Rating: 
Summary: Great
Review: I was reading the reviews left by other people, and the one that struck me was the one who couldn't get into the book. I can relate. I tried three times to read this book, and I couldn't seem to get past the first few chapters. I was frustrated that I hadn't gotten into it. But, I kept reading, and the further I got into the book, I could not put it down. I think the problem with Rachael Morgan, is that people who generally read these types of books, or maybe just myself, think of Anita Blake, of Laurell K. Hamilton's series. They're completely different. Anita is a badass, and Rachael seems to be a wimp. But, "Dead Witch Walking" really is a great book, and I can't wait to read the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfies the Anita Blake fix
Review: I was so happy to have stumbled on to this book! It's got all of my favorite brew of elements: girl power and vampires! If you liked the concept of the Anita Blake novels and southern vampire novels being set in an alternate universe where the supernatural and humans co-habitate - then this is for you. The only thing that I disliked was that the characters and the plot were only developed enough to make you itch for the sequel or series! Other than that it was great!
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for more!
Review: I was sooo prepared not to like this book. It was recommended to me by my niece and I thought I'd never pick it up and read it. Well I couldn't put it down. It has adventure, humor and suspense. The author made me believe this city was not so far removed from reality. I thought the details were great. The people, demons, witches and yes, pixies and fairies too, were too cool. Who would ever think there was kick ass Pixies?? Kim Harrison has to come out with another one like this!! This was a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Start
Review: I would equate this novel with the first X Men film. It was good, but most of the story was spent on introducing characters and settings for future sequels instead of on plot. In general, the entire series will probably be quite good, but this book lacks quite a bit in the story line department. Most of this first novel is just the main character dodging all the assination attempts thrown her way. The author does a good job explaining the "Hollows" as well as their particular brand of magic, but it's a bit over-explained; hopefully in the next novel none of these exhausting descriptions will be necessary and the book can just flow and concentrate on more important matters. It's a good start -- but I hope there is much more to come. I would consider this the poor man's Harry Dresden.
Rating: 
Summary: This book tests your patience!
Review: I'd hoped this would be a great book, but alas it was not. It plodded along...and I kept reading in the hope it was going to get better, but it never did. Rachel takes at least a third of the book to figure out that people are really trying to kill her, then another third to figure out what she's going to do about it, and the last third getting to an anticlimactic resolution. The only saving grace of this book is Jenks, her pixie. The world that Kim Harrison creates is definitely unique, but this book just didn't work. Sorry!
Rating:
Summary: With a little work, could be a very good series
Review: I'm not ordinarily a fan of witchcraft/vampire novels, but this one is a considerable exception. Picture an alternate version of the world, very much like our own -- except that bioengineering took the place of space flight as a matter of international political competition, and that a certain bug got loose from the labs in the form of a genetically modified tomato and killed off a substantial fraction of the human race. Only the witches, vampires, were-creatures, pixies, fairies, and other non-human among us (they've always been there) weren't affected at all, and now they make up half the population, more or less. Rachel Morgan, a Cincinnati cop (and earth witch) for the nonhuman part of the government, is on her agency's blacklist (we're never really told why) so she quits to set up her own detective ("runner") agency. Her boss is glad to see her go -- but his top runner, Ivy Tamwood, a very high-caste vamp, leaves to join Rachel, who thereupon finds a price on her head. You don't quit the agency if they don't want you to. To buy her freedom from assassination, Rachel decides to get the goods on Councilman Trent Kalamack, a suspected drug lord. But Trent, to whose handsomeness she is reluctantly drawn, is much more than that. And that's the plot, such as it is. Actually, I found the action here less interesting than the setting and the characters; Ivy's struggle to be a "good" vampire is fascinating, and Jenks, Rachel's pixie backup, is a lot of fun. The problem is, the first two-thirds of the book depicts Rachel, who has something of Stephanie Plum about her, being constantly frightened of absolutely everything and everyone (especially Ivy) while still insisting that she's a talented and skilled runner. I don't find this entirely believable. When she gets trapped in the form of a mink, the story becomes much more involving, and her fight with the demon is very well done. On the other hand, the author's sometimes jarring and even incorrect word-choices would have benefitted from the attention of a good copyeditor. (Hint: In this country, it's "railroad trestle," not "railroad trellis.") There's a sequel out now, but all the unresolved and unexplained bits and pieces pretty much guaranteed there would be.
