Category: The Hollows (Rachel Morgan)

Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison: Cincy’s New Boss Vampire has Rachel on the Ropes

Million Dollar Demon

Million Dollar Demon

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows, #15

eARC, 464 pg.
Ace, 2021

Read: June 3-7, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Million Dollar Demon About?

It hasn’t been all that long for Rachel Morgan, but for her readers, it’s been ten books (and 14 years) since Cincinnati’s Master Vampire was killed. When this book opens, Constance, the new Master Vampire is days away from arriving to take over.

But she’s already exerting her influence to make things difficult for non-Vampire Interlanders in the city. From bogus evictions, trumped-up charges, intimidation, and just about everything else you can think of. There’s a certain common denominator among many of these targets—they’re tied in some way to Rachel. In more than a few cases, Rachel herself is clearly the target.

The message delivered is very clear—it’s time for Rachel to get out of town. Otherwise, Constance is going to make Rachel’s life miserable—and she’ll also target Rachel’s friends and families, their friends and families, and anyone that looks like might be sympathetic.

One of Rachel’s demon friends mentions an idea—it hasn’t been used recently but there is an old demon office called the subrosa—essentially the demon equivalent of the Master Vampire (there are nuances that I need to let you read for yourselves). Rachel initially blows off the suggestion to take up that mantle and from that position she can take on Constance, save some innocents and perhaps the city. But she keeps circling back to that idea, and her allies keep trying to talk her into it.

As a quick aside—Jane Yellowrock has a tendency to do things like this, too (I just finished revisiting Raven Cursed and the two reminded me of each other). It might not be a bad idea when someone mentions you taking up a title/position that you’ve never heard of to ask a few questions before you think about assuming the title.

Add in the ongoing drama with Trent and the Elves, the Elves fluctuating power structure, the changing relations between Elves and Demons, the Demons internal problems, Rachel’s problems with the Demons (and Al in particular), and…well, all the stuff that we all thought were pretty well settled until last year’s American Demon showed us we were wrong. Basically, there’s a lot going on.

Constance

The idea that the ruling Vampires named Constance as the City’s Master is pretty troubling. She is, to put it simply, bat guano crazy. I don’t remember a lot about her predecessor, Piscary, but I remember he was nasty and cruel. But Constance is a monster. She’s the kind of character that UF heroes are supposed to be focused on taking down, I wish Rachel had been quicker to step up (although I do understand her reasoning). I’ve been reading Urban Fantasy for about sixteen years, and I’ve seen a lot of nasty vampires (and other creatures), and Constance has got to be in the running for the worst.

But I’ve got to tell you, by the end of this book, I was convinced that her #2, Pike, is likely the vampire that’s the real threat. I’m wondering what you think.

So, what did I think about Million Dollar Demon?

I liked it. I had a lot of fun in these pages. And for a series as long-in-the-tooth as this one is, that’s saying something.

I didn’t get as thorough in this post as usually do and/or intended to. I had a few more notes that I wanted to cover, and I actually deleted 5 paragraphs from this because it just ended up being too vague to be of use—or all that interesting. Almost everything that I really wanted to chew on falls under what I’d call a spoiler.

Because there is a lot going on here—after shaking up the status quo in American Demon Harrison establishes—or at least starts to—a new status quo. She’s ignored Vampires for quite a while, and that’s over (and we shouldn’t expect that werewolves won’t stay out of the spotlight, either). I’m not convinced she’s pushing Elves or Demons to the back burner any time soon, but they’re going to have company on the front. How she’s going to keep all these balls in the air at the same time? I have no idea, but it’s going to be fun to watch.

Million Dollar Demon was exciting, there was plenty of drama, a lot of good action, and some important character growth—and as I said, it was fun. At the end of the day, that’s all I ask for.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Pub Day Repost: American Demon by Kim Harrison: Harrison Comes Back to The Hollows Without Missing a Step

I want to start off thanks to Beth Tabler for some research help—she saved me a whole lot of time and effort.

