I’ve been reading the Dresden Files books ever since college, when I read though all ten that were out to wrap my head around a friend’s Dresden Files RPG campaign. They practically threw Storm Front at me and it, along with Shadowrun, sparked off a love of the urban fantasy genre.Twelve Months is the eighteenth Dresden Files novel, and the story picks up shortly after the huge events of the twin 2020 releases, Peace Talks and Battle Ground. The plot largely revolves around Harry Dresden handling the grief incurred during the Battle of Chicago while being forced into a closer relationship with Lara Raith, a seductive emotional vampire.The state of Chicago after the battle provides a great reflection of Harry’s own mental state, with the work he does to try and help the displaced and desperate both mirroring and distracting from the work Harry does to deal with his personal grief.I really enjoyed the emotional throughline as both Dresden and Chicago come to terms with what happened. I also loved the callbacks and foreshadowing as the Black Court reemerged in the book.I really enjoyed this one, and I look forward to seeing how the events move the series closer to the capstone apocalyptic trilogy Butcher has said is coming.
