Heksejagt

The Hollows #1

by Kim Harrison, Bjarne Skovlund (-Translator)

All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party... and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining - and it's Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized.

A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she'll bring 'em back alive, dead... or undead.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Witches, Magic, Fiction

639 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Kim Harrison is best known as the author of the New York Times #1 best selling Hollows series, but she has written more than urban fantasy and has published over two-dozen books spanning the gamut from young adult, thriller, several anthologies, and has scripted two original graphic novels. She has also published traditional fantasy under the name Dawn Cook. Kim is currently working on a new Hollows book between other, non related, urban fantasy projects.
Kim reaches out to her audience at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KimHarrisons...
Instagram
https://instagram.com/kim_harrison_au...
and her blog http://kimharrison.wordpress.com/

other pseudonyms: Dawn Cook

Reviews

[Kat Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

By now most people know that the Bottle-Nose Dolphin is pretty much one of the biggest assholes in the animal kingdom. You know, for randomly hunting down and stalking and killing porpoises, sharks and baby dolphins for no other reason than the pure joy of murdering them in cold blood and so that then can then go off and rape other dolphins.

However, the African Bat Bug could easily surpass the dolphin as one of nature's biggest bastards. Male Bat Bugs seem to have decided one day to pass over the perfectly good female genitalia in order to stab the females in the gut with their bug-wangs. Then they go and stab other males in the gut. Basically they think abdominal wounds are just freakin' hilarious. Nobody knows why these bugs are so damn sadistic.


The male African Bat Bug would really like to stab her in the gut. If she were Peter Parker, then I'd kind of understand the compulsion

After reading Dead Witch Walking, I think I empathize. There is a good story here. A solid story. Just as functional as the female African Bat Bug's vagina (not that I've ever seen one...) yet Kim Harrison doesn't seem content to make this story easy or pleasurable to read. She kind of wants to cause us pain.

The part where Nick made a pact with the demon (I'll let you go if you take us home kind of agreements) and then the demon decided later that they owed it more, was just dumb! If you get in a taxi and the driver tells you it'll be fifty bucks home only to wait until you get out of the car and stab you with a knife for not giving it $150, then you'd kind of think that's ridiculous. Yet everyone just seems to go along with this.

Rachel can't even quit her freakin' job without having someone try to kill her. This is a world that is just really unnecessarily annoying. I understand she wants to ratchet up the action, but most of it just doesn't make sense. Once again, perfectly good vagina, and Harrison stabs us in the gut.

So whilst I didn't think this book was quite as horrible as many other people seem to feel it was, I also can't say that I loved it or was particularly fond of it. I'm interested to see where Harrison takes the characters. The writing was okay and the characterization was interesting and fresh.

I applaud Harrison for being somewhat unconventional in her writing and storyline, but there's a different between spicing up the bedroom and splicing up someone's abdominal area with your giant bug banger.

[Will Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim Harrison - Image from Google

In an alternate near past, humans have been much reduced as a result of unanticipated problems with bioengineered tomatoes. One result is that non-humans, immune to the created virus, have become the dominant culture, witches, werewolves, vampires, the usual gang of idiots. The main character here is Rachel, a witch who is contracted with the security organization responsible for policing the magical population. Her assignments are called “runs.” In such runs she goes after folks who are breaking laws, whether of the murder or traffic ticket variety. Of late, more the latter. Her true desire is to take down the big crime boss in town.

Stymied in her job by hostile and incompetent bosses, she seeks to start out on her own. With a vampire friend, they begin, renting out an underutilized church for their base. Rachel is assisted by Jenks, a four-inch pixie. It is an entertaining tale, with interesting characters, whose motivations and true purposes are often unclear. The book aspires to create an entire reality, and does as good a job as one might expect. There is enough suspense to sustain interest and enough charm and warmth to allow one to feel for Rachel and some others. I would not place this in the same level as the Harry Potter books. It just feels less literarily punchy. But it was a fun ride, good for young readers who have aged up from Potter, as well as ancients like myself, and those in between, and as such worthy of recommendation. I wound up reading many more books in the series.




=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, other personal , FB, Instagram and Twitter pages

Harrison enjoys using variations of Clint Eastwood Movie names for her titles

Other Books I have read in the series:
-----#2 - The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
-----#3 - Every which Way But Dead
-----#4 - A Fistful of Charms
-----#5 - For A Few Demons More
-----#6 - The Outlaw Demon Wails
-----#7 - White Witch, Black Curse

[Adina ( back from Vacay…slowly recovering) · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is there to do when you have started at least 4 Urban Fantasy and are far from finishing any of them? Start another one, obviously. One that has 15 volumes and counting.

Rachel Morgan is a witch and a runner for the IS, some sort of supernatural police. When she decides to quit her job and start on her own, a bounty is put on her head and from there things become interesting. She teams up in her venture with Ivy, a vampire who avoids blood and Jenks, a pixy with too many children and a fowl mouth.

Rachel is fun and knows a few magic tricks. When witchcraft does not work a fist is just as effective. However, all her efforts are counterbalanced by her stupid decisions. Really, I do not think she spent too much time thinking in this novel. Ok, her mistakes move the plot onwards but there has to be a limit. There were more than a few plot holes and unexplained decisions (a rat fight in the open, really?) but overall I enjoyed reading this book. The world building is moderately interesting but the tomato story was a bit idiotic. There is no romance in this novel but Rachel stops to appreciatively check out every man she encounters, even if she is kept in a cage by one of them. Well, a strong back is a strong back, one has to appreciate it in any circumstance. There are many unanswered questions and I hope it was intended for mystery purposes, not because of sloppiness.

I will continue with the series, hoping the writing and story improves.

[Jilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every review of this series talks about it being one of the best Urban Fantasies out there, and I have to admit that the world in this one is pretty awesome. I liked everything about the world.

So, why the three-stars? Because I have a little pet-peeve with something that I can easily spot for the future of this series. And, yes, I have so many book pet-peeves that my house smells like a pet-peeve litter box, but still..... I can't resist their cute little faces.


