HUGE BATTLE GROUND SPOILERS - (Un)Answered questions

[Darkest-Before-Dawn]

Wow, so Battle Ground was the quite the ride. In my opinion well worth waiting for and been split from Peace Talks because a *lot* happened there.

So Battle Ground provided quite a bit of exposition and answered some questions that have been discussed a lot on here before, as well as some events that people had predicted:

- Murphy's death and ascending to Einherjar...dom
- Marcone did take up Thorned Namshiel's coin (interesting to look back at Skin Game with the Denarian involvement with this in mind?)
- We finally got to see Drakul! It's interesting because I had always interpreted WoJ re the Black Court to suggest Drakul didn't have much to do with it and Dracula had run away from him to form it. This suggests Dracula isn't really involved (or even un-alive) as Drakul seems to be very past-tensey about him.
- Pretty much word for word confirmation Mac is an (ex)Angel.
- Confirmation Justine is Nemfected

The reveals just kept coming, I couldn't put it down (happily took the day off work).

Anything other readers have been waiting to see or questions that were answered? And what questions do people want answered subsequently?!

[Mira]

Wow, so Battle Ground was the quite the ride. In my opinion well worth waiting for and been split from Peace Talks because a *lot* happened there.

So Battle Ground provided quite a bit of exposition and answered some questions that have been discussed a lot on here before, as well as some events that people had predicted:

- Murphy's death and ascending to Einherjar...dom
- Marcone did take up Thorned Namshiel's coin (interesting to look back at Skin Game with the Denarian involvement with this in mind?)
- We finally got to see Drakul! It's interesting because I had always interpreted WoJ re the Black Court to suggest Drakul didn't have much to do with it and Dracula had run away from him to form it. This suggests Dracula isn't really involved (or even un-alive) as Drakul seems to be very past-tensey about him.
- Pretty much word for word confirmation Mac is an (ex)Angel.
- Confirmation Justine is Nemfected

The reveals just kept coming, I couldn't put it down (happily took the day off work).

Anything other readers have been waiting to see or questions that were answered? And what questions do people want answered subsequently?!

 Good Grief!  Some of it sounds like crap!  As in throw in everything but the kitchen sink crap.  I hope it doesn't read that way.  Will try and reserve judgement, but still...

[Darkest-Before-Dawn]

Good Grief!  Some of it sounds like crap!  As in throw in everything but the kitchen sink crap.  I hope it doesn't read that way.  Will try and reserve judgement, but still...

It didn't read that way at all, to me. I really would wait until you've had a chance to read it. As a fan it was just a lot of very exciting moments of getting what a lot of us have been asking for, and making up for the somewhat slower Peace Talks.

[Mira]

It didn't read that way at all, to me. I really would wait until you've had a chance to read it. As a fan it was just a lot of very exciting moments of getting what a lot of us have been asking for, and making up for the somewhat slower Peace Talks.

 What I fear is a rehash of Game of Thrones season eight..  All the budget was put into huge battles, but the in-between writing really suffered, so it was all bang and felt like a bust..  I will try to keep it a open mind, some of it expected, not surprised that Justine was infected, though an easy way out maybe, but Marcone taking up a coin?  And what is Drakul doing there? 

[morriswalters]

First Battle Ground is good.  But a good editor could have put this in one slightly longer book and called it Peace Talks. The story would have been better served.  Small Spoiler.

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Butters chops down a bridge with his sword. Super sword. Can't hurt small children, cuts down bridges with a single bound and has a smart speaker built in.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Michael swears!!!

And it isn’t even a hit your hammer with a thumb situation.

Oh and all my darkest theories about Lacuna are correct, she does collect the teeth of the fallen dead on the Battlefield, The Redcap was acting for Mab all along, which means Lacuna has always been Mab’s agent, so Lacuna probably did scrimshaw Lloyd Slates teeth. Toot is totally in love with her despite all her creepiness, or perhaps because of it.

Pizza never dies.

