFBomb. Since it was delivered at [[spoiler: Karrin's]] grave, you can't really blame him, though.
--> Those ''fuckers.''
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Harry and the inhabitants of Chicago go on one against the Fomor - while it's only a thousand or so volunteers, once they're well armed and properly guarded, their contribution takes all the supernatural powers aback.
** Harry, again, after [[spoiler: Rudolph kills Murphy]]. It takes both Knights of the Cross to stop him and talk him down.
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler: Drakul's]] favourite tactic, one that [[spoiler: Marcone, wielding Thorned Namshiel, copies]].
* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.
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* UnskilledButStrong: Ethniu. She doesn't have much skill or sophistication - as Harry notes, she lacks real combat experience. The terrifying thing is that she's so powerful that even when up against the likes of Mab, it doesn't matter.
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered it all]], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]].
* WhamEpisode: After all the dust settles, the mortal and supernatural worlds are increasingly aware of each other, [[spoiler: Murphy]] and [[spoiler: Hendricks]] are dead, Mab [[spoiler: abruptly reveals that Harry's going to marry Lara after a year of mourning]], [[spoiler: Justine is revealed to have been possessed by Nemesis - actually a Walker, He-Who-Walks-Beside - ever since she started getting close to Lara and to have engineered it all]], and Harry is now [[spoiler: an outcast from the White Council and under suspended sentence of death]].
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''Battle Ground'' is due out September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two teaser chapters have been released.]]
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''Battle Ground'' is due out September 29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two teaser chapters have been released.]]
released]], as has a [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/09/jim-butcher-releases-trailer-for-next-dresden-files-novel-battle-ground/ teaser trailer]].
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''Battle Ground'' is due out September 29.
to:
''Battle Ground'' is due out September 29.
29. [[https://www.tor.com/2020/09/01/read-the-first-two-chapters-from-battle-ground-jim-butchers-new-dresden-files-book/ The first two teaser chapters have been released.]]
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* TerrorHero: Harry [[spoiler: soulgazes a kraken]] and realizes that ''it's terrified of him.''
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Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. And the only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.
And one member of that alliance, of course, Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.
to:
Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. And the The only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, is Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.\n
And one member of that alliance, of course, is Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done.
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* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Harry, Maggie, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will survive the events of the book. Sadly it also confirms that thousands of people ''will'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
to:
* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Harry, Maggie, Mouse, Michael, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will survive the events of the book. Sadly it also confirms that thousands of people ''will'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
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* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Harry, Maggie, Mad, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will survive the events of the book. Sadly it also confirms that thousands of people ''will'' die with tens of thousands wounded.
to:
* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Harry, Maggie, Mad, Mab, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will survive the events of the book. Sadly it also confirms that thousands of people ''will'' die with tens of thousands more left wounded.
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* ForegoneConclusion: Thanks to Butcher's short story "Christmas Eve", we know Harry, Maggie, Mad, Molly, and Vadderung (as Kringle) will survive the events of the book. Sadly it also confirms that thousands of people ''will'' die with tens of thousands wounded.
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Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethiu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies--the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=]--no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much--if anything--will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.
to:
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethiu's Ethniu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies--the allies -- the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=]--no [=McCoy=] -- no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much--if anything--will much -- if anything -- will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.
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Fixed a redlink.
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* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Literature/PeaceTalks''. 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 ActionPlot and re-wrote both parts into the final ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground''.
to:
* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Literature/PeaceTalks''. 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 ActionPlot Action Plot and re-wrote both parts into the final ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground''.
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''Literature/BattleGround'' is due out September 29.
to:
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* TwoPartEpisode: With ''Literature/PeaceTalks''. 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 ActionPlot and re-wrote both parts into the final ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground''.
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!!'''''Warning!''''' All spoilers for previous books are unmarked on this page!
%% And please no spoilers for future books.
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/df_17_bg.png]]
''Battle Ground'' is book #17 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
[[TheOneWith The one where]] Harry and a whole bunch of others go to war.
Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. And the only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethiu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies--the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=]--no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much--if anything--will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.
''Literature/BattleGround'' is due out September 29.
----
!!''Battle Ground'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* EnemyMine: Many of the heavy hitters from the past sixteen books align to battle a Titan of unimaginable power, including many whom have been extremely hostile to each other beforehand.
----
%% And please no spoilers for future books.
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/df_17_bg.png]]
''Battle Ground'' is book #17 in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''.
[[TheOneWith The one where]] Harry and a whole bunch of others go to war.
Ethniu, daughter of Balor and the last of the Titans, has declared war on Chicago. She leads an army of the Fomor, powerful water-dwelling magicians whose bizarre and twisted magics lend them immense power. Ethniu herself wields the nigh-unstoppable Eye of Balor, which smashed through one of Chicago's most heavily defended magical bases as if it was made of tinfoil. And the only obstacle in her path is a loose alliance of disparate magical factions, several of whom care as little for humanity as Ethniu herself, and many of whom were at each other's throats mere days ago.
And one member of that alliance, of course, Harry Dresden.
Dresden does have a couple of advantages, most notably two superweapons he smuggled out of Hades' vault. But even with those on his side, it will be a tall order indeed for Chicago's only wizard investigator to battle through Ethiu's endless legions and bring her down, especially since some of his strongest allies--the wizards of the White Council, including his own mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=]--no longer fully trust him. And even if he defies the odds once again and succeeds, there's no telling how much--if anything--will remain of Chicago when he's done. Or, for that matter, if the truce between the various magical factions will hold... or if his enemies will decide it's time to get revenge on him once and for all.
''Literature/BattleGround'' is due out September 29.
----
!!''Battle Ground'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* EnemyMine: Many of the heavy hitters from the past sixteen books align to battle a Titan of unimaginable power, including many whom have been extremely hostile to each other beforehand.
----