I know this one doesn't go THAT well, but gosh-darn-it-all, it made me laugh.

Rachel, our heroine, meets up with Mr. Baddie, Trent, and he almost kills her and greatly injures her, cages her and allows his assistant to physically abuse her for sadistic pleasure, threatens her, and then tries to have her die by rats, but she is ogling his ass the whole time. Plus, maybe, just maybe he is Mr. Misunderstood instead of Mr. Baddie. And, I'm like "Oh HELL to the NO!!" This is such a set-up for him to be a future love-interest!

Now, I admit that bad boys can be pretty cute and irresistible.....


Who's a cute little bad boy? You are!

BUT, the good kind of bad boy has to be the one who treats his woman like a freaking princess, yet is a badass and will do anything to protect her. Reformed bad boys are also good. Along with reformed rakes. The point is... Yes, forgiveness is divine, but if Rachel is going to forgive this guy for letting his creepy side-kick torture her for kicks and trying to kill her... I'm NOT on board with that.

Trent? My reaction to you is that of the male octopus to a potential mate:

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let the cover, description, cover reviews, or hell, even the title throw you off on this one. It looks like a cheesy paperback. Possibly even a twisted romance novel, but believe me it's not.

It takes place in a world where instead of going to the moon, money went into bioengineering. Of course something went wrong a virus got out, in tomatoes. Like a plague it started wiping out humans, Inlanders however (people and beings with mystical abilities, witches, weres, pixies etc.) were immune. Well except for the Elves. They went completely extinct. It hit them worse than humans. By the time the thing was under control the population of regular humans and Inlanders was roughly the same. No longer feeling the need to hide, being as they were no longer the minority to be prosecuted, the Inlanders became open about who they were. Therefore regular humans and Inlanders live openly together.

Well for the most part. There are prejudices. If you think that is a bit complicated, it's only the back drop. But don't let that scare you. The story is quite entertaining.

Racel Morgan, witch, is a runner for the IS the inlander version of FIB. Basically the FBI or Police for naughty or rather evil Inlander's. Long story short, she breaks her contract with them and their best runner, Ivy (a living vampire) with her. So there's a death threat out on her head. She doesn't have the money to pay it off so she goes for the next best thing. She'll crack a case so good they'll have to leave her alone. Of course it means going after Cincinnati's best loved, most powerful, and due to his refusal to say whether he's human or Inlander, most neutral political body, Trent. It's not long before Rachel Morgan has more on her ass than a bunch of angry and magical assassins.

I will grant that the first 20 pages or so of this book are a little bit cheesy. Ok a lot a bit. But in an amusing, we-know-it's-harsh-but-it's-just-to-pull-you-in kind of way. For instance she catches a leprechaun using charms that are a yellow moon, green clover, purple heart... ha. But after I was introduced to the intelligent back story, these quips were easy to forgive. And I promise eventually Jenks the nonstop talking pixie becomes less annoying, even to Rachel.

As for the smutty romance part that the cover of this book in some odd ways seems to impart, forget about it. Romance is the last thing on Ms. Morgan's mind. Between disguises, almost dying, and spending an unruly amount of time as a rodent, she just doesn't have the time.

The book was action packed, and kept me guessing. When I returned to it, it was like returning to a weekly drama. I liked it.

I have only a few small complaints. 1. I think the slightly cheesy beginning could throw some people off. 2. Sometimes Rachel's inner insecurities don't reflect her outer actions, but perhaps that is the beauty of her character. She's so insecure she HAS to look tough. 3. A few minor fight moves in the last big fight seem to get pulled off a little too smoothly. After keeping it clumsily realistic for 320 pages, I wasn't ready for a perfect toss to trip and down a guy. But alas, minor complaint. 4. Sometimes the character of Rachel bothers me a bit. But just a bit. It's actually a good sign that I'm taking her seriously as a character. So yeah, I guess that's not really a complaint.

Basically this is a first book a decently lengthened series, that I plan to purchase the rest of. It is my sinful little delight stacked up there with all my educational and political outlook books and good strong straight fiction. Hooray.

I recommend it. The latest book is in Hardback and just came out. I can't wait to catch up to it!

p.s. Harrison doesn't answer all questions, in fact she does a fine job of raising a few at the end, and you know what, I don't mind. That' s rare, but maybe it's because I know there's another book out there :)

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chuckled twice while reading the book. You know how likely that a funny writer decides to write urban fantasy? The chances are a hundred to one, probably.

"What's the matter, Trent? Jealous?" was a very funny quip. The parts where Rachel was captive, were among the most transcendental bits of a genre that I've barely explored, but did so, so far, to meager rewards.

Now that I've got an entire series of good books waiting in the wings, I'll read them one after the other, starting soon. That's a promise to myself.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2/7/18 - ON SALE for $2.99:



http://amzn.to/2fZD4j8

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

The Hollows is another one of the first Urban Fantasy series I ever read. The bug had gotten me, but I was still new enough to not really know what was available. I think I was just pursuing every lead Amazon gave me, and that was back in the 3-for-4 paperbacks days, so I was in the habit of ordering the first four books in any newly discovered series.

Which was a good plan, b/c by the time I finished Dead Witch Walking, I was well and truly hooked, and if I had days to wait before I could start the next book, I might have cried.

Rachel Morgan (a witch) lives in one of my favorite UF worlds---the creatures-out-of-the-closet world.

The first time I encountered this kind of world, I didn't know what to do with it---it was too foreign a concept for me to unquestioningly swallow. However, upon closer acquaintance, I realized how much simpler things were if the humans knew there really were things that went bump in the night: the hate groups could just be the standard bastard collection of racists and bigots instead of super, secret society types, and the creatures' actions weren't limited to what they could do without being, horror-of-horrors, discovered.

Provided there was a reasonable explanation for why the creatures were out in the open, I soon preferred this set-up almost across the board.

Unfortunately, that's where my main issue with The Hollows began . . .

In Rachel's world, a disease piggybacking off a genetically modified tomato decimated the human population---the creatures, or Inderlanders, were mostly immune to the disease so that when the dust settled, for the first time perhaps ever, the humans and the creatures were, numbers-wise, largely equal.