American Demon

American Demon

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows, #14

eARC, 496 pg.
Ace, 2020

Read: June 1-4, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


First off, I want to talk about two things that Harrison did that really have nothing to do with the plot. First, in the last chap of The Witch with No Name, we’re treated to a glimpse into Rachel’s future, twenty-five years after that novel. At the time, I said we could’ve lived without it, but it was a nice way to say goodbye to the series. Now, it seems all the more ingenious of her to do. Twenty-five years provides several opportunities for Harrison to spin new tales. I don’t know if it was purposeful or not at the time, but it sure worked out well.

I was a little intimidated about coming back to this series after such a long breakHarrison’s novels were typically stuffed (occasionally, overstuffed) with plotmultiple storylines tying the novels together. There was just no way I could remember them allmuch less remember all the various characters. The preface to American Demon consists of a portion of Rachel Morgan’s Inderland Security file, sketching out her escapades as well as her associates. It’s a wonderful refresher course in all things Rachel Morgan and did enough jogging of my memory that I was ready to dive in.

Anyway, what about the novel itself? It’s been a few months since the events of The Witch with No Name and those events have caused ripples throughout society (both the supernatural and mundane) as well as the in the lives of the series’ characters. Trent’s struggling with his bank balance and his relationship to the rest of the elves (although Rachel seems to be having more difficulty with both than Trent is), Rachel and Jenks are struggling to put their church back together, Ivy’s dealing with her new reality (and the city is looking for a new Master vampire), Rachel’s trying (not too successfully) to cope with the changes to her abilities, and…that’s just a taste. As much as things seemed wrapped up, life (even fictional life) isn’t that clean. Unlike my usual M. O., I’m not going to get further into the plotfans don’t need it, and new readers won’t appreciate it without Rachel explaining what it all means.

Harrison manages to bring back every major, and many minor characterseven working in mentions to the major dead characters from the past. It may just be fan-service to let all the cast make an appearance, but it was done so smoothly, so organically, that it really doesn’t matter.

At the same time, Harrison brings in some new faces (and most seem like they’ll around for a while)there’s a new elf, a new vampire, a new demon, and a whole new supernatural species. Each of them moves the series in a new direction and add aspects to the ongoing storylines that are very satisfactory. I can see Harrison adding one of these characters per novelbut all of them at once. She’s more than shaking up the status quo, she’s making a bold move forward for the series.

If I’d fallen into a coma shortly after reading The Witch with No Name and had just woken up in time to read this, I wouldn’t have known that Harrison spent anytime away, much less that she’d start a new series that was entirely distinct from The Hollows. For example, in this age of TV continuationsfans of the originals can easily tell the difference between the series that went off years ago, and the new episodes that aired recently. I assumed the same would be true herenot that the book would be bad or anything, just a little differentand I couldn’t have been more wrong.

By the way, since I expect some will asksure, this is a decent jumping-on point. A lot won’t make sense, but you’ll be entertained enough to shrug that off and keep going both with this book and those that are waiting in the wings. You’ll be given enough reason to go back and read the previous volumes.

From wrapping up a series very nicely with one book to telling a complete story in the next while setting up 4+ (depending on how you count them) multi-book arcs in the next is a pretty nice trick. This could’ve just been a nice little reunion, but Harrison has done more than thatshe’s breathed new life into this series as well providing some solid entertainment. Welcome back to the Hollows, folks.


4 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

20 Books of Summer

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

American Demon by Kim Harrison: Harrison Comes Back to The Hollows Without Missing a Step

I want to start off thanks to Beth Tabler for some research help—she saved me a whole lot of time and effort.

American Demon

American Demon

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows, #14

eARC, 496 pg.
Ace, 2020

Read: June 1-4, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


First off, I want to talk about two things that Harrison did that really have nothing to do with the plot. First, in the last chap of The Witch with No Name, we’re treated to a glimpse into Rachel’s future, twenty-five years after that novel. At the time, I said we could’ve lived without it, but it was a nice way to say goodbye to the series. Now, it seems all the more ingenious of her to do. Twenty-five years provides several opportunities for Harrison to spin new tales. I don’t know if it was purposeful or not at the time, but it sure worked out well.

