In which Harry's desperate ploy to save his daughter two books back comes back to bite him, beat him, and generally mess up his life in the way only the queens of fairie can.
This played out in some ways quite predictably. He owed Mab, and she owns him now, as much as he'll let her. And she played him beautifully, as always. Mab has been quietly managing him in the background for a long time, and not just Harry, but people around him.
The plot is decent. A little confusing, but Harry's got most of his team back together by the end, and a few new allies and a few new enemies. And then Mab's master stroke, brilliant. I think I love Mab a little more than I ought.
And I have a prediction for what's coming next. Guess we'll see when the next book is out, next year or so.
So we leave Harry alone on Demonreach. And Demonreach tells him there's a parasite in his brain, but one that is sentient enough to negotiate. Nemesis seemed way too full of itself to negotiate with the island, and also it's unclear if it can inhabit more than one person at a time - and it was in Maeve at the time.
So, I think it's Lasciel's shadow. Butcher has dropped hints that she might show up again, and I really hope so, she was one of my favourite characters. I think when she burnt herself out of Harry's brain, a shadow of the shadow remained, and now with whatever the archangel did to him to give him soulfire (which must have been similar, in some ways, to how Lasciel gave him hellfire), plus the sliver of Mab that gives him the Winter Knight's mantle, she's either been woken up by the noise of all that company, or she's fighting to hang on to the last bit of herself, and thus Harry's migraines.
I kind of like the idea of Harry being able to redeem Lasciel in some way. Because while he often saves the world, he loses a lot of his friends and family, and even when he can save them he leaves them a bit broken.
(show spoiler)
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