Updated Road Map (BG spoilers and 12M speculation)

[Foxed]

Once when the forum was younger iposited a connection between the first half and second half of the case files. At the time we'd just had Skin Game come out and the similarities were astounding.

Books 1 and 11: Harry Dresden fights an evil wizard doing black magic.
Books 2 and 12: Harry Dresden takes on a dark mantle to fight above his weight class.
Books 3 and 13: Harry Dresden mucks about with his own death to fight a super ghost.
Books 4 and 14: Harry Dresden fights a crazy fairy princess.
Books 5 and 15: Nicodemus tries to steal a holy relic connected to Christ.

So... How does my prediction, that we'd get more from Laura and Mavra, pan out for Book 16?

Quite well if you count Battle Ground as part 2 of Peace Talks!

So what of Book 17 (Twelve Months?)? Jim says it still deal with the fallout from BG... So my prediction?

After a traumatic White Council loss, Harry faces off against Cowl and other necromancers. It's practically set up for us: this time, instead of an offscreen ghoul attack, it's the Black Court skirmish from BG (complete with vampire Chandler). And the Black Court are necromancers, apparently!

So far so good! (Though I wonder what happened to the wrestling book...)

[The_Sibelis]

I vaguely remember this.. I surmised something about the series became inverted in the second half though.. can't remember why atm,

[Mira]

I don't think Chandler is a vampire, I think Harry will save him in Mirror Mirror, and they will become strong allies.

[Regenbogen]

I always thought of Chandler as Peabody's partner from Turn Coat.

@Foxed:
Very interesting. The split of PT/BG was not planned and I think he didn't plan for 12 Months, too. It didn't sound like that.
I was thinking that maybe Mr. Butcher is just playing with us and there will be no 12 Months. Instead there will be a new collection of short stories, all situated in the mentioned 12 months.

So by your theory, the next book (whatever one it will be) could have something to do with rituals, entropy curses and / or White Court Vampires (I have the feeling, there will always be Whamps from now on ). Or with problems within families (Harry's fallout with Ebenezar, Thomas still on the island, the wedding, Lara as new stepmother, maybe Harry having to deal with Murphy's family). Or with true love (Harry's protection) or everything at once.

And probably dealing with Papa Raith one way or another. Maybe Lara finally killing him, because she now has a strong ally with the Winter Court and can openly act as Whampire Queen.

[Dina]

I vaguely remember this.. I surmised something about the series became inverted in the second half though.. can't remember why atm,

I remember this, but now I am confused. What mantle did Dresden take in FM?

[Regenbogen]

I remember this, but now I am confused. What mantle did Dresden take in FM?

The Hexenwolf belt. Not exactly a mantle, but in a smaller scale one could see it as some kind of mantle to grant him more power. And it influenced it's wearer's personality.

[Dina]

Ah yes, it was temporal but it is true.

[Mira]

I always thought of Chandler as Peabody's partner from Turn Coat.

I don't think so, unless he is dug in very deep.. He was the one at the road block who was tipping Harry off that he wasn't really "among friends" in Peace Talks.

[KurtinStGeorge]

I don't think so, unless he is dug in very deep.. He was the one at the road block who was tipping Harry off that he wasn't really "among friends" in Peace Talks.

If Chandler is part of the Black Council; which I suspect he is, tipping off Harry could just be Chandler playing the long game.  He didn't want to get in the middle of a firefight with Dresden.  Better to make Harry think he is on his side.  Better to try to convince Harry to go to Edinburgh and get him off the playing field.  At the same time, a good way to convince the other Wardens he is doing his job to get Harry to come in peacefully.  It's a win-win for Chandler whether Harry comes in or leaves on his own. 

If Chandler doesn't pop up in Mirror Mirror, I'll take that as confirmation that he's gone to the dark side.

[Mira]

If Chandler is part of the Black Council; which I suspect he is, tipping off Harry could just be Chandler playing the long game.  He didn't want to get in the middle of a firefight with Dresden.  Better to make Harry think he is on his side.  Better to try to convince Harry to go to Edinburgh and get him off the playing field.  At the same time, a good way to convince the other Wardens he is doing his job to get Harry to come in peacefully.  It's a win-win for Chandler whether Harry comes in or leaves on his own. 

If Chandler doesn't pop up in Mirror Mirror, I'll take that as confirmation that he's gone to the dark side.

Things went pretty quickly, so it is hard to tell..  If he has gone dark side then Jim is getting very obvious and telegraphing it. 

[The_Sibelis]

The more I think about it, the more likely I find it that the british guy could be Chandler, depressed about his friends dying and waiting til the timeline is set for him to leave. Drakul sent him into the void. That could be considered beyond time and space. Where he could have met up with someone already slipping through time and space. So this first warden,(Merlin right?) Put him in stasis to await the day he could return.