I was a little intimidated about coming back to this series after such a long breakHarrison’s novels were typically stuffed (occasionally, overstuffed) with plotmultiple storylines tying the novels together. There was just no way I could remember them allmuch less remember all the various characters. The preface to American Demon consists of a portion of Rachel Morgan’s Inderland Security file, sketching out her escapades as well as her associates. It’s a wonderful refresher course in all things Rachel Morgan and did enough jogging of my memory that I was ready to dive in.

Anyway, what about the novel itself? It’s been a few months since the events of The Witch with No Name and those events have caused ripples throughout society (both the supernatural and mundane) as well as the in the lives of the series’ characters. Trent’s struggling with his bank balance and his relationship to the rest of the elves (although Rachel seems to be having more difficulty with both than Trent is), Rachel and Jenks are struggling to put their church back together, Ivy’s dealing with her new reality (and the city is looking for a new Master vampire), Rachel’s trying (not too successfully) to cope with the changes to her abilities, and…that’s just a taste. As much as things seemed wrapped up, life (even fictional life) isn’t that clean. Unlike my usual M. O., I’m not going to get further into the plotfans don’t need it, and new readers won’t appreciate it without Rachel explaining what it all means.

Harrison manages to bring back every major, and many minor characterseven working in mentions to the major dead characters from the past. It may just be fan-service to let all the cast make an appearance, but it was done so smoothly, so organically, that it really doesn’t matter.

At the same time, Harrison brings in some new faces (and most seem like they’ll around for a while)there’s a new elf, a new vampire, a new demon, and a whole new supernatural species. Each of them moves the series in a new direction and add aspects to the ongoing storylines that are very satisfactory. I can see Harrison adding one of these characters per novelbut all of them at once. She’s more than shaking up the status quo, she’s making a bold move forward for the series.

If I’d fallen into a coma shortly after reading The Witch with No Name and had just woken up in time to read this, I wouldn’t have known that Harrison spent anytime away, much less that she’d start a new series that was entirely distinct from The Hollows. For example, in this age of TV continuationsfans of the originals can easily tell the difference between the series that went off years ago, and the new episodes that aired recently. I assumed the same would be true herenot that the book would be bad or anything, just a little differentand I couldn’t have been more wrong.

By the way, since I expect some will asksure, this is a decent jumping-on point. A lot won’t make sense, but you’ll be entertained enough to shrug that off and keep going both with this book and those that are waiting in the wings. You’ll be given enough reason to go back and read the previous volumes.

From wrapping up a series very nicely with one book to telling a complete story in the next while setting up 4+ (depending on how you count them) multi-book arcs in the next is a pretty nice trick. This could’ve just been a nice little reunion, but Harrison has done more than thatshe’s breathed new life into this series as well providing some solid entertainment. Welcome back to the Hollows, folks.


4 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

20 Books of Summer

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Waylaid by Kim Harrison

WaylaidWaylaid

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Peri Reed Chronicles/The Hollows

Kindle Single, 87 pg.
Pocket Star, 2016

Read: April 5, 2016


In her Foreword, Harrison says, “Waylaid still reads like self-made fan fiction to me, ” thereby denying book bloggers and other amateur reviewers the opportunity to use that label. Which is a shame, because that’d be a great way to sum it up. Thankfully, it saves us all from making the same joke.

In a move as classic as Uncle Jesse visiting Los Angeles to say “howdy” to Enos*, Harrison brings much beloved Rachel Morgan into the new, awesome, and in much need of publicity world of Peri Reed. Set sometime after the main events of The Witch with No Name (but not necessarily the last chapter), and before The Drafter, Waylaid will serve as a great introduction for fans of Morgan’s series.

