Author Topic: Dresden Files: Series Timeline  (Read 395663 times)

Offline Priscellie

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #525 on: February 28, 2013, 06:07:44 PM »
Another small item for the timeline:

21 October 1805 - Admiral Horatio Nelson dies of a gunshot wound suffered at the Battle of Trafalgar.  Gard is present and takes the fatal bullet from his body.  (From "Even Hand")

Nice one!  Thanks!

Offline Shecky

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #526 on: February 28, 2013, 06:41:40 PM »
Nice one!  Thanks!

Not to mention appropriate to a certain person we know. :)
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Offline Priscellie

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #527 on: February 28, 2013, 09:32:18 PM »
Not to mention appropriate to a certain person we know. :)

You mean how he's my however many greats grand-uncle?

Offline Tami Seven

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #528 on: March 01, 2013, 01:38:13 AM »
I don't know if this is appropriate for the timeline, but Thomas did say he was 15 when he was 'turned'.
War Cry -
"Thomas doesn't fight back, not even for an instant. In the end, it's not common sense that pulls me back from the brink, or even fear of being devoured by the Shoggoth....It's the look of unshakeable trust in my Brother's eyes, even as my hands tighten around his throat."

Offline DARTHYAM

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #529 on: March 02, 2013, 05:00:56 AM »
My purely fanon theory is that the battle of Chichen Itza occurred on October 20 2011, coincidentally the same day ghadaffi bit it. I like it because it symbolizes a new dawn. Either way Changes occurs AFTER october 9th, before haloween. Was Harry at home when Susan called or in his office

Offline Kacher

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #530 on: March 05, 2013, 08:09:39 PM »
Question:

During which days of October the story "Changes" occur ?

Is it during Halloween ?

Offline DARTHYAM

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #531 on: March 05, 2013, 09:04:31 PM »
Doubt it. They would have mentioned haloween occuring (since it was mentioned in cold days and dead beat). It was probably in the second half of the month (hence why may 9 in ghost story is said to be 7 months later)

Offline draxius

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #532 on: March 16, 2013, 09:30:56 PM »
Fantastic catch, Sharlee!

We should make a list of reasons why Harry's birth should be in certain years.

1974 (SF in 1999)
  • Works with mayoral elections
  • Dovetails with major post-9/11 historical events: terrorist paranoia, War on Terror, end or Iraq war, and death of bin Laden
  • Closest to Knight Rider timeline
  • Lydia's prophetic dream about the Challenger disaster in 1986 hits at a more plausible age (while still certainly plausible for Harry being born in 1976).  Assuming she's talking about the assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981, this is also the most plausible.
  • CON: David Kotkin (age 18) takes the stage name "David Copperfield" in 1974, though his career doesn't take off until 1975.  Still, if Malcolm knew him from the SAM and even helped him choose a name, this isn't a deal-breaker.

1976 (SF in 2001)
  • WoJ (who can be fallible)
  • David Copperfield attains fame in 1975.
  • Holy cats, I am seriously coming up blank here.
What else am I missing?  Seems very likely I need to inform Jim he's wrong. :D

I've been lurking on this community for a long time without posting.  A while back, I tried to rationalize some of these dates, and wrote myself a little HTML/Javascript to do the math. (If anyone wants to play around with it, you can find it here - http://draxius.com/dresden/timeline.html ... and feel free to correct any inaccuracies I might have).

This brought me to a problem with both of the above timelines.  Because Storm Front occurs in March, and Harry is born in October, for him to be 25 during SF sets your years off by 1.  If Harry was born on 10/31/74, Storm Front needs to be in March of 2000, not 1999 (he'd still be 24 years old, and in fact closer to his 24th than 25th birthdays).

For me, the math still points to a 1974 birth date (as the millenial chaos that's mentioned early on in the series makes sense).  Put the page I put together forces a determination of both Storm Front's year and how old Jim is when it happens, so we can play with the abacus of Harry's life a bit.  It is, of course, no where near as complete as Priscellie's timeline, but should help to shake out the last few of the questions.
Dresden Files short-form timeline, with calculator: http://draxius.com/dresden/timeline.html

Offline Elegast

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #533 on: March 16, 2013, 09:56:12 PM »
That's really cool.

Allow me to save the source:

Code: [Select]
<html>
<head>
<style>
.harry {
color: #ff0000;
}
.short {
color: #0000ff;
}
.novel {
color: #00aa00;
}
table, td {
border: solid thin black;
}