The Inderlanders took advantage of the situation and came out of the closet. If Harrison had left it at that, I probably would have been okay.

But she didn't.

Nope, she had the silly humans outlaw SCIENCE, b/c they were AFRAID. Afraid of SCIENCE. Afraid of TOMATOES. Just pathetically, ridiculously AFRAID.

"Outlaw science? What does that even mean?" you ask.

Well it means that the masses are dying of previously treatable illnesses, b/c silly humans destroyed the knowledge and shut down (burned down) anything resembling a research facility.

So yeah . . . that was a problem.

More realistically, the silly humans also tried to deprive any Inderlanders of their jobs, especially if said job was some form of government employment. Newly deprived of gainful employment, the Inderlanders blew their noses at the humans, and started their own government agencies.

So there.

Rachel works for one such agency, only she's been getting really crappy assignments (or runs) for awhile now, and she's just about ready to quit.

Except no one quits I.S. (Inderlander Security), the creature version of law enforcement, before their contract is finished . . .

At least no one quits . . . Dun dun duuunnnnn . . . and survives.

But Rachel thinks she's found the out she's been looking for when she captures her latest target, a tax-evading Leprechaun, who offers her 3 wishes in exchange for her freedom.

It seems like the perfect solution.

And it is. Until Ivy Tamwood, another I.S. Runner, former training partner, AND living vampire (can't forget that part), and Jenks, pixy back-up extraordinaire, decide they want in on the action. Ivy even proposes they put out a shingle together and start their own private runner service.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for one, Boss Man at I.S. is seriously pissed about Ivy buying out her contract (living vamps are loaded), so even though he admits to giving Rachel crap runs for the last two years in an effort to get her to quit, he decides to take his anger over Ivy leaving out on Rachel by using Ivy's generous payout to fund the hits he keeps putting on Rachel's life.

If that wasn't awkward (HA! Awkward!) enough, Ivy seems to have a bit of a crush on Rachel.

And that's problem #2.

Roommate situations already have the capacity for awkwardness, but when one of the roommates has "secret" feelings for the other . . . awkward in the extreme. And it has nothing to do with Ivy and Rachel both being female, so calm yourself. It'd be just as awkward if Ivy was a guy. No one wants to be dodging come-ons in their own home. Especially if the source of the come-ons is a vampire who wants to eat you . . . *snorts* . . . that's not what I meant, and you know it.

*shakes head at gutter-minded people*

BUT, on the whole this book was S-T-E-L-L-A-R. The characters are well-developed from the start, and if you ignore the ban on medical research, the world-building is fantastic too. Rachel is pretty kickass, and has limitless growth-potential, and the dash of romance is ridiculously cute. Action-packed, Dead Witch Walking will grab your interest and hold on to it . . . indefinitely. Don't let that scare you off though. The last book in the series comes out in September, and after that there's no reason you shouldn't be able to return to a productive life. (Disclaimer: Rabid Reads can in no way be held responsible for addictions to really excellent books or the shambles your life may potentially turn into due to your inability to do anything but read.)



My other reviews for this series:

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (The Hollows #2)
Every Which Way But Dead (The Hollows #3)
A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows #4)
For a Few Demons More (The Hollows #5)
The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows #6)
White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows #7)
Black Magic Sanction (The Hollows #8)
Pale Demon (The Hollows #9)
The Undead Pool (The Hollows #12)
Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond

[David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Book, you have the right to a speedy trial" review

THE DEFENSE
- Lead heroine is funny and engaging, yet also flawed enough to feel real - I felt I could relate whenever Rachel Morgan did something stupid...plus when book characters screw up, it makes me feel not as bad for doing at least 8,000 stupid things a day! (That's an exaggeration, of course! I only do 7,999 stupid things a day tops!)

- I also loved the supporting cast - Ivy the vampire is moody yet oh-so-adorable, Keasley never loses his cool, and Jenks the pixie may be the greatest scene-stealer since Winona Ryder told the makers of Girl Interrupted, "So what if Angeline Jolie is fairly new at this, everyone will just be watching me anyway!"

- Magic system is far more thought-out than in most novels - Rachel doesn't just wiggle her nose and make stuff happen, there are very strict procedures she has to adhere to and limitations to her spells. Making Rachel powerful but not "I can kick your ass with just my earlobe" powerful added greatly to the suspense.

- Interesting variation on the theme of vampire seduction - Since vampires are usually seen willingly seducing others, it was a nice change of pace to watch Ivy have to fight her natural instincts and try so hard NOT to seduce Rachel!

THE PROSECUTION
- Main story is severely lacking - Rachel leaves her job and now her former bosses are trying to kill her...annnnnnnd that's pretty much it for the first 200 pages!

- Some of the plot points make no sense when you think about them:
DENON - "I've been trying to get Rachel to quit for the last two years, using my position as her boss to make her job a living hell!"
AIDE - "Gee, if you want her out so bad, why don't you just fire her?"
DENON - "...bosses can actually FIRE employees?!? Why...why was that not made clear to me before now?!?"

- Lead villain stumbles into Dr. Evil territory at times - "Now that Rachel is trapped in the form of a mink and I have her locked up in this cage, I'll defeat her by enrolling her in a rat fight...you know, the one that takes place in a wide open area with plenty of opportunities for the combatants to escape...why are you all just shaking your heads at me, it's a brilliant plan, dammit!"

- Way too many unanswered questions at the end! - Okay, I understand this is only the first book in the series and the author wants to stretch some mysteries out, but it would have been nice if at least ONE of the questions raised in the book had been answered within these 400 pages! Exactly what kind of paranormal entity is the lead villain? What secrets is Rachel's newest ally hiding? Who sent the demon to kill Rachel? Your guess is as good as mine even after I read the book!

THE VERDICT
3.5 Not-For-Everybody stars. I enjoyed the characters enough to overlook the flawed main story and multiple plot-holes, but people looking for a more cohesive story may find this one frustrating. Still, I hear this series only gets better, so I will certainly be revisiting The Hollows in the very-near future!

