{"id":6016,"date":"2025-07-18T17:33:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T17:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/6016\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T17:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T17:33:06","slug":"dresden-files-book-18-is-almost-here-see-the-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/6016\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dresden Files’ book 18 is almost here: See the cover"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get ready, \u201cDresden Files<\/a>\u201d fans \u2013 for the first time in five years, the beloved Chicago wizard will return for a new Jim Butcher adventure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTwelve Months\u201d<\/a> (out January 2026 from Penguin Random House) promises a gripping thriller where Harry Dresden will not only have to save the day, but himself. Keep reading to get a first look at the cover, exclusively revealed by USA TODAY.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wondering what’s in store for Harry? Writing to USA TODAY from his honeymoon, here\u2019s what Butcher says readers can expect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New \u2018Dresden Files\u2019 book: See the cover<\/p>\n

\u201cTwelve Months\u201d features Harry in signature \u201cDresden Files\u201d cover style \u2013 with a hat and his staff. According to Butcher, this story sees a \u201cmodern city suddenly plunged back to the technology of the 18th century.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the first \u201cDresden Files\u201d book that wasn\u2019t outlined in Butcher\u2019s original plan<\/a> for the series, an assignment he turned in as a grad student at the University of Oklahoma about 30 years ago, the author told The New York Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is \u2018Twelve Months\u2019 by Jim Butcher about?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a broad sense, \u201cTwelve Months\u201d is about the \u201chuman costs\u201d of what happened in \u201cBattle Ground\u201d and how the characters survive it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a story about how you pick yourself up again when life has knocked everything out from under you \u2013 how you find strength in yourself and what it takes to get back on your feet,\u201d Butcher tells USA TODAY.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The novel begins as Harry is helping the city of Chicago and his friends recover after the battle in the last novel. He needs time to rebuild, but there are bigger problems at hand \u2013 ghouls hunting innocent Chicagoans, fae and vampire alliances and a betrothal to a seductive, deadly vampire. And his brother is dying.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a professional wizard in supernatural Chicago, Harry Dresden has to deal with a lot more vampires and monsters than most people do, and he\u2019s got people who are depending on him in their own time of need \u2013 particularly his own brother, who is going to die in one of several horrible ways if Dresden can\u2019t figure out how to pull him out of the metaphysical and political tiger pits within which Thomas is trapped,\u201d Butcher says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got to rise to these challenges at a time when loss and grief have made him feel about as dynamic as a pile of dirty laundry. He\u2019s going to have to dig deep into his resources, personal and magical, to overcome these\u00a0troubles. It isn\u2019t going to be pretty, but they don\u2019t call Harry Dresden the Wizard of Chicago for nothing,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

“Twelve Months” is available to preorder now<\/a> and will publish Jan. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

Loved ‘Red Rising’?: Dystopian, sci-fi novels to read next<\/a><\/p>\n

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY\u2019s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram<\/a>, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter<\/a> or tell her what you\u2019re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n