</style>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
function year_calc(data) {
var year = parseInt(data.year.value);
var age = parseInt(data.age.value);
var yearpre = year + 25 - age;
var result = "<table style\"width:100px;\">\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\">Story/Event</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Estimated Date</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry Dresden is Born</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October 31st,  " + (yearpre - 26) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Malcolm Dresden dies (6)</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">After October 31st,  "
+ (yearpre - 20) + ", before October 31st, " + (yearpre-19) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry learns shielding (10)</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">After October 31st,  "
+ (yearpre - 16) + ", before October 31st, " + (yearpre-15) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry learns shielding (12)</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">After October 31st,  "
+ (yearpre - 14) + ", before October 31st, " + (yearpre-13) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry kills Justin (16)</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">After October 31st,  "
+ (yearpre - 10) + ", before October 31st, " + (yearpre-9) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry leaves Ebenezzar (19)</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">After October 31st,  "
+ (yearpre - 7) + ", before October 31st, " + (yearpre-6) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry arrives in Chicago</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">[Sometime in "
+ (yearpre - 6) + " or " + (yearpre - 5)+ "]</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry joins Ragged Angel</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">[Sometime in "
+ (yearpre - 5) + ", possibly " + (yearpre - 6) + "]</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Restoration of Faith</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Sometime in [late] "
+ (year - 3) + " or [early] " + (year - 2) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Harry starts his own detective agency</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">[Sometime in "
+ (year - 2)+ "]</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Welcome to the Jungle</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Sometime in "
+ (year - 1)  + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Storm Front</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">March " + year + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Fool Moon</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October " + year + " (during Full Moon)</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>B is for Bigfoot</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Sometime in " + (year + 1) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Ghoul Goblin</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">After October "
+ (year) + ", before October " + (year+1) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Grave Peril</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October " + (year+1) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Summer Knight</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">June " + (year+2) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Death Masks</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Late February " + (year+3) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"harry\"><strong>Maggie is born</strong></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Tail end of " + (year+3) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Vignette</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\"> Sometime in " + (year+3) + " or " + (year+4) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Blood Rites</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Late Autumn " + (year+4) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Dead Beat</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October 31st, " + (year+5) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>I Was a Teenage Bigfoot</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">November(?) " + (year+5) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Somthing Borrowed</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\"> Spring/Summer " + (year+6) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Proven Guilty</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">July " + (year+6) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">White Night</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">May " + (year+7) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>It's My Birthday, Too</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">February 14th, " + (year+8) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Heorot</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October " + (year+8) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Small Favor</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Late November " + (year+8) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Backup</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Early March " + (year+9) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Day Off</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">[Spring?] " + (year+9) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>The Warrior</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Summer " + (year+9) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Curses</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Summer [late July or August]" + (year+9) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>AAAA Wizardry</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Between May " + (year+9) + " and Summer " + (year+10) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u></u>Last Call</em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">March " + (year+10) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Turn Coat</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">Summer " + (year+10) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Bigfoot On Campus</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">mid-October " + (year+10) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Even Hand</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">March " + (year+11) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Love Hurts</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">September " + (year+11) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Changes</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October " + (year+11) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Aftermath</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October " + (year+11) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Ghost Story</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">May 9th, " + (year+12) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"short\"><em><u>Bombshells</u></em></td><td style=\"width:600px;\">between May 10th and October 30th " + (year+12) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "<tr><td style=\"width:400px;\" class=\"novel\">Cold Days</td><td style=\"width:600px;\">October 31st, " + (year+12) + "</td></tr>\n"
+ "</table>";

var change = document.getElementById('output');
output.innerHTML = result;

return result;

}
</script>
<h3>Dresden Timeline Adjuster</h3>
<p>Based on the timeline found <a href="http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,1592.0.html">here</a>, I've tried to place a year to the
novels and short stories (I'll attempt to expand this, eventually).  Just insert the year you believe <em><strong>Storm Front</strong></em> takes
place in and hit the button - this page will handle the rest.</p>
<p>Text in <text class="harry">red</text> represents key moments in Harry's life before Storm Front, plus a few extra items.
Text in <text class="novel">green</text> are the spots for full-length novels.
Text in <text class="short">blue</text> represents all of the other short stories and graphic novels published to date or known to be coming out.</p>
<p>Any text in brackets is personal extrapolation.</p>

<form>
Year for Storm Front:<input name="year" type="text" value=2000> Harry's Age:<input name="age" type="text" value=25><br/>
<input type="submit" value="Calculate" onClick="year_calc(this.form); return false;"><br />
</form>

<p>
<div id="output" style="width:1000px;">
<br />
</div>
</p>


</body>
</html>
My "Maeve came to Splattercon!!! disguised as a vampire" theory : Maeve did it

All the theories on the Dresden Files

Offline draxius

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #534 on: March 16, 2013, 11:32:51 PM »
Another note on specifically on Ghoul Goblin, actually.  According to issue 2, it takes place between a few weeks and several months after Fool Moon.  I will be as non-spoliery as I can with the references here.

Issue 1: (Harry, thinking...) "Because I screwed up, a group of werewolves unleashed a bloodbath that claimed my best friend's partner. That was only weeks ago."
Isse 2: (Harry thinking again) "My mind took an involuntary leap back several months. Murphy had survived the MacFinn case, but many others weren't so lucky.*"
* SEE FULL MOON SERIES -- RICH

The nature of comics are going to cause some inconsistencies (there are a couple in Ghoul Goblin so far that jump off the page at me), but in terms of placement in the timeline, we already knew which novels it was between (http://www.jim-butcher.com/posts/2012/ghoul-goblin-1-preview)

Based on the "several months" comment from issue two (and the lead-in text before each issue, actually), and the fact that Harry is freezing in one of the scenes where he is, I'd place the story roughly in February following Fool Moon, maybe March... much later would start getting warmer where he's at, almost too warm for the scene and his reactions in issue 3 to play out the way that they do.

