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vang_glorious 's review for:
Battle Ground
by Jim Butcher
As is obvious from the 1 star rating, I did not like this book. It was boring and repetitive.
You would imagine it will be hard to be bored by a book that is non-stop wizard-on-monster battles, but the fights were were uncreative. Worse, they were inconsistent. For example, when Warden Ramirez was up against elite troops (basically, when the plot called for it), he was casually severing molecular bonds. But when he needed to lose against expendable mooks, he lost .... just because. Or when Dresden was throwing down against demi-gods, he was far stronger than usual because ... magic was more charged, which is the lamest handwavium as I've ever come across. I think the series really suffered when Harry became the Winter Knight and ceased being the scrappy private detective looking after the stuff (and people) who fell through the cracks. But this was the worst power creep in a long series of power creep.
I am abandoning the Dresden Files series after this.
This part is for future me: I know you have very fond memories of the Dresden Files series and you'll be tempted to pick up the next book, but it's best to leave it be. They suck. And it's apparent that Jim Butcher has got enough sway that there's no one to reign him in anymore (look at this mess; Peace Talks & Battle Ground was originally supposed to be a single book, and you can literally skip 70% of Battle Ground), so he won't get better. And let's be honest with ourselves, you're only going to live to be 120 (or maybe 180) years old; don't waste the time you have left with things that no longer bring you joy.
You would imagine it will be hard to be bored by a book that is non-stop wizard-on-monster battles, but the fights were were uncreative. Worse, they were inconsistent. For example, when Warden Ramirez was up against elite troops (basically, when the plot called for it), he was casually severing molecular bonds. But when he needed to lose against expendable mooks, he lost .... just because. Or when Dresden was throwing down against demi-gods, he was far stronger than usual because ... magic was more charged, which is the lamest handwavium as I've ever come across. I think the series really suffered when Harry became the Winter Knight and ceased being the scrappy private detective looking after the stuff (and people) who fell through the cracks. But this was the worst power creep in a long series of power creep.
Spoiler
Finally, there was the death of a pretty major side character and I did not think it was handled well at all. It's not that I'm upset that a character I liked was killed, but more that I found myself not caring at all, despite all the heavy-handed emotional manipulation.I am abandoning the Dresden Files series after this.
This part is for future me: I know you have very fond memories of the Dresden Files series and you'll be tempted to pick up the next book, but it's best to leave it be. They suck. And it's apparent that Jim Butcher has got enough sway that there's no one to reign him in anymore (look at this mess; Peace Talks & Battle Ground was originally supposed to be a single book, and you can literally skip 70% of Battle Ground), so he won't get better. And let's be honest with ourselves, you're only going to live to be 120 (or maybe 180) years old; don't waste the time you have left with things that no longer bring you joy.