Gwen’s review of Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan and The Hollows, Book 8 ) by Kim Harrison
Urban fantasy hardcover released by Eos 23 Feb 10, mass market paperback release 28 Dec 10
The Hollows series is a guilty pleasure for me. Rachel Morgan’s life is such a hot mess, it never fails to make me feel better about mine. Plus, it’s entertaining as hell to read about Rachel pissing everyone off and still managing to make them like her.
In this entry, Rachel is fighting the war for her life on so many fronts it’s a little difficult to keep track of all the players. The coven is trying to kill her for what she knows. Trent Kalamack is trying to kill her for what she’s done to him. Her almost boyfriend Pierce appears to not be on her side. And Al, the demon, is just having fun with Rachel by threatening her and all the people she loves, while at the same time, teaching her about demon magic. It’s a trip reading about Rachel’s world and wondering how embattled one witch can be and still survive.
This entry in the Rachel Morgan world is a very entertaining one. In earlier novels, the story would drag at times – like when Rachel would have the never ending navel lint inspection regarding her relationship with Ivy (I always say “Get over it already!” – nobody listened). We’re carried along as Rachel is gutted emotionally by her own paranormal community and then finds out they weren’t really serious about it after all.
If you’re a fan of this series, I highly recommend reading this book. It sets up some fun action in the next entry and is really very entertaining. If you haven’t read the previous books, you may not want to start with this one – the story is pretty involved and understanding Rachel is not a simple thing.
But for you fans out there? Read it. The mass market paperback of this hardcover is releasing in a few days.
Grade: A
Read other information on this series by following its tag here.
Summary:
In New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison’s most complex and nuanced adventure yet, bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan fights a deadly battle—mind, body, and soul
Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she’s never faced off against her own kind . . . until now.
Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.
It takes a witch to catch a witch, but survival bears a heavy price.
Read an excerpt here.
Other books in the series, in reading order (all links for mass market paperback where available):
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I think this is the best series I’ve ever read, up until KH sidelined Ivy.
The series strength was in the Ivy and Rachel relationship, it’s like Rachel is just killing time with no real progress after she gave up on Ivy.
Miralix – I’m of the opposite mind. I really hated the Ivy/Rachel dynamic. It was boring to me. I’d much rather see Rachel in a more healthy relationship – that thing with Ivy was to angsty to be satisfying.