New Dresden Files podcast interview.

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Lamar is alive, he is mentioned after the battle. And as Mac's was fine, I don't think Brock died.
And after the cliché comment, I think Rawlins survived.
Yes, it is true that is important.

Of course Rawlins survived, and due to a shortage of officers, his retirement has now been delayed indefinitely, he has been put back in uniform (which doesn’t fit anymore) and he is now being partnered by a Rookie advanced because of the same shortage of officers, and whilst the best doughnut place in Chicago was destroyed by the Eye of Balor, his ex-wives (and all their lawyers) all somehow survived without harm. He now has a MASSIVE personal grudge against  Ethnui.

Frankly, he would have welcomed a nice clean death.

[bigdangmoose]

Steering this back to the topic of Thomas, the way he was talking about having kids, his family history, and how he feels about his demon, I don't see him keeping the vampire side of him. And then add in the trouble he has with Svartheim.

First off, (now I'm going with the idea that the baby is real and it's a boy) we know that Thomas is going to be a father. He is not needed anymore to further the Raith bloodline. The boy will take up that burden.

Second reason deals with his feelings about his demon. We know that he doesn't want to be who he is. He feels bad about taking life from people. He had been fighting the demon for a long time.

One of the only ways Thomas gets out of this is to become the WK. He takes up the mantle which is like a side shift in power, all the strength with none of the feeding, just obeying orders. He has Mab as a backer to get out of the trouble that he's in for the attempted murder. He still has standing with the WCourt because Lara wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have a tie in with the WiCourt, especially since the marriage won't last if it actually goes through. Come on, we all know Harry, things don't last with him around. And he would be free of the demon that has been plaguing him most of his life.

I don't think there's an evolving of the demon. It knows what it knows and hasn't changed, even when Thomas went on his hunger strike. Lara's comments in PT and BG kinda confirm it.

[vincentric]

I don't think I'd put too much stock in the marriage not lasting.

Mab caused this marriage as a way of paying off a debt. I expect she will make them keep the legal status even if Harry and Lara live entirely separate lives. As long as Harry and Lara avoid giving mortal insult to each other's courts and keep their side romances out of the tabloids, she'll be down with it.

Lara wanted the alliance even before the Peace Talks. She won't torpedo the marriage without said provocation.

Poor Harry is oathbound to go through with it but doesn't have to obey Lara's desires any more than she has to obey his. Those should be some very interesting and well lawyered wedding vows on both sides though I expect Harry to get the worst of it because it'll add future drama.

[bigdangmoose]

I don't think I'd put too much stock in the marriage not lasting.

Mab caused this marriage as a way of paying off a debt. I expect she will make them keep the legal status even if Harry and Lara live entirely separate lives. As long as Harry and Lara avoid giving mortal insult to each other's courts and keep their side romances out of the tabloids, she'll be down with it.

Lara wanted the alliance even before the Peace Talks. She won't torpedo the marriage without said provocation.

Poor Harry is oathbound to go through with it but doesn't have to obey Lara's desires any more than she has to obey his. Those should be some very interesting and well lawyered wedding vows on both sides though I expect Harry to get the worst of it because it'll add future drama.

Nah, as I said, the marriage won't last because nothing last for Harry. But to cover the alliance, Thomas becomes the WK. That puts a Raith in service to Mab, tying the WiC and WhC together through Thomas. The marriage is one of Mab's ways to pay off the debt, but not the only way.

This is if they even make it down the aisle to get married, which even that may not happen.

[Snark Knight]

I've thought the same thing, but then I remember that all the Einherjar will permanently die with Odin at Ragnarok, so even if Jim brings them back, it won't be for long.

The depends how literally true the Viking prophecies are in universe, I guess. Most of the other DV mythos' have been presented as the humans' legends being pretty close, but not quite getting the whole picture.

I'm thinking if Vadderung eventually does go out in a blaze of glory, the Allfather mantle might just end up getting stuck to Harry, including a shot at preserving some of the Einherjar with his own soulfire. Maybe even promoting one to a valkyrie.

[vincentric]

Nah, as I said, the marriage won't last because nothing last for Harry. But to cover the alliance, Thomas becomes the WK. That puts a Raith in service to Mab, tying the WiC and WhC together through Thomas. The marriage is one of Mab's ways to pay off the debt, but not the only way.

This is if they even make it down the aisle to get married, which even that may not happen.

And I can't see it not happening.

I don't think Jim is going to give us the cure for Thomas and Harry's ascension to a new mantle in the course of the next book, especially one that wasn't part of the original plan.

Plus for anyone to become the Winter Knight, they'd either have to kill Harry or come up with some new way of passing mantles that's not Halloween because we know that Harry still has the mantle at Christmas. I can't see Harry getting another powerup before the BAT begins and maybe not until the second book of that even.

And Mab wants Harry as Winter Knight because he's her chosen weapon and he understands the duty his power and her entails since his experience with the mantle. Harry may rail against it but  this wedding isn't a big enough issue to break with Mab over or he'd have done it at the end of BG.