[Melissa ~ Bantering Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am one happy audiobook listener. I just found a great, new-to-me urban fantasy series: Kim Harrison’s The Hollows.

Harrison has been writing the series for a long, long time. The first book, Dead Witch Walking, was initially published back in 2004. That’s what, 18 years ago? So for 18 years she’s been writing stories set in the Hollows of Cincinnati. And seeing that Book #17 is set to be released in June 2023, she doesn’t seem to be wrapping things up anytime soon.

Clearly, I’m late to the game. I’m likely one of the last urban fantasy fans to meet witch bounty hunter Rachel Morgan and all the vampires, pixies, warlocks, and fairies that live in her world. I have no one to blame but myself, though, as I’ve been collecting Harrison’s books for years in my personal library and never made time for them.

But thanks to the convenience of audiobooks, I finally squeezed in Dead Witch Walking and am so glad I did. The story is highly entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny, and narrated expertly by Marguerite Gavin. I’m in audiobook love.

With 16 installments left, I have tons of good listening ahead of me. To say I’m excited is an understatement.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 2 out of 5]

💀 DNF at who-the-bloody-fishing-knows-what-percentage-somewhere-after-the-halfway-mark-that-felt-like-1500%-methinks.

· Original rating: 2 stars.
· Previous rating: 4 stars.
· New rating: 2 stars. Yes, consistency is indeed me.

➽ And the moral of this reread is: erratic as fish pacing + Rachel’s immature as squid tantrums + manufactured drama galore = bloody shrimping out of here for good I am.





[Pre-review nonsense]

Yay and stuff, I've finally regained my nefarious senses and rated this book properly and stuff!



You should know better than to ask.

Full review to come and stuff.



[October 2014]

💌 A very private message from 2020 me: I was clearly super extra high on top-quality stuff when I wrote what follows. Thou hast been warned and stuff.

This is the second time I read this book. The first time I did, it left me absolutely unimpressed. Worse, it pretty much bore me to death and I thought it was only worth a two-star rating. So how did I go from giving this book two stars a year ago to giving it four stars today (more like a 3.5 actually)? The audio version!!

Marguerite Gavin is a fantastic narrator and she makes all the difference here. Where the book was boring, she makes it exciting and lively. It did take me some time to get used to Ivy’s voice (I still don’t like it very much) but Gavin does a great job with the other characters, especially Jenks. With Gavin’s narration, Jenks really steals the show!

Despite the excellent narration, the weaknesses of the book are still there: a desperately slow pace and words, words, words, too many words. Dead Witch Walking could definitely have done with some more editing. Some scenes are just too long and overly descriptive. The audio makes them a lot more entertaining but still, there is only so much a narrator can do. The very first scene in the book (at the bar) was much too long and I thought the mouse spell-making scene would never end!

The book could have done with more action but the plot was entertaining. As this is the first installment in a series, I guess it takes time to set things up and get the story in motion. This might be why Dead Witch Walking tends to be slow placed.

Despite the obvious flaws, I enjoyed the story a lot. I like the world-building and the plot is fun and well structured. Still, what makes this book a great read is the cast of characters. I think I just love them all! The first time I read Dead Witch Walking I thought Rachel was uninteresting and incompetent. Well it looks like Gavin really did wonders for this book because I really like her now :) I like Ivy as she adds some tension to the story and I just LOVE Jenks. He really is one hilarious pixie! His lines just kill me and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. I love Trent. I love Nick. And Matalina. And Keasley. And Captain Edden (can’t wait to find out what happens with the consulting job!). Hey, I even love poor Francis! Great characterization all around.

There are some pretty great scenes throughout the book, here are a few of my favorite ones:
- Pretty much any scene involving Jenks
- Rachel reading the vampire dating guide
- Rachel turning herself into a mink instead of a mouse
- Rachel as a mink, trapped in a cage in Trent’s office
- The rat fight
- Jenks and Nick comparing scars
- The demon attack and its aftermath at the church.
- The aspirin episode with Captain Edden

All in all, this was really fun! I’m really surprised here because I didn’t expect to like this book so much the second time around:) Now I can’t wait to read the next installment in the series!

· Book 2: The Good, The Bad and The Undead ★★★★★
· Book 3: Every Which Way But Dead ★★

[Tatiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

In spite of the moderately engaging beginning, Dead Witch Walking finally lost me by about page 100. Unfortunately, no more Rachel Morgan for me.

On the bright side, there is a potential in this series. I recently abandoned a couple of UF series because of the barenness of their worlds. In this book the mythology behind the story is rich. You never feel like the characters walk and interact in vacuum (that's how I felt reading Some Girls Bite and Halfway to the Grave). Whatever is written about the Turn, witchcraft, vampires is inventive and interesting.

On the other hand, the writing is very rough - a lot of weird and fragmented sentences that at some point become annoying. Just as an illustration, here are some examples just from one page of the book:

Face cold, I nodded, and she released me.

Impressed anew by her crucifix, I set aside my dinner and scooted forward.

Frightened, I flicked my gaze from her to the cross.

Swallowing hard, I scooted back into my chair.

Moving with a provocative slowness, Ivy took her cross off.

You see what I am talking about?

If the writing were a little better polished, some unnecessary descriptions and thoughts were removed from the narration, the characters made a bit more sense (I often couldn't understand why people did what they did in this book - why was Rachel sooo freaked out by Ivy, why her ex-boss wanted to kill her so badly, etc.), the novel would have been much more enjoyable and dynamic IMO.

Also, some hottie would be a nice addition too. As of page 100 there are no available love interests, unless you count Ivy as one. But I am not sure if Rachel is the type of girl who is into girls? Am I wrong?

Dead Witch Walking is basically a book whose popular appeal I can sort of understand (like I understand Magic Bites's popularity) but that doesn't appeal to me personally. Many readers say that the series gets much better after book 3, but I am an impatient reader and don't give writers second chances.

[Exina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Witch Walking is the first installment of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison.
It is an excellent opening book of the series: it is intriguing with the right balance of action, mystery, and humor.

