Twelve Months

Book #18 in the Dresden Files series focuses on the aftermath and consequences of the giant battle that took up the previous two books, including a massive amount of damage to the city and to the ability of the supernatural community to remain hidden from regular humans. And, especially, to Harry himself, as he faces grief at his own personal losses (or one big personal loss in particular). Oh, and, as usual, he still has a whole bunch of overlapping situations to deal with, including an upcoming and quite dangerous arranged marriage, a half-brother who is lingering at death's door, and some very frightened people, both supernatural and ordinary, who are worryingly inclined to lash out at each other.

I do think there's a bit less of a show more sense of urgency to those overlapping problems than usual, since they play out over an extended period of time. The ones that get resolved in this volume do get a nice climactic scene or two, though. Even if one of them is badly marred by Butcher having apparently designated one particular female character as the dumping ground for every single "take away the woman's agency, autonomy, and personhood so she can serve as a motivational plot token for the men" trope, to an extent that's become absolutely freaking ludicrous, not to mention disturbing, and not in the fun horror-story kind of ways Butcher is probably going for. Seriously, I'm tempted to knock half a star off my rating for the whole book because of that, even if it is a small part of the story. I won't. But I probably should. Geez.

I will say that, while Butcher isn't nearly as good at writing a nuanced examination of grief as he is at action and wisecracks, he does a pretty good job with it here, overall, giving us specific moments of emotional healing to latch onto while making it abundantly and explicitly clear that this stuff takes time and is not fixed by one moment of heroic realization, or whatever. Which I appreciate. Not everyone writing of this kind of story gives their characters realistic responses to such situations, and Butcher's bending over backwards to do so.

I've been thinking for a while now that I'm not sure how much more life this series might have in it, that it is, perhaps, in danger of being crushed under the weight of its own continuity, and that you can't just keep scaling up the power levels of both your main character and the threats he's facing indefinitely, because eventually it just gets ridiculous. Well, we may in fact be nearing that point, and I do still kind of miss the days when Harry was just solving mysteries and stuff, but I'm glad, I suppose, that it's not over quite yet. This one was still entertaining, the bits of lore it's added are interesting, and I remain on board to see what happens next. show less

After seventeen books and numerous novellas, we've seen Harry Dresden through all sorts of situations. However, the eighteenth book in Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, TWELVE MONTHS, has Harry doing something we have never witnessed. With this unusual look into Harry's life, it does not matter that TWELVE MONTHS was so long in coming, as it proves to be one of the strongest stories of the entire series.

TWELVE MONTHS does not have the action of BATTLE GROUND. Nor does it change the entirety of the magical world as CHANGES does. Its strength and beauty lie in the story's relative quiet. Harry does not spend the entirety of the novel flinging magic and fighting magical battles. The battles he fights this time are internal, as he show more struggles to accept the losses and scars to his world from the last major battle he faced.

As I said, it is not a Harry we typically see. Even with Susan's death, we never directly witnessed his mourning. We only caught the tail end of it as he was beginning to pull himself out of the depths of his grief. Not so this time around. Harry's pain is so deep and so visceral that you want to weep alongside him. We see Harry at his most vulnerable, and it rounds out his character to an extent we have not yet experienced. He grieves not just for loved ones no longer there, but also for damaged friendships, a lost brother, a city in ruins, and a population that can never recover from the horrors of that day, for those who also lost loved ones in the battle, and who lost their homes or livelihoods. His guilt is as palpable as his grief, and he spends much of his time unable to move forward because he bears the weight of the battle on his shoulders alone. He not only questions his life as a wizard, but also his ability to be a friend, father, or brother. Harry is a broken man, and he wants nothing more than to give in to the despair that occupies his every waking moment.

But TWELVE MONTHS is not about how broken Harry is. It is about how life continues to move forward even when you don't want it to or are not ready to do so yourself. It is about making changes where you can, empathizing when you can't, and being gentle to everyone in a time of turmoil. We see Harry forging new relationships and strengthening old ones. More importantly, we see Harry growing as never before, burying old enmities, settling down into something other than a dank basement apartment filled with second-hand furniture, and displaying a maturity that was not there before.