And Harry does refer to the Great Hall in the BFS building as a basketball court, after taking ownership. Molly describes it as being like a huge damp gloomy basement. Harry says perfect.

[Mira]

First Battle Ground is good.  But a good editor could have put this in one slightly longer book and called it Peace Talks. The story would have been better served.  Small Spoiler.

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Butters chops down a bridge with his sword. Super sword. Can't hurt small children, cuts down bridges with a single bound and has a smart speaker built in.

I think you are right, especially on the second read of Peace Talks, it cuts off just as things begin to fall into place.  I am glad I delayed my second read and finished just a couple of days ago.. GO BUTTERS!  Polka will never die!

[vultur]

This suggests Dracula isn't really involved (or even un-alive) as Drakul seems to be very past-tensey about him.

I think Dracula got killed in the Stokerlypse. Yes the WOJs on it suggest Dracula created the Court as an act of rebellion against Drakul... maybe Drakul sort of 'inherited' it?

Anything other readers have been waiting to see or questions that were answered?

Confirmation that Nemesis is He Who Walks Beside, and near-confirmation that the Blackstaff is Mother Winter's walking stick (Eb's shadow turns into an "old woman, complete with the classic witch nose and chin").

And what questions do people want answered subsequently?!

What's the deal with "stars and stones", and why is knowing about it so important that Listens-to-Wind doesn't feel able to tell Harry?

What does it mean that Drakul is starborn? If Drakul is an inhuman entity trapped in human form, what does it even mean for him to be "born" at a specific time - is he possessing a pre-existing human body that was actually born, vs creating a body the way Uriel temporarily did in SG?

[Psyklone]

Good Grief!  Some of it sounds like crap!  As in throw in everything but the kitchen sink crap.  I hope it doesn't read that way.  Will try and reserve judgement, but still...

It read well enough.  The plot device used was believable, Imho, it is just that Battle Ground is just that.  The entire book is Chitchen Itza, which we are not used to so it takes a bit of adjustment.  If you aren't fresh off of Peace Talks it may not read as well, and I wouldn't recommend ever reading Battle Ground alone/without Peace Talks.

This book was another Changes, it cleared the field of a bunch of issues, to set up the next goal post.  I can tell that however many books are left, Jim has started to summon Godzilla, and the waters are starting to churn. 

What interests me mostly is how he left things between Harry and the White Council.  It suggests that in the next book or book after the White Council will be hit imo, as the events here have thoroughly fermented the situation for dissolution, abandonement, and open internal strife.

Edit:
I will also be interested to see what happens with the Grey Council now...especially since Harry is even more isolated than before.

[Poten26]

I agree, definitely reads well and thought it was great.

Not sure how I feel about murphy dying though, be interesting how mirror mirror takes the story forward. Last time we had a changes, ghost story was a completely different pace and book.

[morriswalters]

Some more thoughts. 

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Harry and the readers begin to see what "Die Alone!" might mean.

You knew that MIB had to rear its head in this mess.  And the Librarians.

Who infected Justine?

Jim was slick, he did some fan service and made sure it couldn't end up in the book.

Let's play a new game.  Who got Bob?

Jim's new home requires an owners manual.

Mab's advice about Molly!!!

Since Harry's new title is Wizard of Chicago, can he become a member of the accords?

[Rigil Kent]

I was completely unprepared for the Lara bit. I'm cool with it, though, as she's my favorite "monster" of the series. Certainly interested in seeing where they go with that. And having just reread the Christmas microfiction, that means there's only 6 mos left until the big day! And how with Thomas react when he's inevitably pulled out of the box?

But yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to the next and pray that Jim doesn't make me wait so long.

[Arjan]

Vadderung and Uriel have lunch together every year.

[Thana†os]

Where was Mister?

No mention of him at all I noticed, not even in the Christmas epilogue.

Boooo! I say. Shenanigans.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Vadderung and Uriel have lunch together every year.

I would expect on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve is a big day for both of them. Indeed, that’s where Kringle was going in Christmas Eve, most likely.

I think it is clear that the Blackstaff is indeed Mother Winters walking stick.