I haven't read the Bigfoot stories yet, so I don't know if that's before or after "B is for Bigfoot" in the timeline, but I'm very confident we can add this to the timeline as:

1 ASF, February or March: Ghoul Goblin. Several months after Fool Moon, but early enough in the year for freezing temperatures in Missouri.

You know, with Priscellie's review and OK, of course. ;)
Dresden Files short-form timeline, with calculator: http://draxius.com/dresden/timeline.html

Offline Rasins

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #535 on: March 22, 2013, 06:06:07 PM »
Priscellie,

I looked and didn't see an addition to the timeline that Mab took over being Queen "Better than 1000 years ago."

Uh, the Ladies, Queens and Mothers, their mantles change very, very, very rarely in general. I mean, Mab’s been there for better than 1,000 years. And Maeve’s been there….there was a Winter Lady before Maeve, uh, in Mab’s time. And she didn’t fare so well the last time a Starborn was running around. And so….Mab and Maeve, um, **unintelligible**, I leave things here, don’t miss ‘em. I love to drop teases and hints and walk away smiling, but anyway. They don’t change very often at all.

It's down toward the end of that post.
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Offline tpurcell

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #536 on: April 01, 2013, 07:35:13 PM »
First, let me say that these details have been super valuable to some work I've been doing for building a Dresden Timeline. Thanks to all who put forth details and edits. Well Done!

Moving on: I've been doing some research into Dresden Timeline as I've been trying to build an accurate timeline for the Dresden Files Role-Playing Game I'm running. I've always figured that Storm Front took place somewhere around 1999-2001 and that worked for the most part, but while doing research I decided that being able to track the moon, and seasons would be valuable information for running the game. One of the primary NPC's in the game is type of Lunar cycle Theriomorph. Thus, part of my research led me to build a timeline/spreadsheet of every Solstice and Equinox, in addition to every full moon and blue moon (two full moons in same month) and every total lunar eclipse from 1950 until 2015. Thus when I started to flesh out the details for Harry's birth date I knew I was going to arbitrarily place it on Halloween somewhere in the years 1974-1976 for the purposes of my game. When I cross referenced October 31st with my newly updated Full Moon Calendar I found that in 1974 Halloween was also the day of a Blue Moon.

Again, while Dresden details aren't specific for time frame, I'd say that this detail jumped out at me as potentially important detail. I personally think it is reasonable to suggest that Harry Dresden's birth date is October 31, 1974.
"I am just another blind man. I do not get the whole picture of what transpires in all places. I am blind and limited. I would be a fool to think myself wise. And so, not knowing what the universe means, I can only try to be responsible with the knowledge, the strength, and the time given to me..."

Offline Tami Seven

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #537 on: April 02, 2013, 03:21:39 AM »
First, let me say that these details have been super valuable to some work I've been doing for building a Dresden Timeline. Thanks to all who put forth details and edits. Well Done!

Moving on: I've been doing some research into Dresden Timeline as I've been trying to build an accurate timeline for the Dresden Files Role-Playing Game I'm running. I've always figured that Storm Front took place somewhere around 1999-2001 and that worked for the most part, but while doing research I decided that being able to track the moon, and seasons would be valuable information for running the game. One of the primary NPC's in the game is type of Lunar cycle Theriomorph. Thus, part of my research led me to build a timeline/spreadsheet of every Solstice and Equinox, in addition to every full moon and blue moon (two full moons in same month) and every total lunar eclipse from 1950 until 2015. Thus when I started to flesh out the details for Harry's birth date I knew I was going to arbitrarily place it on Halloween somewhere in the years 1974-1976 for the purposes of my game. When I cross referenced October 31st with my newly updated Full Moon Calendar I found that in 1974 Halloween was also the day of a Blue Moon.

Again, while Dresden details aren't specific for time frame, I'd say that this detail jumped out at me as potentially important detail. I personally think it is reasonable to suggest that Harry Dresden's birth date is October 31, 1974.

8 ASF "My Birthday Too" Thomas' 40th Birthday means that he was born in 1968 (with SF set in 2000), which matches Harry being born in 1974. [assumptions, but it makes sense].
War Cry -
"Thomas doesn't fight back, not even for an instant. In the end, it's not common sense that pulls me back from the brink, or even fear of being devoured by the Shoggoth....It's the look of unshakeable trust in my Brother's eyes, even as my hands tighten around his throat."

Offline KingRob

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #538 on: May 03, 2013, 05:26:26 AM »
I'm trying to pin down any information about canonical events in the 1940s. This seems like an excellent place to pose such a question.

Offline Priscellie

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Re: Dresden Files: Series Timeline
« Reply #539 on: May 03, 2013, 06:08:23 AM »
I'm trying to pin down any information about canonical events in the 1940s. This seems like an excellent place to pose such a question.

Anything specific?