A drunken mishap, inspired by a silly Urban Fantasy TV show (that I’d totally watch), results in Jack summoning Rachel in to Peri’s apartment. Jack and Peri assume she’s a counter-agent who’d been waiting for them to return to attack. Rachel has no clue who they are other than nitwits who summoned her away from a date and started attacking her. It doesn’t take her long to realize that her magic doesn’t work, and wherever she is, it’s a world she doesn’t recognize — Detroit still exists, people have technology she can only dream about, and the ley lines are deader than Arizona back home. The clock’s ticking and Peri and Rachel have to team up to get Rachel back home.

It’s silly, it’s fun — it’s pretty faithful to both series, it hopefully helps boost sales of The Drafter and its sequel.

I don’t really a lot to say without getting pretty heavy into spoilers, but I thought it was worth the pittance I spent on it, probably a little more. Fans of Harrison should give it a shot.

* I just revealed my age there, I know. I also know there are older examples, but that’s the first in my memory.

—–

3 Stars

The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

The Undead Pool (The Hollows #12)The Undead Pool

by Kim Harrison

Series: The Hollows, #12
Mass Market Paperback, 480 pg.
Harper Voyager, 2014
Read: July 30 – 31, 2014

Whaddyaknow? I can like a Hollows book unreservedly and without a list of complaints. I’d forgotten what that felt like.

If you’d told me that Rachel Morgan’s penultimate adventure would kick off on a golf course, I’d have told you that you were nuts. But if anyone can start trouble on a golf course, it’d be Rachel. In an interesting change of pace, the trouble that ensues really has almost nothing to do with her — sure, an exploding golf ball that practically creates a sand hazard on the course sounds like something she’s responsible — but not this time. Spells and charms are going wrong (mostly in a super-sized fashion) throughout Cincinnati and the Hollows — causing injuries, inconveniences and deaths.

But wait, there’s more — something’s going on in town that’s keeping the Master Vampires asleep, and they’re not waking to feed and exert influence over their clans. Which is great if that’s something you were working towards, and were prepared — like Ivy was awhile back. But these vampires aren’t ready for that level of freedom and self-determination yet. Which means that you’ve got unstable vampires roaming the streets. Which can’t be good for anyone.

This would be enough to keep any Urban Fantasy hero busy — but females in this genre have to have something going on in their personal/romantic life, too (male UF heroes frequently have that it, too — but it doesn’t see as de reguerre). So looking to that front, Ellasbeth, Trent’s fiancé returns; so naturally, Trent and Rachel go on a date the night before she arrives (their first and last). Everyone’s favorite demons, Al and Newt, are not at all happy about how close Rachel is getting to the elf. A couple of elven religious leaders come to town to help with the malfunctioning magic — and they like Trent hanging out with the day-walking demon even less than Al and Newt do. And there’s this really familiar-looking blond vampire that Rachel keeps seeing — but that can’t be right, can it?.

Yeah, that’s enough to keep Rachel, Ivy and Jenks busy.

Here’s the best part: It’s like Harrison asked herself, “How do I make ol’ H. C. happy?” and then things actually happen in the book. Resolution is reached on a lot of these plots that have been ongoing for several novels (even all, or almost all, of the series). Even things I’d forgotten about get tied up. I’m not saying I’m happy because I like all the choices that the characters/Harrison made, because I’m not. But instead of another 400+ pages of Rachel (or Trent or Ivy or . . .) hemming and hawing and then not really reaching a decision on anything, these characters think about their problems, discuss solutions in a constructive manner with each other, and then act on it. They don’t all lead to a happily ever after — but they lead to something. Finally.

Harrison’s clearly setting the table for the last book in the series and tying up what she can — as well as delivering a pretty cool story. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to just focus on the soap-y ongoing story arcs. The stuff with the vampires and the out of control magic was great, and would’ve been enough to make this a compelling read. But the ongoing arcs have been such a drag on this series for so long, the fact that they weren’t at all this time is leading me to focus on them.

I really don’t know how to comment on the master vampire problem or the magic problem without getting into story details — but the implications of both were fascinating, and are the kind of thing that separates the Hollows from most Urban Fantasy. I’m so glad we got these situations.