The main character, Rachel Morgan, a witch, works as a runner at “Inderland Security”, but now quits her job to start her own business partnering with a vampire and a pixy.
The story is about her struggle as she tries to get rid of the bounty was put on her head by her ex-boss, and gain her independence. She is talented but inexperienced. She is brave, but sometimes insanely audacious. She makes mistakes, but never gives up.

Making a spell is easy. It's trusting you did it right that's hard.

Ivy, her partner and roommate is a “living vampire”. She is beautiful, elegant, scary, extremely dangerous even to her friends, and mysterious.

I wish I could say her weaknesses were my strengths, but Ivy didn't have any weaknesses other than the tendency to plan the joy out of everything.

Jenks is Rachel’s pixy aid and partner. His sauciness, camaraderie, and his family give an extra charm to the story.

Four inches of blond bothersome annoyance and quick temper.

The world-building is simply explained, logical, and interesting. It has so much potential.

Our history is that of humanity's. We didn't just drop out of the sky in '66; we emigrated in through Ellis Island. We fought in the Civil War, World War One, and World War Two-some of us in all three. We suffered in the Depression, and we waited like everyone else to find out who shot JR.

The story is full of thrilling action, magic, and enough questions left open that make me want to read the further books of the adventures of Rachel Morgan.

My favorite quotes.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 1 out of 5]

First to you who like this, I'm sorry. We can't all like the same books.

I picked this up because it was recommended on the "What to read while you're waiting for the next Dresden book" thread. So:

First I'm not a romance fan to begin with and I can pretty much say that I dislike every PNR (paranormal romance) I've ever "accidentally" picked up. Now, I can hear some of you saying, but this isn't PNR. At least the recommendation I went with said it wasn't. But if it's not, it's close enough for me.

I almost put this book down 3 times before I finally did. I wanted to like it, I wanted to find an urban fantasy I'd like...really, I did. I won't list the points where I almost quit, or the place I finally hit the wall, yelled that's enough and put it straight into the back to the library stack, not until we get below a spoiler warning.

The bottom line is the plot sounded fair to good, a bounty hunting witch who gets on the bad side of her own former agency and has a price placed on her head. Unfortunately the book got bogged down. We start out with Rachel on the "bust" of a leprechaun. She's fed up, it seems to her that her agency (her boss)has been slighting her and wants her to quit...so she does. It doesn't however go the way she planned.

The book tried several times to pick up it's story line and move along, but it kept bogging down in exploration of Rachel's life. Not in the way other books do with their characters, filling in the corners of the world, fleshing out what we need to know about the magic, and the other races... no, we're exploring Rachel's relationship with her vamp (living vamp as opposed to dead vamp) room-mate/partner and her relationship with her other partner a pixie. Yet somehow, the characters remain shallow.

Like I said I finally came to a point where I decided there are only so many hours left for me to read and a lot of books I'd far rather read than this one. So...one star, end of story, not for me. Enjoy if it's your cup of tea.


I wasn't thrilled with the way the book opened. We were on a stake out and the story was already very much of a "been there, done that" (ya I get it...she likes to dress in leather, everyone mistakes her for a hooker, even though she's made it a point to tell us she doesn't have a lot in the cleavage area (though oddly just after that she uses "what she has" to distract someone). The fantasy world is one where supernatural folk are now out in the open as the majority of humanity (us normals, at least she didn't say muggles, of course she'd have had legal problems over that so there's a good reason) has died.

I tried to stay with this book. When I see I'm about to dislike a book quite a bit I want to be fair... The first time I almost gave up was when we met the "non-practicing" vampire, (sigh)...but the book was going on to explain the difference between living and dead vamps. SO I stayed with it to see... I got to the point where they moved into the old church as an office and where Rachel and her "living vamp" partner (Ivy) would both be forced to also live (they've both lost accommodations and have little hope of finding more). I almost quit again when we had the scene where the vamp (Ivy) apparently tries to seduce Rachel...or maybe rip her throat out. She was, confused. I skimmed through it and moved on, "give the book a chance", I thought. I was then treated to Rachel's perusing of the "How to have sex with a vampire without becoming dinner (or possibly the meal of your choice)" manual her partner gave her. (Rachel continues to be straight she tells us, but doesn't really know how to deal with her partner).... I went on. Till we got to the sexy male vamp visiting the sexy (maybe bisexual?) female vamp (Rachael's partner Ivy again) and his move on Rachel (he just wants her for her blood, the sex would be incidental) and Ivy holds him off by saying ..."she's mine".

I read a little farther on, but come on, enough is enough... If this is what you like, fine. When a book has spent more than half it's length on the possible...planned...dreamed...or whatever sex lives of the characters and I know more about that than about the actual plot, it's a little too much romance, paranormal or otherwise for me. If it's for you, then enjoy. Another nonstarter for me.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this series a lot but around book 4 it petered off for me. I need to get back on the horse.

[Lady Jaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Er...ok. So this is not going to be a complimentary review, as you've probably already guessed by the rating.

I am a character-driven reader. I don't necessarily have to love a character to bits, but if I can get behind him/her, then I will come along for the ride, and be willing to overlook a lot of things, like faulty plotting. If I don't like the character, well, then I enjoy the book less, and become somewhat cranky. I notice choppy plotting/not-very-good writing.

I am not a plot-driven reader, but sometimes, really good storytelling will keep me interested even when I dislike the characters.

This book failed on both fronts. I wanted to slap Rachel, the main character, almost from the beginning, and was praying someone would shoot her dead and put me out of my misery. I didn't see much likeable/ interesting/ redeemable about her. She was not intelligent - and since every other person was dumber than she was, it made for a rather stupid cast of characters. The secondary characters were also boring and annoying in turns.

Um... the story. It was published in 2004, (I'm guessing) in the infancy of UF. I don't know if it would have been considered cutting edge/excellent in it's time, but now that the genre has taken off, it is just bad prose and bad plotting.

And bad editing/copy-editing. There were some glaring errors I caught several times.