Rating:
Summary: Highly overated
Review: I've read so much hype associated with this book. What it is not: Laurell Hamilton, Kenyon,Kelly Armstrong or MaryJanice Davidson at their best or worst. This book is so over rated I was forced to buy it. It is only the second book I actively disliked this year Minion by L.A. Books was also a radical disappointment. If you need your vampire fix try somewhere else.
Rating:
Summary: this book is worth reading
Review: If you like Charlain Harris, Kelley Armstrong and the Dresden files you will like this book. I picked it up because Amazon recomended it as something I might like and they were correct. I started reading and could not put it down. It has it all suspense, mystery and the supernatural with a few twists thrown in for good mesure.
Rating:
Summary: Abracadabra YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: If you like Charlaine Harris and Melanie Jackson you will love this book. With vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, pixies, fairys, and humans, you have an incredible mix of adventures. This is so much fun, and every page is filled with information about this wonderful world, created by Kim Harrison. I can't wait for her next one. This is a fun, thrilling, exciting, adventurous read. You will love it. I did.
Rating:
Summary: When A Kiss Is Just A Bite
Review: Kim Harrison's debut novel about a young police witch who decides to strike out as an independent, comes as something of a pleasant surprise. Certainly, there has been no lack of tough magician/detective stories in the years since Laurell K Hamilton, Jim Butcher, and some of the urban fantasy crowd moved into the genre. Detective fantasy is a small niche at best, but the overall quality has been good, with only a few wobbles lately. But just when I thought the genre dead, along comes this effort, and the story shows much promise and only a few imperfections. I'm not going to pretend that the book's premises are spectacularly original. Harrison's world is one where magic and the occult were always there, but until a bio-engineered virus wiped out half of the 'normal' folk, the occult world stayed carefully hidden. Now it is a world divided - in this case the normals live in Cincinnati proper and the 'spooks' live across the river in The Hollows. The Hollows is part of the Interland, where technology and medicine are suspect and you never know when you might get hit with a bad spell. Interland Security spends its time hunting down ill-behaved vampires, werewolves who shift out of season, and black magicians. Rachel Morgan is a police runner down on her luck and not getting a lot of respect from her management. She's been relegated to second-rate assignments and only a down and out pixie will work at her side. Instructed to bring in a blackmailing leprechaun she gets offered three wishes and decides it's time to go independent. To her surprise Ivy, an unturned Vampire and expert runner, and Jenks, a pixie with a strong case of obnoxious attitude, decide to join her. This infuriates Rachel's ex-boss, and he takes out a contract on her. The red-headed witch will spend most of this story trying to stay alive long enough to buy off the contract. Harrison turns out to be an effective writer who can out a plot together and build dialog. Plus she has the skill to build a believable urban fantasy world. The novel's biggest weakness is in character design. For all that Rachel is supposed to be a strong enough character to walk out on a dangerous organization, she is surprising squeamish, tends to panic, and it totally terrified that Ivy will bite or kiss her (or bit and kiss her). Ivy is an ex-blood addict who has a surprising inability to say no considering that she is a top operative. Jenks, however, is fairly normal for a pixie. Since Harrison plays all these quirks for comic effect they work well enough for readability. It's hard to predict how well everything will hold together over a series. If the story lines start to get serious then Rachel will be in danger of becoming an Anita Blake clone. If Harrison can keep to lighter weight sarcastic humor without overworking the jokes then we may have a hit on our hands. In the meantime this volume is a pleasant way to spend a few days reading.
|