But Mab did give Harry a year to make things different, so all he has to do is come up with something that gives a stronger tie between the courts publicly and privately than a joining of bloodlines entails and that Mab and Lara will go along with.

[bigdangmoose]

And I can't see it not happening.

I don't think Jim is going to give us the cure for Thomas and Harry's ascension to a new mantle in the course of the next book, especially one that wasn't part of the original plan.

Plus for anyone to become the Winter Knight, they'd either have to kill Harry or come up with some new way of passing mantles that's not Halloween because we know that Harry still has the mantle at Christmas. I can't see Harry getting another powerup before the BAT begins and maybe not until the second book of that even.

And Mab wants Harry as Winter Knight because he's her chosen weapon and he understands the duty his power and her entails since his experience with the mantle. Harry may rail against it but  this wedding isn't a big enough issue to break with Mab over or he'd have done it at the end of BG.

But Mab did give Harry a year to make things different, so all he has to do is come up with something that gives a stronger tie between the courts publicly and privately than a joining of bloodlines entails and that Mab and Lara will go along with.

By the end of Twelve Months, Harry could very well be pulled into the MM dimension just before the wedding. We also have Molly doing the party planning, meaning she will probably do what she can do get Harry out of it. So while it is possible that the marriage will happen, it also may not. And even if it does happen, it doesn't mean that they will stay married.

As for a power up for Harry, there is still plenty of time for it. Harry seems to stumble into a variety of things he doesn't mean to get into. The wrestling book would be a very good  possible point for that to happen. He could very well lose the mantle in MMand pick up something new in the power plays of the wrestling book.

Oh, jeez. Just thought of this. Jim said that Harry will be MM Mab's WK just as much as he is Mab's. But I wonder, if Harry does MM Mab a favor, will it count towards the remaining favor owed to Mab?

[The_Sibelis]

There wouldn't be a need to expend a favor. Harry is already her employee.

[Arjan]

There wouldn't be a need to expend a favor. Harry is already her employee.

He is her vassal and his rights and obligations are not that clear in detail to us. There might be things she simply can not order without spending that favor.

[TheCuriousFan]

He is her vassal and his rights and obligations are not that clear in detail to us. There might be things she simply can not order without spending that favor.

Not that getting rid of that favour would matter too much except in the sense that being rid of it would make it easier to slip out of being WK without Mab having either easy revenge or one last giant mess to chuck him into.

[The_Sibelis]

He is her vassal and his rights and obligations are not that clear in detail to us. There might be things she simply can not order without spending that favor.

you said it better than I, he's her vassal, indentured servant. He can't really refuse unless it's part of the terms and conditions, which is no hurting people he cares about... there might be others true, but he's still under her orders.

[vincentric]

By the end of Twelve Months, Harry could very well be pulled into the MM dimension just before the wedding. We also have Molly doing the party planning, meaning she will probably do what she can do get Harry out of it. So while it is possible that the marriage will happen, it also may not. And even if it does happen, it doesn't mean that they will stay married.

As for a power up for Harry, there is still plenty of time for it. Harry seems to stumble into a variety of things he doesn't mean to get into. The wrestling book would be a very good  possible point for that to happen. He could very well lose the mantle in MMand pick up something new in the power plays of the wrestling book.

Oh, jeez. Just thought of this. Jim said that Harry will be MM Mab's WK just as much as he is Mab's. But I wonder, if Harry does MM Mab a favor, will it count towards the remaining favor owed to Mab?

I think the story will continue in a way that makes Harry's life as complicated as possible. And that's marriage to Lara. I think they'll work out something where they cohabit at each other's places one or two weekends a month for social appearances at most. That way we get Raith family drama, Ebenezar drama, Molly drama and all the little things they'd have to work out to keep up a state marriage.

I also don't think Twelve Months will end on a cliffhanger like Changes. Jim's only done that once before and it was part of the plan. Sucking Harry away from the wedding would make TM and MM into one heavily intertwined story spread across two novels. It would be PT/BG all over again .

[bigdangmoose]

Nah, it wouldn't be like PT/BG, it would be more like Changes/GS. PT/BG was one big long story while C/GS were two different stories that seamlessly flowed into another. He's done it before and he definitely could do it again. Especially since the time between books seems to be shortening.

[vincentric]

If TM ends before the wedding with the MM twist then the end of MM will have to resolve it or drag it out in another book. If it ends after the wedding then Harry will still be married after his return from MM.  Changes was a cliffhanger ending. But GS resolved it at the end because we only needed to see what happened to Harry. For MM to affect the wedding we'd have to follow what occurs in both universes through both Harry's and mirror Harry's POV's. So that would make it two books in one. Not saying Jim won't do it but it would be a big departure from the format we've grown used to.

[Arjan]

As long as it does not change into paranormal romance with Harry and Lara. It probably pays even better but....