I do not think I will be reading more of the books in this series; it's not for me. I might try other books Kim Harrison has written, but probably later.

I don't recommend this one.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going with a high 3 stars maybe 3.75. I really enjoyed the world created by the author and I liked the comic touches in places. For more than half the book, I was finding it all very entertaining and pretty fast paced. But. I felt the book went on too long and I was starting to wonder if this Rachel was just annoying for making so many bad decisions...I liked the Trent character and hope to see more of him. Clearly there’s more to him than meets the eye. Nick I didn’t really take to. Jenks is okay for now but could quickly get on my nerves for his twee factor! Apparently the second in the series is better so I will definitely read it as this was t bad. I would hope to see Rachel developing as the series progresses.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

*sighs*
What is it with UF books getting these ugly-ass covers? It’s already been driving me crazy with Ilona Andres’ stories and it’s no better here. Please don’t let the covers fool or even drive you away!

As is usual for UF worlds, we are on Earth but in 1966, something went different from our history: bio-engineering resulted in a virus being set loose, killing a quarter of all humans. No longer the minority, all sorts of other creatures came forth (vampires, werewolves, witches, warlocks etc).
In this world, there are two government agencies: the human-run Federal Inderland Bureau (FIB) for humans and the vampire-run federal Inderland Security (IS) police service for the supernatural beings.
Rachel is working for the IS as a bounty hunter but quits at the beginning of the story, thus finding herself having a target on her back.
She’s trying to solve a case in order to buy her independence and make sure the assassins will finally quit.
She’s not the only one quitting though: a vampire called Ivy and a pixie called Jenks leave with her and they all find themselves moving in together (in an awesome old church).

The case itself is relatively unimportant. Instead, we get to know the three main characters and the setting (Cincinnati, and especially part of the city that is called the Hollows). Moreover, we are introduced to the magic system that I thought was quite wonderful. There IS a difference between witches and warlocks, there are universities teaching you magic and other stuff, every magic has the same price though it takes different forms.
I loved that Rachel is using earth magic and the garden she has in the church’s backyard.

The writing might not be anything special compared to some classics but as far as UFs go (which I categorize as „candy“), the story felt fast-paced, the characters were presented either in an endearing way or were baddies I loved to hate (yes, I cheered when one got what he had deserved) and the world building, which is always the most important part in a UF series, was appropriately fantastic.

Beware of tomatoes! :)

[destini · Rating 1 out of 5]

On a scale of 1 to done I'm:

Me trying to get a grasp on this book:

Me every time Rachel opened her mouth:

. . . so yeah, I could go on but I think you get the point. There was so much potential it hurt . But by the end I was doing some heavy skimming and only went on because I was close to finishing anyways. I just really couldn't get into this one :(

This book just wasn't for me, sadly.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading the series (or at least attempting to finish it) before the new book 14 comes out later this year. I'd forgotten just how much I adored Jenks - one of the best UF characters of all time!

Very much enjoyed this revisit and can't wait to jump into number 2. :)

---
Fun book! I liked the characters enough to keep going. :)

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a long-time fan of the full series and this just happens to be my third read.

Let me get the housekeeping out of the way. The later books are much better than the first book. This is probably because we've just got our introductions going.

HOWEVER, re-reads are much more rewarding for the same reason. All the characters who are introduced here are fully explored later, and that isn't just true for Rachel, Ivy, or Jenks, but the perfidy of Nick, the gradual acceptance of Eddings, and of course, the horribly tumultuous relationship with Trent. Not to mention Al.

I've read all the books save the brand new one that is coming out in a few weeks, so I've laughed and cried and have been very impressed with the full scope of what is to come. Seeing all of this first book through that lens is a mindtrip.

Yes, this kind of thing should have a proper term for it. Where the weight of foreknowledge floors you and increases your appreciation for what is in front of you?

Suffice to say, while this first book is light and fun and barely scratches the surface of my enjoyment, it IS still very enjoyable. It's one of my first UF loves, after Anita Blake and before Harry Dresden. I still rank it up there with both.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK so the most telling thing for me about this book is that it took me OVER A WEEK to read it. It was not a page turner, and I just couldn't get through it any faster. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't gripping. At all. Things picked up once Rachel turned into a mink, but that happens halfway through. I found the whole relationship between Ivy and Rachel and all of Rachel's constant angst about Ivy quite tiresome. I kept wanting to shout at the book "make up your mind, trust her or don't trust her, but let's move on!"

I might read the next book in the series if I run out of other things to read, because often these things improve as a series progresses. The problem is that I have read SO many great books lately - I have been completely spoiled by Patricia Briggs - that I don't think I'll be returning to The Hollows any time soon. Maybe in a few months I'll feel differently.

UPDATE JULY 2017: I feel like I should add an addendum to this review... even though I didn't love book 1, as it turns out, I did read and love the rest of the series. So, it's probably worth reading beyond this first book even if (like me) you didn't enjoy this one all that much.

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Morgan is just your avenge supernatural bounty hunter living in the Hollows of Cincinnati with her roommates, Ivy a vampire, and Jenks a pixie. Being half witch and demon, she is unique among all the creatures that call the Hollows their home. Her job is catching wanted criminals and bring them back dead....or undead or alive. I really love the characters in this book. They are fun, sexy, and dark. Following Rachel on her different missions was a great time. She gets into a bunch of messes, but manages to pull through. I will keep following this series.

🐱🐱🐱🐱

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ * · Rating 4 out of 5]

love a good found family <3

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel Morgan lives in Cincinnati. Not the Cincinnati that you and I might be familiar with but a post-apocalyptic town that has ripped the curtains from the fact that there is a shadow world of all those creatures from pixies to vampires that have lived among humans for millennia. Humans became an endangered species when a bio-engineered virus ran amuck drastically reducing their population. Now those who lived in the “Inderland” were out and about. They may or may not live in your neighborhood. Many apparently congregate in the Hollows across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

"Most humans are surprised at how normal the Hollows appear, which, when you stop to think about it, makes sense. Our history is that of humanity’s. We didn’t just drop out of the sky in ’66; we emigrated in through Ellis Island. We fought in the Civil War, World War One, and World War Two—some of us in all three. We suffered in the Depression, and we waited like everyone else to find out who shot JR."

