First of all, if you haven't read Peace Talks, stop reading this review. There will be spoilers, it can't be helped. I'm basically reviewing the second half of a larger book here and I have to talk about the first half. If you are a fan of The Dresden Files but you haven't read Peace Talks and are reading a review for Battle Ground, just stop and get Peace Talks. You won't be disappointed by either of these two books.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's get into the nitty gritty.
When we last left Harry, he, Murphy, Laura Raith and her Valkyrie assistant, Frydis Gard, were on their way back from Demonreach after smuggling Thomas out of a holding cell. This was, of course, all under the nose of the Unseelie Accords who were meeting to discuss peace with the Fomor. While the badly injured Thomas is now contained in a different kind of prison, at least the physical trauma he underwent at the hands of the Svartlaves is kept at bay and Thomas's inner demon isn't feeding on his life force anymore. (Seriously, if you haven't read Peace Talks, you were warned).
Unfortunately for Harry, while the biggest danger he was in at the start of the night was having the prison break/heist revealed in front of all, by the time the group got Thomas out the door, the night went from Harry's normal kind of messy business to a whole new level of trouble. Upon arriving at the meeting, the Fomor showed Queen Mab and her Accords that they had no desire to have peace. Their true leader, the Titan Ethniu, made her presence known and with a weapon called The Eye of Baylor, she showed just how much power she could level against Mab's coalition. Ethniu issued an ultimatum that any member of the Accords still siding with Mab in the next couple of hours would fall before Ethniu and The Eye of Baylor, and Chicago would be the battle ground between the various supernatural forces.
So yeah, Thomas's health and how his brother got into the situation he did is a lot lower on Harry's priorities after Ethniu's big entrance. Upon arriving back on the shores of Lake Michigan, Harry finds himself not only taking up the mantle of the Winter Knight in more than just name or as Mab's hit man, he also finds himself commanding Winter's armies. Of course, this doesn't sit well with the White Council members who are in Chicago for the meeting. Most notably, McCoy, especially since the two came to blows while Harry was trying to get Thomas to Demonreach.
Regardless of the various grudges everyone has with each other, the members of the Unseelie Accords prepare for a fight the likes of which modern mortals haven't seen before. Of course, what worries Harry the most is the aftermath. If they lose, Ethniu plans to level the mortal world, but even if Mab's side wins, there is no way the mortals of Chicago will be able to continue ignoring the unseen world all around them, especially since the mortals are joining in the fight and Harry finds himself in command of mere men and women who want to protect their home.
Battle Ground is a non-stop fight that has very few pauses for either the reader or Harry to catch their breath. Even before the struggle really starts going, Harry will find himself facing enemies of greater and greater strength. Much like some videogames I've played, those big enemies at the start of the book feel like normal grunts towards the end.
Harry will end up teaming up with characters that have been his enemies, as well as fighting alongside some of his closest allies. Unfortunately, not all of the characters we've gotten used to seeing in these books will make it out of the fight alive. This is an eventful book whose repercussions could easily outshine Changes, and that book killed off an entire race.
Battle Ground caps off the events that started in Peace Talks perfectly. So much so, that Butcher even finds a way to slip in revelations about Thomas's actions that, really, only lead to more dangers for Harry and his friends. Suffice it to say that Harry's adventures are far from over, and he is only just starting to learn how deep the waters are he is going to wade through. It will be really interesting to see what new horrors Butcher puts his titular wizard/private investigator through next.
Is that wedding bells I hear?
