Grave Peril (The Dresden Files)
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| Author | Jim Butcher |
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| Cover artist | Lee MacLeod |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Dresden Files |
| Genre | Urban Fantasy |
| Publisher | Penguin Putnam |
Publication date | September 1, 2001 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) & AudioBook (Audio Cassette & Audio CD) |
| Pages | 378 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-451-45844-3 (first edition, paperback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 47904041 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 1840 vol. 10 |
| Preceded by | Fool Moon |
| Followed by | Summer Knight |
Grave Peril is a 2001 urban fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the third novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.
Plot summary
Dresden and Michael Carpenter, a Knight of the Cross, try to track down a dangerous ghost in a Chicago hospital, but are nearly ensnared by Dresden's faerie godmother Leanansidhe, then arrested by the Chicago police. Harry is bailed out by his girlfriend Susan, then receives an official invitation to represent the White Council at a Red Court vampire party. He refuses to allow Susan to accompany him.
While trying to protect a young seer, Lydia, Harry is attacked by vampires and sent into a narcotic slumber. He dreams of being attacked by the Nightmare, a demon allied with Kravos, a now-dead sorcerer he and Michael had defeated. The Nightmare's dream attack was potent, draining Harry of much of his magic. Harry realizes that the Nightmare will attack his friends and allies. In Harry's guise, the Nightmare hurts policewoman Karrin Murphy and kidnaps Michael's pregnant wife Charity.
Dresden tracks down the Nightmare to a cemetery, but is losing his struggle with it when Leanansidhe appears again. She aids him in return for his pledge of service, but after he drives the Nightmare away and rescues Charity he tries to use Michael's sacred sword to break his pledge to Leanansidhe, an act of treachery allowing her to seize the sword for herself. Dresden then casts a spell forcing the Nightmare to focus its attention on him, ignoring his friends.
Dresden and Michael go to the Red Court party, suspecting they will find the enemy controlling the Nightmare. Susan arrives with a forged invitation, unwittingly forsaking the pledge of safe conduct extended to legitimate invitees. Leanansidhe also attends. Harry is poisoned, and Susan is tricked into trading all of memories of him to Leanasidhe in return for a cure. As Harry and Michael try to safely extricate Susan, they encounter the sorceress controlling the Nightmare, Mavra, a noble from another vampire Court. Mavra plans to defile Michael's sword by murdering Lydia, now her prisoner, with it, in order to take revenge on Michael for killing many of her kind years earlier.
Harry and Michael ally with Thomas, a noble of the rival White Court. They try to rescue Lydia and retake the sword, but the Red Court hostess, Bianca, forces Thomas to turn Susan over to her. Incoherent with rage, Dresden unleashes an unusually potent incineration spell, slaughtering many of the Red Court. He collapses, and Michael manages to drag both Dresden and Lydia to safety. Thomas escapes the inferno after retrieving Michael's sword, but Bianca also captures his lover Justine.
Thomas returns the sacred sword, offering an alliance to rescue both Susan and Justine. Lydia, now possessed by the Nightmare, attacks, but Thomas subdues her. Dresden tries to exorcise her, but discovers that the Nightmare is actually the ghost of Kravos, who committed ritual suicide in order to empower his ghost and break down the barriers between the living and the dead.
Dresden returns to Bianca's stronghold by a magical route, but is captured and imprisoned together with Susan. Susan has been half-turned to vampire; the transition will be completed if she feeds on Dresden and kills him. Dresden forestalls her nascent bloodlust by casting a spell restoring her memories. Kravos attacks, and Dresden tricks him into stopping his heart. Because the barriers have been weakened, Harry's powerful ghost appears as Susan resuscitates him with CPR. Harry and his ghost defeat Kravos, recapturing his own stolen power and draining Kavros's strength as well. After Harry's ghost dissipates, Bianca attacks, but before the barriers can re-establish themselves Harry unleashes the spirits of Bianca's many victims against her and escapes with Susan and Justine.
Harry's actions have precipitated a war between the vampire Red Court and the White Council of wizards. Susan rejects Harry's marriage proposal and leaves Chicago, knowing that her half-vampiric condition would impel her to kill him in any moment of weakness.
Introduced characters
- Michael Carpenter: A carpenter by trade, and a Knight of the Cross, who wields the sword Amoracchius. He met Dresden prior to the events of this novel.
- Lydia: A young seer (real name: Barbara) who comes to Dresden for help from something that’s going to kill her.
- Leanansidhe: A Sidhe of the Winter Court; Harry's faerie Godmother.
- Charity Carpenter: The wife of Michael Carpenter. She met Dresden prior to the events of this novel.
- Father Forthill: A priest at Saint Mary of the Angels church; he provides a safe house for the Knights of the Cross. He met Dresden prior to the events of this novel.
- Mortimer Lindquist: He sees dead people and communicates with them.
- Detective John Stallings: An officer and a friend at SI.
- Thomas Raith: A White Court vampire and the least favored child of the White King.
- Justine: Thomas' girlfriend and a woman with a secret.
- Mavra: A Black Court vampire and a sorceress.
- Don Paolo Ortega: A duke of the Red Court vampires.
- Ferrovax or Mr Ferro: a dragon, a semi-divine beings of immense power; one of Bianca's party guests.
- Kyle and Kelly Hamilton (deceased): a sibling couple, Red Court vampires of Bianca's Velvet Room.
- Kravos (deceased): a sorcerer of black magic. the villain of the story.
- The Carpenters' children.
- Rachel's ghost: The ghost of Bianca's victim Rachel who died in Storm Front.
- The ghost of Agatha Hagglethorn.
- Micky Malone, officer of the Chicago PD's SI.
- Sonia Malone, Micky's wife.
Audiobook
The audiobook was narrated by James Marsters.
External links
- The first two chapters of the book are found on the author's official website.