Yes, because there are still humans, there is a police force to make sure rules are obeyed, Federal Inderland Bureau. There is also a Inderland Security for those others I was discussing. We find our hero, Rachel Morgan (a witch by training and certification) working for the I.S. and tracking down all that refuse to play by the rules.

Before we get too far into the plot, Rachel has quit the I.S. and gone “independent” along with a couple of work-buddies. Yet there are some lingering issues involving high-level corruption and the likelihood that her former boss may have “put out a contract on her.” Still, she has some allies in her new P.I. office: A living vampire, named Ivy and a “pixy” named Jenks.

These two also worked for I.S. and left at the same time Rachel did to form a professional partnership. They form a constantly changing triangle of brain storming, spats, and rescues.

This is a fast read with Harrison having some interesting ideas about the Hollows and a post-apocalyptic existence that includes magic and monsters. Rachel, though a witch, isn’t all that competent and her decision-making (whether about pursuing crime or sexually-attractive potential partners) is somewhat lacking. Also, we get the author prodding us with observations about Rachel that aren’t justified by what we are given. For instance: We are told that others see her as the leader of her team, but her leadership skills from planning to focus are almost illusionary. It became frustrating to see her rationalize the instances where she wouldn’t plan ahead, respect her friends and acknowledge the dangers of her opponents that she eventually falls victim to.

4 stars for a lot of inspired elements to the plot
2 stars for the farce of characterization

I suspect that this will get worse in future books before it gets any better. Here are a couple of quotes that should give you a sense of Harrison's style:

“He cut a nice figure as he stood before them, so intent on his choice that he didn’t realize I was rating his backside: 9.5 out of 10. I took the.5 off for most of his physique being hidden behind a business suit that cost more than some cars. I’d gotten another yummy look at him last night when he took off his jacket after everyone went home. The man had a very strong back. Why he kept it hidden behind that jacket was both a mystery and a crime. His tight stomach was even better.”

“You want some advice?” he asked. “No.” “Good. Listen anyway. Looks to me like you’ve become the leader here. Accept it. Know it comes with a price. People will be doing things for you. Don’t be selfish. Let them.”

[FlibBityFLooB · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars. *singing* Attttaccccccckkkk of the killer tomatoes! How can I resist starting this review without that lovely song? I can’t say I’ve ever read a book with so much tomato-hate. Genetically mutated tomatoes have caused much havoc to the human world in the Rachel Morgan universe, and that sets up an interesting world where humans live with pixies, witches, vampires, and other creatures of the night.

After I finished the book, I read a lot of reviews on amazon where people strongly disliked the book. I, happily, am not going to be one of those people. I believe that I am going to grow to really enjoy this series. It features some of my favorite urban fantasy elements – strong female, snarky humor, characters that are enigmas where you can’t tell if they’re really good or bad, and good sexual tension. I also felt like it was an original storyline with the various things that happened to Rachel throughout the story. I certainly couldn’t have seen the mink/rat scenes coming! There was a fair amount of world-building that took place in the novel, but I didn’t feel overly intimated with learning character names and places the way I feel in some series. I do admit, however, that I re-read the first couple chapters after making it about 40 pages into the book to reacquaint myself with everything that had happened.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Ivy and Rachel in the book. It was interesting to try to determine whether Ivy had ulterior motives for quitting her job and moving in with Rachel. I wonder if I will learn more about that as I read future books in the series. I also really enjoyed the character of Trent. He was intriguing because he was a bit of a puzzle and Rachel had a love/hate thing going on with him during the novel. I like complicated characters in my books.

I listened to parts of this book in audiobook form and read sections of it on my free kindle download as well. The narrator on the audiobook had some strange voices for some of the characters, but I grew to really like them after a while. As an example: Jenks, the pixie, sounds a bit like a stereotypical 1920s gangster with a pixie edge. A little weird, but fun to listen to :) Ivy, Rachel’s vampire seducing roommate, had a very breathy/husky voice in the audiobook. At first I was a bit annoyed by that, but I grew to think that the voice fit her character’s personality fairly well.

So, you may wonder why I’m giving this book 4.5 stars instead of an outright 5? The answer for me lies in the action and sexual tension. I felt there could have been more of both in the story, but I definitely see hints of good action and sexual tension to come in the series. So, I am excited about that.

[Lazaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a world where every kind of supernatural creature was walking out in the streets without a care in the world about being seen by a human.

Well, after a disease (enhanced by biodrugs because of course us, humans, are pretty stupid at the end of the day, okay) wiped out most humans and the supernatural was forced to come to light since they were immune to it, the world is mostly run by the supernatural considering how they've come to outnumber us. And overpower us. There's definitely that, too.

Witches, vampires, faeries, pixies, warlocks, demons.. Oh and much much more, I won't even delve into the kinds.

Rachel Morgan is part of an organization that is responsible for handling rogue supernatural creatures. It's IS. Inderlander Security. Inderlander are called those with special abilities & generally every kind of creatures is part of the supernatural world. There's also the human counterpart of IS which is the FIB, and they handle different matters and anything they can't handle they hand on to the IS.

Rachel Morgan isn't happy with her life. She works, works, work and she does nothing else but work. She doesn't have friends. She doesn't have a boyfriend. Until one day her boss decides to fire her and since Rachel and Ivy, a hot, tempered living vampire made a pact to leave the IS together, her boss puts a price on her head for taking Ivy with her. Yes, no one can ever leave the IS. You'll either be fired or you'll leave on your own and have your head served on a plate in a few months on the boss' desk.

Ivy is one hell of a vampire. She's a living vampire, meaning she is a vampire who has the 'virus' of vampirism but hasn't still died. Meaning she's not so bloodlusty as the dead vampires and that she can go out into the sun. In Rachel's team there's also Jenks, a pixy who's snarky and about all kinds of awesome.

