By: Corey Lack
Peace Talks is the latest book in the Dresden Files series and it is a first in the series on two counts, but I’ll get more into that in a minute. The plot involves Harry once more drawn into a series of events that could spell trouble for not only Harry, but for the entire city of Chicago. The Fomor, a race of underwater-dwelling creatures, announce their desire to have peace talks with the Accorded races while at the same time, the White Council is voting on whether or not to kick Harry out of their organization and Thomas suddenly tries to kill a leader of one of the Accorded races, resulting in his incarceration pending what would likely be an execution. As such, Harry has to work with Lara Raith in order to get Thomas to safety while preventing the alliance between the Accorded races from imploding.
Now, as for what I mentioned earlier with how this is a first in the series on two points, let’s now get into those. The first, well, first is that this book is the first time I felt actual anger towards a character. Sure, I’ve felt frustration towards the characters, disgust at the crime scenes, a desire for the bad guys to get their comeuppance, and joy at the good parts, but I’ve never felt actual anger until this book. This came when Carlos, one of Harry’s fellow wardens and a supposed friend, shows up out of nowhere, revealing that not only is he tracking Harry like a criminal under house arrest, but also questioning him as to his actions in connection to Thomas’s recent attack. I mean, after everything Harry has done, just from the time of his joining the Wardens from dealing with necromancers to helping with the war effort against the Red Court, you would think his moral code and loyalty wouldn’t be in question, but once again, something goes wrong and suspicion immediately falls on him even by those supposed to be his closest allies.
The second first was that it seemed like this was the first half of another book and was cut in half to make it two. The ending seemed to be building up to a huge climactic battle and then just suddenly ends before the battlelines are formed. There has never been a book in this series prior to this point where it felt like there was a second part. Each book, despite having a part in the overarching narrative, seemed to be singular and stand on their own.
Despite the one minor issue that I have with the way this book ended, I still have to say that I greatly enjoyed it. I especially can’t wait for the next part when this part concludes. I highly recommend reading it. I’d give it 9.5 sealed half-brothers out of ten.
