Review: Battle Ground

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And so it appears we have finished the most recent Arc of the Dresden files. We tied together everything that has come before and just like the previously named book Changes this one changes a whole bunch. We’ve now left the world as it exists to us (the readers) to a new world that’s split off into its own timeline where there was a confrontation with supernatural creatures.

This book has a lot of really neat ideas about heroism and what it means to fight against all odds and stuff like that. However in light of what’s happened in the real world in the last 3 years, some of the stuff just doesn’t ring the same way that it did when Butcher first wrote this. Thinking about what happened in New Orleans after Katrina or during the George Floyd protests; thinking about the January 6th insurrection and what happened to the policeman there it really just makes some of the chaos in the book read very differently.

There’s lots of teasing about what it means that Harry is starborn - something that has been mentioned for the last few books at this point. And we get the tiniest bit of information, but we end the book very frustrated not having learned much; just about as frustrated as Harry was. I understand that Butcher probably is saving it for when it’s most plot relevant but I do hope that he doesn’t keep dragging it on too long.

And continuing on the topic: I’m not 100% sure how I feel about Harry being a “chosen One”. It’s such an old trope at this point although that’s probably because it works well. And I have faith that Butcher will try and do something unique with it.

As a side note: in the conclusion to this book it becomes evident why the next book is called 12 months.

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