I haven't told you what these 3 are trying to do together. Well, let me give you a clue. Someone is creating and shipping off biodrugs which is the very reason of the extinction of half the human populace. They know exactly who he is. The problem is that they do not have enough evidence to incriminate him.

A very captivating novel and very well-written, I'll admit. With snarky & sharp characters who are funny and work amazingly as a team. The author manages to make it fast-paced without leaving out anything and accomplishes to satisfy all of my expectations. I didn't have high expectations but I definitely do have those for the next installment in the series. I hope it's as thrilling as this was.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st read - 2009
2nd read - June 2016
3rd read - June 2020
4th read - May 2021

I first discovered Kim Harrison's Hollows series about seven years ago and I remember devouring the first 6 or so books (all that was available to buy at the time) but somehow, what with my ever expanding TBR pile, I never got around to reading the rest of the books as they were published. It's been so long now that although I still have an overall fondness for the series I can't remember much of the detail from those early books so I think I'm well overdue a reread before I finally find out how the series ends.

I'm going to write this review assuming you're totally new to this series so let's talk about the world that Kim Harrison has created. Imagine a world where half the world's human population was accidentally decimated by a man-made virus that spread through genetically modified tomatoes. Humans no longer have the largest population on the planet and that allowed supernatural creatures (who prefer to be known as Interlanders) such as witches, vampires and all kinds of other beings to step out of hiding. It helped that Interlanders had a natural immunity to the virus so they were able to step up and stop the world from falling to pieces as millions of humans started dropping like flies but that doesn't mean humans were thrilled to discover that monsters have been walking alongside them this whole time.

Now there is an uneasy relationship between humans and Interlanders, for the most part the groups are segregated living in different communities but there will always be some crossover. Humans don't trust Interlanders and they formed a human only police force, the FIB (Federal Interland Bureau) to monitor the Interlanders. At the same time the Interlanders formed their own agency, the I.S. (Interland Runner Services) and although they focus more on the most dangerous Interland criminals there is still a lot of rivalry between the two sides.

Rachel Morgan is a witch who works as a runner for the I.S. but she doesn't have the best relationship with her boss and she's always getting stuck with the worst possible jobs. Sick of being taken advantage of she decides to walk away from the I.S. and start her own agency but, unfortunately for her, nobody gets to just walk away from the I.S. so she's now in a whole heap of trouble. Especially when Jenks, her pixy back-up, and Ivy, a vampire who happens to be the I.S.'s best runner, decide to leave with her.

I loved Dead Witch Walking from the first page, it was just so nice to be back in this world again and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Rachel, Jenks and Ivy. These three work together so well as they each have different strengths and weaknesses and I think they make a great team. I have to admit that Jenks and his family are favourites because they add a lot of humour to the story but Rachel is a brilliant heroine and I enjoy being inside her head. I love the world building in this series, there is always something fun about series where humans are aware of the supernatural creatures living amongst them and I like all the little details the author has included like the way humans react to tomatoes or how prejudiced they are towards Interlanders. I am still a bit confused about why they have turned so far against all forms of science though, it makes sense that they'd be wary but they've lost so much technology that they can't even treat a lot of fairly common illnesses and that can only be a bad thing. Perhaps they'll see the light as the series continues and start to rebuild what they've lost but I'm not convinced it's going to happen.

Either way I'm just so glad that I've decided to revisit this series and I can't wait to carry on reading.

________________

Buddy read with the MacHalo crew starting 1st of June. We're planning on reading 1 book a month so it should be a really easy series read/reread (for me I've only ever read the first 5 or 6 books & it was a looooooong time ago so I remember very little about the series!). Anyone who wants to join us is very welcome :o)

[Jadranka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zabavno, uzbudljivo, na momente i vrcavo...
Mnogo bolje od True Blood serijala, a Rejčel Morgan je svakako dopadljivija i duhovitija od Suki Stekhaus. A i bolja je ženska ;)
Uživancija :)

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Solid Series Start Stars

Whenever I’m starting a new series that is more than 3 books long I don’t expect a lot from the first book. I only expect it to give me a taste of the world and the main characters. As I dip my toe into the Hallows pool to get a feel for the series I’m hopeful. The characters are intriguing and show promise, there are plenty of hints of things to come without really giving anything major away and the world was interesting enough that I might want to visit it multiple times. So as a first book goes it totally hit the mark.

Rachel got herself into plenty of sticky situations this book that can play out a variety of ways in the books to come. First she rooms with a female vampire who may or may not have the hots for Rachel, it is hard to say if Ivy’s interests lie in Rachel, her blood or her body. Second she has a hit out on her and it seems like every Witch, Warlock and Were are out to get her not to mention the Fairies as well. Third she decided to go up against another big bad something in hopes of nulling the contract on her life. And finally it seems that if any situation can go wrong it will and she has made some pretty dangerous bargains with some pretty shady characters.

Rachel seems like a heroine I can read about and maybe only get slightly annoyed when she does stupid stuff. Mainly because she generally knows it is stupid, but can’t see another way to accomplish her goals. Plus she is funny and can make fun of both herself and her situations.

The side characters were all interesting and I’m sure will have very interesting backstories and motivations come out in the future books. For instance why did Ivy throw in with Rachel? What is Ivy’s true interest in Rachel? Who is the neighbor across the street and more importantly what is he? How does Nick know all this stuff and why does he seem to know more about Rachel’s world than she does when he is just a human? When you make a deal with a Demon what will that cost you down the road? What really happened to Ivy’s father? Why did Denton want her out of the I.S. so bad? What the hell is Trent and what is his real gameplan? Etc….etc…etc.

This was a great blend of intrigue, action, humor with just a little hit of romance sprinkled on top. I appreciate the new take of the lore that was used especially with the Vampires and Pixies. Have both living and undead vampires was an interesting twist on the usual lore and the fact the Ivy is a non-practicing Vampire made her anal retentive ass all the more interesting.

There were a few pacing issues in a few spots that sometimes happed in a first book especially but there wasn’t much infodumping which I for one appreciate. I always like having a world revealed to me a step at a time.

Okay Kim Harrison you have my attention and I’m ready to wade further into this world you have created.