For the first time in a long time, I can say I’m looking forward to seeing what Harrison does next. I have a lot more hope for her sticking the landing than I’ve had (even as I dread the fates of a couple of characters).

—–

4 Stars

Ever After by Kim Harrison

Ever After
Ever After

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows, #11
Mass Market Paperback, 528 pg.
Harper Voyager, 2013

So here we are at Hollows #11 — or as I prefer to think of them, The Adventures of Jenks and his Tenants. It’s the best in quite a while, if you ask me.* I’ve had a hard time maintaining a real interest in these lately, and have only persisted because I’ve read so many of them and I’m curious about how Harrison brings the series to a close. The nominal main character, Rachel, did make a radical developmental leap two books back — and while that served as the core of #10, I think it paid off here.

Thankfully.

Since the events at the end of #9, Rachel’s been more proactive, less wishy-washy about her personal life, and generally more interesting than she’d been. This is definitely the best use of her I can remember.

Ivy is still criminally misused and underused. I can’t believe that Harrison still cares about her at all — keeping her “off screen” so much, and then having her do practically nothing meaningful once she shows. Yes, I can see where the groundwork is being laid for a major Ivy storyline, but at this point, I have no confidence that we’ll see it — and if we do? I can’t see it working too well.

Jenks, on the other hand, played an important role throughout — his presence effected the story, he mattered. Not just because I like him better than anyone else in this universe, but the way Harrison uses him is so far superior to any other character, I like him more and more each passing novel. The stuff with his kids, and Belle, while not that important, in the grand scheme of things, grounds the novel and the characters.

Trent continues to grow on me — I was ready for the series to dump him ages ago, but now I really enjoy him. I still think that it’d have made sense, and been a healthier/wiser choice for Ivy and Rachel to have nothing more to do with him after maybe the third book, but that’s clearly not what Harrison wanted, and it’s paying off. Best use of him yet — the way he treats, and wanted to treat Rachel throughout this is so much better than he’s done before — character growth is always good. I wish Rachel got a bit more of it to match him.

Couple of quick character moments before I move on — Bis is such a great addition to the series, and this time we get to meet more gargoyles. I wouldn’t mind a few short stories featuring them (nothing against Anton Strout’s gargoyle series, I should add). I even liked Newt and Al for maybe the first time ever — but I really can’t get into the details there.

The seeds for the plot were planted from the beginning of the series, and were watered consistently — so the payoff here was well-earned, and dealt with correctly. The choices that Quen, Trent and Rachel are forced to make, the actions they take aren’t easy and felt like things people would choose to do, not merely decisions made for the sake of moving the story along (something I don’t think Harrison has consistently done). It’s really the best since, maybe book #4 in that regard.

The last chapter served as a really good epilogue, as well as setting the stage for the future — along with providing a lot of fodder for the various ‘shippers out there (most of this book does that, really). If Harrison’s doing what I think she’s doing here, I will be pleased.

In the end, a pleasant addition to this series, one that exceeded my expectations — can’t ask for much more than that.

* Apparently, I said the same thing after #10, but I don’t remember thinking that.

—–

3.5 Stars

Blood Work by Kim Harrison

Blood Work
Blood Work by Kim Harrison
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’m trying to come up with a nice way to talk about this one, but I don’t think I can.

The writing was . . . lacking. It seemed like notes for a story more than anything else. My guess was that Harrison was learning how to write a comic script, knew she couldn’t put the same kind of detail she normally puts in her 400+ page novels, and over-corrected. It’s a potentially interesting tale, but just one poorly told.

And the art? Stiff, unnatural, not terribly consistent. It didn’t look so much like capturing motion or movement, but a series of awkward poses.

Honestly, I gave this an extra star because it scratched the itch wondering how things started between the two (didn’t eliminate the itch as it’s only part of the story, and so poorly told). Really, that’s the best that can be said for this waste of time. Despite this, I’ll probably read the sequel, just to find out what happens. And I’ll probably not be thrilled with myself throughout it.

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