The Outlaw Demon Wails, by Kim Harrison (Hollows #6)

Description:

To save the lives of her friends, Rachel did the unthinkable: she willingly trafficked in forbidden demon magic. And now her sins are coming home to haunt her.

As Rachel searches for the truth behind a terrifying murder, an even greater menace threatens, for the demon Algaliarept will stop at nothing to claim her, and the discovery of a shocking family secret throws Rachel's entire life into question. If she is ever to live free, Rachel must first walk willingly into the demonic ever-after in search of long-lost ancient knowledge.

But when you dance with demons, you lay your soul on the line...and there are some lines that should never be crossed.

Review:

I am tired of writing about Harrison's style; her plot, her issues, and these books; which mature nicely, yet I get rather tired of reiterating the same thoughts over and over again. So I'm going to give someone else a chance to speak of Ms. Harrison and her spunky group of misfits. The following is an abridged version of the review from SF Site, by Michael M Jones:

The sixth book in the Hollows series, The Outlaw Demon Wails continues to expand upon Rachel Morgan's world, peeling back another layer of mystery as we learn more about the true natures of, and levels of interaction between witches, elves, and demons. Some of what we learn may have been easy to guess already, other bits are unexpected and fascinating. Of course, these revelations are packaged in a sharp-edged, hard-hitting plot full of compelling character moments and thrilling action bits. Kim Harrison places a lot of emphasis on the emotional drama and development of her characters. For every scene of action and violence, there's another dealing with Rachel's non-relationship with Marshal, or her constant reshuffling of boundaries with Ivy, or even the love-hate business relationship she has with Trent Kalamack. It's something of a joy and a relief to see Rachel reach a new level of emotional maturity in this book, as she continues to take charge of her life and responsibility for her actions. A self-realized adrenaline/danger junky, Rachel accepts and works with this as she works through the numerous issues cropping up in her life. What she has with Ivy in particular is fascinating, complex, and a great rarity in this genre -- it's friendship, love, co-dependence, need, respect, and all too fragile, something that could be, but likely never will be sexual, and richly emotional. Harrison gets kudos for creating something so complicated, and yet real, drawing out the potential of a vampire's culturally-instilled sensuality and using it as both a boon and a drawback.

The same goes for Rachel's dealings with Trent. In a different world, the two of them could likely be friends, even romantic interests for one another. And yet one gets the suspicion that if Harrison has her way, this will never, ever happen. There's just way too much going on, too much that's happened between them, for it to ever develop into something lasting. Unlikely allies, occasional business partners, perhaps. But it would take another miracle, especially on Rachel's part, before she sees Trent as anything other than a nuisance at best, enemy the rest of the time. Luckily, to balance out that complexity, there's Jenks, the sarcastic, fiercely loyal pixy who watches Rachel's back. What can I say? If there was a character that needs a story told from his point of view, it's Jenks. And we won't even get started on the unspeakably odd, unpredictable, alien personalities of the demons who play such a large role in things, like Al and Minias. Polite one moment, threatening the next, as dangerous as rattlesnakes in a crib, it's easy to sometimes forget the sheer potential for disaster they represent, especially when they're on their best behavior. It'll definitely be interesting to see how things develop in the next book, given the way things leave off here.

For those who've followed the series thus far, The Outlaw Demon Wails offers some nice payoffs in terms of character development and worldbuilding revelations, as well as the usual satisfying storytelling. Newcomers will undoubtedly enjoy this book, but I really suggest that they start with Dead Witch Walking, if just to enjoy the buildup that brings us to the status set, broken, and reset here. I had no real complaints about this book, and I can't wait for Rachel's next adventure, especially since we still have some outstanding questions in need of answers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy, #5) by Ilona Andrews

I received this book as an advanced readers copy from Netgalley. ★★★★★ Ilona Andrews is an author whose novels I voraciously read. This one was no different. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in one sitting. It was action-packed and the chemistry between the protagonist and her love interest was stellar. Reader be aware, this does have a love scene. Many of the author's previous novels, while they feature romantic stories, don't have explicit scenes. This novel is set in a parallel universe where due to an epidemic flu and the subsequent solution, magic has been introduced into the world. I would recommend that any reader who hasn't read the first novels in this series starts with the other series first to give them a good grounding and so they won't be confused. The universe that the authors' have created is detailed and there are a lot of moving parts. Even though I had read the previous novels, it had been a while so I couldn't remember som...
Read more

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

  ★★★★ ☆ This was a thought-provoking and very interesting novel. The story follows the trials of a woman whose ex-husband has illegally and without her knowledge created a clone of her.  While the story is set in a science-fiction parallel world, I found that most aspects of the novel don't deal with the science-fiction. Instead, it is a story of betrayal, heartbreak, growth, and the human spirit. Despite not liking the protagonist, I still ripped through this novel. It was an interesting introspection on the relationships that create us, and the many facets through which we build our visions of ourselves.  The author subtly weaves a narrative that allows the reader to consider how our upbringings shape us and whether we are defined by our natures or nurture. The end of the novel left me filled with foreboding as I felt the main character began to display traits that she had previously despised in her father. I found myself returning to the storyline and the characters m...
Read more

"Every Which Way but Dead" by Kim Harrison, (The Hollows Book 3)

Image
Description: Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master. But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld. And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay--literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever. My Review: Harrison's third Hollow's Series novel is much better than the second. The book starts off with a bang as the action pits Rachel's brain aga...
Read more