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lucas_bertsche 's review for:
Battle Ground
by Jim Butcher
Wow, what a ride. I had to take my time in this one because it was just so emotionally draining. Overall, I think it was a great entry and a big step up from Peace Talks, but there’s still some things I’m mixed/conflicted on.
Murphy’s death absolutely gutted me. I’ve never had such a strong emotional reaction to a book. Ever. However, I’m still conflicted on how it played out. Rudolph has got to me one of my most hated characters ever now. I wanted Harry to take revenge so bad! It’s an interesting subversion to have him be the one to accidentally kill Murphy. It was certainly shocking but was it satisfying? I’ll have to sit on that one for a while. I does kind of feel like Butcher just ran out of ways to convincingly keep Murphy involved in the action and have her believably survive. It feels like the easy way out to kill her, but it does make sense considering she’s a mortal in the midst of a battle between immortals. It’s so devastating that we’ll never get to see Harry and Murph’s romantic relationship develop. The dynamic between her and Maggie could have been wonderful.
My biggest criticism of Peace Talks and Battle Ground is that, in my opinion, it should have been 1 book. So much could have been trimmed from both PT and BG. The Thomas plot line never really gripped me and I’m not really sure where’s it’s heading. Seemed like Butcher just watched Thomas to be out of the way during the big battle. Also, the whole Black Court section could have been cut from BG. To me, it felt very tacked on. Finally, considering Ehtniu ended the peace talks before they began, it seems like it was unnecessary to have a whole book dedicated to them.
Another criticism is that I never found Ethniu to be all that compelling as a villain. The Fomor had been set up ever since Side Jobs and I was very curious how that would play out but instead the focus was on a brand new character. Unless I missed something, there was never any foreshadowing or hints to Ehtniu so it feels odd that a being so powerful would just show up out of nowhere. It was pretty cool to see her put the smack down on Odin and the queens of fairy though.
I’ve been complaining for paragraphs now but I still did really enjoy this book. It was truly EPIC. There were so many plot twists too. Marcone having a coin blew my mind! Also, the whole Butters standing up to Ethniu moment and then Welcome to the Jungle blaring as the calvary arrived was just so awesome. Mab also got some fantastic development in this book, and it was really fun to see her at the height of her powers.
This book put me through the emotional ringer. It completely sucks that I’m caught up now (except for The Law). I need the next entry ASAP but currently there’s no info on a possible release date. It’s been 2 years since BG was first released so it’s seems like book 18 has to be soon. I’m dying to see what happens next!
Murphy’s death absolutely gutted me. I’ve never had such a strong emotional reaction to a book. Ever. However, I’m still conflicted on how it played out. Rudolph has got to me one of my most hated characters ever now. I wanted Harry to take revenge so bad! It’s an interesting subversion to have him be the one to accidentally kill Murphy. It was certainly shocking but was it satisfying? I’ll have to sit on that one for a while. I does kind of feel like Butcher just ran out of ways to convincingly keep Murphy involved in the action and have her believably survive. It feels like the easy way out to kill her, but it does make sense considering she’s a mortal in the midst of a battle between immortals. It’s so devastating that we’ll never get to see Harry and Murph’s romantic relationship develop. The dynamic between her and Maggie could have been wonderful.
My biggest criticism of Peace Talks and Battle Ground is that, in my opinion, it should have been 1 book. So much could have been trimmed from both PT and BG. The Thomas plot line never really gripped me and I’m not really sure where’s it’s heading. Seemed like Butcher just watched Thomas to be out of the way during the big battle. Also, the whole Black Court section could have been cut from BG. To me, it felt very tacked on. Finally, considering Ehtniu ended the peace talks before they began, it seems like it was unnecessary to have a whole book dedicated to them.
Another criticism is that I never found Ethniu to be all that compelling as a villain. The Fomor had been set up ever since Side Jobs and I was very curious how that would play out but instead the focus was on a brand new character. Unless I missed something, there was never any foreshadowing or hints to Ehtniu so it feels odd that a being so powerful would just show up out of nowhere. It was pretty cool to see her put the smack down on Odin and the queens of fairy though.
I’ve been complaining for paragraphs now but I still did really enjoy this book. It was truly EPIC. There were so many plot twists too. Marcone having a coin blew my mind! Also, the whole Butters standing up to Ethniu moment and then Welcome to the Jungle blaring as the calvary arrived was just so awesome. Mab also got some fantastic development in this book, and it was really fun to see her at the height of her powers.
This book put me through the emotional ringer. It completely sucks that I’m caught up now (except for The Law). I need the next entry ASAP but currently there’s no info on a possible release date. It’s been 2 years since BG was first released so it’s seems like book 18 has to be soon. I’m dying to see what happens next!