Will Harry get back to basics?

[Kindler]

I didn't mean to imply that Skin Game was a bad story because I think it had some really fun moments in it.  Perhaps the only thing I really, really disliked; and this has nothing to do with the storytelling itself, is it was the third novel in a row where Harry is performing or trying to perform a very specific mission that feels like a stand alone story.  I know there were some important elements in Skin Game that add to the greater story arc and character arcs for both Harry and Nicodemus, but Harry feels somewhat isolated from the rest of world as he did in both Cold Days and Ghost Story. 

Consider that from Summer Knight right through to Changes, Harry was aware that whatever task or tasks he was engaged in, there was a larger struggle going on that often intruded into his world while he was trying to deal with more immediate local issues.  I think that is why I am looking forward to Peace Talks so much, and why I'm a little more impatient waiting for this book than in the past; aside from the extra long wait we had this time around.  Let's say that Peace Talks involves some kind of murder mystery that Harry will have to solve.  He will also have to deal with the White Council, balance relationships with friends and frenemies, while dealing with outside threats from; well, who knows.  It could be the Fomer, Cowl or Mavra or someone we haven't met before like Drakul, but whoever or whatever the big bad is, the overall story should have a much more open ended feel to it.

That's my feeling as well; Peace Talks should give us a wider look at what's going on in the world, and we can reconnect with a lot of the elements (mostly the White Council) that we've missed since really Turn Coat—we saw the Council for about five minutes in Changes, then a bit of Ebenezer. Don't get me wrong, I liked that we saw a lot more of Vaderrung in the last few books, but Marcone has been conspicuously absent, the White Court has basically been entirely gone, and we've seen virtually nothing from Summer (yes, we got Lily and a Titania scene for the first time, but I want to know what they're doing and check in with Sarissa)—three factions that will certainly have a significant presence in Peace Talks.

I'm going to be a happy lad when I get to dive in to political maneuvering, underhanded backroom deals, bluffing, posturing, and cat's-paws. Along with all of the characters we've been missing, of course.

None of this is to say that I disliked anything about the previous books; I don't think Jim's ever written a bad one (that he's published, anyway; I have a bunch of garbage novels that will never see the light of day, which I occasionally print and ritually burn to cleanse myself, and I assume Jim wrote some stinkers when he was learning), I just missed the connections with the larger narrative, as KurtinStGeorge seems to.

[LordDresden2]

That's my feeling as well; Peace Talks should give us a wider look at what's going on in the world, and we can reconnect with a lot of the elements (mostly the White Council) that we've missed since really Turn Coat—we saw the Council for about five minutes in Changes, then a bit of Ebenezer. Don't get me wrong, I liked that we saw a lot more of Vaderrung in the last few books, but Marcone has been conspicuously absent, the White Court has basically been entirely gone, and we've seen virtually nothing from Summer (yes, we got Lily and a Titania scene for the first time, but I want to know what they're doing and check in with Sarissa)—three factions that will certainly have a significant presence in Peace Talks.

I'm going to be a happy lad when I get to dive in to political maneuvering, underhanded backroom deals, bluffing, posturing, and cat's-paws. Along with all of the characters we've been missing, of course.

None of this is to say that I disliked anything about the previous books; I don't think Jim's ever written a bad one (that he's published, anyway; I have a bunch of garbage novels that will never see the light of day, which I occasionally print and ritually burn to cleanse myself, and I assume Jim wrote some stinkers when he was learning), I just missed the connections with the larger narrative, as KurtinStGeorge seems to.

I can go along with that.  It's been too long since we saw what was going on in the larger world, and esp. the 'real world', of the Dresdenfiles, as opposed to Faerie.

One thing I always liked about the DF is that Harry, his magic, and the supernatural elements were seamlessly woven into a very gritty, very 'real' background world.  This was true all the way from Storm Front up to Turn Coat, though I noticed in TC that we seemed to be getting kind of detached, and in Changes and since that gritty side of the story has been deemphasized.  I recall things like Harry meeting up with Karrin in the café in a Wal-Mart for a late night conference, or when he lost his temper and blew up the garbage dumpster, and Karrin reminded him of the consequences for various people.  Little things, but effective.

There were moments of it, for ex when Harry materializes out of Faerie in the middle of a Bass Pro shop, but it such moments were exceptional.

I'm hoping we get some more of the grittiness.

[Rasins]

Yeah, I was thinking about post Changes ... Ghost story, we understand why not a bunch of other stuff.
Cold days, it was Butters' place, Molly's, DR, Molly's, Mac's, DR, and Molly's.
Skin Games it seemed like they just ran between Murphy's, Michaels, and the warehouse, with off-shoots to a couple of other spots.

I can see what you mean.

[WereElephant]

I can go along with that.  It's been too long since we saw what was going on in the larger world, and esp. the 'real world', of the Dresdenfiles, as opposed to Faerie.

One thing I always liked about the DF is that Harry, his magic, and the supernatural elements were seamlessly woven into a very gritty, very 'real' background world.  This was true all the way from Storm Front up to Turn Coat, though I noticed in TC that we seemed to be getting kind of detached, and in Changes and since that gritty side of the story has been deemphasized.  I recall things like Harry meeting up with Karrin in the café in a Wal-Mart for a late night conference, or when he lost his temper and blew up the garbage dumpster, and Karrin reminded him of the consequences for various people.  Little things, but effective.

There were moments of it, for ex when Harry materializes out of Faerie in the middle of a Bass Pro shop, but it such moments were exceptional.

I'm hoping we get some more of the grittiness.

Ghost Story felt pretty gritty and real world to me, especially since Harry was restricted to observe much of the grittiness without being able to interact.

[Quantus]

Ghost Story felt pretty gritty and real world to me, especially since Harry was restricted to observe much of the grittiness without being able to interact.

That's gratifying to hear. Most people I hear talk about GS tended to think the opposite, since he was forced to be so much more passive the whole book. It definitely brought the story back to the gritty street level, but at the same time Harry himself was rather removed from the majority of the actual danger.

[Rasins]

I'm just glad we got to meet Nick Angel.

I'm still confused about the wall with the pictures of the kids.  Are those the ones he found alive, or didn't find/found dead?

[WereElephant]

I'm just glad we got to meet Nick Angel.

I'm still confused about the wall with the pictures of the kids.  Are those the ones he found alive, or didn't find/found dead?

My assumption was alive, though I suppose they could just have been solved cases. Pretty sure those were not unsolved.

[Quantus]

I'm just glad we got to meet Nick Angel.

I'm still confused about the wall with the pictures of the kids.  Are those the ones he found alive, or didn't find/found dead?

Those are the ones he found alive, of all those he went looking for those were the ones he managed to actually save. 

“What do you do here?”

“As a private cop?” Nick asked. “Take some cruddy work to keep the lights on—divorces and so on. But mostly I look for lost kids.”

“Doing it a while?” Fitz asked. “Thirty years.”


“Find any?”

“Plenty.”

“Find any in one piece?” Nick stared hard at Fitz for a long time. Then he pointed a finger up and behind him, to the row of portraits on the wall. “Seven?” Fitz asked. “Seven,” Nick said. “In thirty years? You live like this and . . . Seven? That’s it? That’s all?” Nick leaned back in his chair and gave Fitz a small smile. “That’s enough.” 

[Rasins]

Thanks.  I don't know why, but every time I read that, I was confused.