It is as if TWELVE MONTHS is the crucible out of which Harry emerges stronger, wiser, and healthier. His growth arc in the novel is astonishing, especially considering the only times we previously saw Harry grow as a person were through battle preparations or combat itself. Harry is not completely whole as the twelve months draw to a close, but he is not the shell of a man we first witness. Nor has Harry resolved all of his issues. There are many outstanding concerns Harry must face in future novels. But you do finish TWELVE MONTHS with the sense that Harry will be okay, and that is something you could not say with any certainty for several of the past books.

TWELVE MONTHS is not a flashy Harry Dresden novel. It is the push and pull of pain, grief, and healing. It reminds you that every battle comes with scars, most of which are not physical. Harry has plenty of physical scars, but it is the other ones that threaten him the most. It may have been years between BATTLE GROUND and TWELVE MONTHS, but Mr. Butcher makes it possible to jump right back into the series with as intimate a glimpse into Harry as we've yet seen and one of the best, if not the best, in the series to date. show less

It took me seven months to blast through the 17 previous Dresden books and two collections of shorts.

It's been ten months since I finished the last book.

And, had you asked me, a year and a half ago, if I ever saw myself going through withdrawal for a series like this, I would have laughed at you. But Dresden, at least in my case, has gotten under my skin. Or, more likely Butcher has.

Let's be real: Jim Butcher is not the most incredible wordslinger out there. And Harry Dresden isn't the best character ever created. But the growth I've seen in both author and his character over, now, 18 books, is incredible.

This book is about the long road of grief. Not out of grief, but learning to deal with this new traveler who will always remind you show more of a terrible, irreplaceable loss, and how each of us finds our own way to deal with it.

There's also a brilliant story, filled with all the wit and pathos Butcher can deliver,and there's parts where, if you're listening, you can hear Butcher talking through Dresden, revealing some of the things he's obviously learned himself.

I love to be entertained...it's what dragged me into reading, and it's what keeps me reading. But occasionally, a novel can also deliver some insight into what it means to be a husband, or wife, son, or father, daughter, or mother, friend, or enemy. Sometimes it gives us insight into what it means to be human.

Again, had you asked me if I ever expected that out of a Harry Dresden novel, back when I started reading the series, I would have confidently answered, "no."

I would have been wrong. show less

This installment does have a little action but mostly it is a slower paced novel and works through the aftermath of Dresden's last big battle and the losses he sustained. I enjoyed the change of pace and the way Harry works through such basic human experiences of loss and grief.

** spoiler alert ** I've been waiting for this for a long time, with a certain sense of dread. How does this story continue without Murphy? Does the story continue without Murphy, or is there some kind of supernatural intervention?

And this was just right. As compulsively readable as the rest of the series despite the storyline drowning in grief. Lots of things I didn't expect happen, including the kinds of cuts-both-ways bargains with the Fae. I think you might need to be in a place for processing grief to enjoy it as much as I did, but I also cling to the sparks of hopefulness like a lifeline, and appreciate what's happening here.

Advanced Readers' Copy provided by Edelweiss.

Twelve Months is the eighteenth entry in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This is a very different entry to the series in that the story is spread out over a year as Harry and the city of Chicago deal with the aftermath of evens in Battle Ground.

The first half of the book reads almost as related slice-of-life short stories as we jump from month to month every few chapters as Harry comes to grips with his intense grief and guilt over Murphy's death. You can tell Butcher has experienced grief before and he's poured his heart into writing. Having recently gone through the death of a family member, I have the deepest compassion for Butcher and whatever he experienced to let him write this. It felt highly authentic. Still, I admit I got show more annoyed with this part of the story. Not because of the grief aspect, that was really well done, but for two reasons. First, the many time jumps left me questing certain things that we don't get much answers for. And second, because Harry took forever to let go of feeling responsible for every little thing that went wrong in Battle Ground. As if it was all his fault! I realize this is highly in line for Harry's character. It's just not one of my favorite things to read about.

About two thirds of the way through, the tone shifts and it feels a lot like a regular Dresden novel again. There is plenty of action and we're given a lot of tidbits of things going on now that the supernatural political landscape has changed yet again. I have so many questions! I also did not expect to enjoy Harry and Lara's relationship so soon after Murphy's death, and also given who Lara is, but I totally ship them! I am excited for the direction the story is taking and am looking forward to reading Mirror Mirror when it comes out. show less

You can tell that Jim Butcher got therapy. Harry Dresden gets called out for how he treats women in the first 25 pages!