Review: Peace Talks

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even though this isn't as complete a story in itself as most of the series (the conclusion is in the next book), Jim Butcher is smart, and still manages to write a book that has a plot question that's resolved by the end. There are huge, cosmic events happening, and Harry needs to help deal with them, but he also has family stuff to take care of - primarily, helping his brother Thomas (which is the plot question that resolves by the end), though he's also started to try to be a father to Maggie, and finally moved his relationship with Murphy forward, and he's clashing a lot with his grandfather.

The first few chapters, in signature Dresden style, are spent getting Harry further and further into the cactus, to the point where I was wondering how on earth the author was going to get him out of the hole he'd dug for him. The eventual (partial) extraction from the hole is accompanied along the way with plenty of self-deprecating snark, a small amount of new maturity, and the usual mix of cleverness, courage, determination, judicious use of allies, well-prepped skills, absolute commitment to doing the right thing even when that's very difficult to identify, and reflections on life that have a bit of depth to them.

It all reminded me why this is one of my favourite series. While it's not the best of the series so far for me, it is highly skilled and powerfully written in the way I've come to expect from Butcher, and there's no question about putting it on my Best of 2020 list.

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