Grave Peril (The Dresden Files)
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| Author | Jim Butcher |
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| Cover artist | Lee MacLeod |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Dresden Files |
| Genre | Urban Fantasy |
| Publisher | Penguin Putnam |
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Publication date
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September 1, 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) & AudioBook (Audio Cassette & Audio CD) |
| Pages | 378 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | (first edition, paperback) |
| 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.
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 her 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.
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