Dead Witch Walking

Devo ammettere che questo volume della Harrison mi ha piacevolmente sorpresa.
La trama è scorrevole, coinvolgente e intrigante quel tanto che basta da non confondere.
I colpi di scena sono numerosi durante tutta la durata del libro ma non esclatanti, un ottimo equilibrio azione e momenti più introspettivi.

I personaggi sono caratterizzati decisamente bene, la protagonista ha i suoi pregi e difetti come anche il folletto cche da aiutante passa a socio in nome, non di un contratto, ma di amicizia.

Poi abbiamo il piccolo flirt fra Raghel e la vampira, sua socia, Ivy che personalmente ho apprezzato moltissimo e che ha aggiunto un po' di pepe al tutto.

Unico appunto: Ivy e Nik, non sono riuscita ad inquadrarli come avrei voluto come anche show more la storia delle 'riviste' che avevano già l'indirizzo della chiesa quando Ivy aveva detto che si era trasferita nello stesso giorno di Rachel.
Credo che ne sapremo di più nel prossimo volume che, sinceramente, non vedo l'ora di riuscire a scovare! show less

B (Good).

A witch federal agent gets a price on her head when she quits the agency.

I love this world. Harrison isn't afraid to lean in to the inherent silliness of fantasy tropes, while at the same time taking everything seriously enough to give it a realistic weight. And I enjoyed the story well enough that, until the last couple chapters, I'd expected to give the book a 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars. The ending just didn't quite land. Too much is left unresolved - big things that are pushed off with an implied To Be Continued, but also small things that aren't even acknowledged as being unresolved. It's very rare that I think a book could be longer (and this book is not short), but I do get the feeling that things were cut for length that show more shouldn't have been. I expect the sequels will do better with that sort of thing.

(Jan 2026) show less

I'm rereading these books inorder to finish the series. A few years ago I went to a book reading/signing for what was supposed to be the final book released in The Hollows series so I know who Rachel ends up with. It's weird reading the series knowing that.
When these books were released I loved them. I was a huge fan of this genre and I liked the humor in the books. I still like the humor though I find Rachel annoying. My favorite character remains Jenks.
My favorite part of this series is the world building of The Hollows. I like the humor in the series and the characters and I like how the author handles the cannon around vampires, witches, werewolves, etc. I absolutely love the addition of pixies and fairies.
I removed a few stars as I show more had forgotten the author's tendency to use racist language and descriptions. At one point Dennon, Rachel's boss is described as having a deeply frightening voice 'like only black men and criminals' have or some such nonsense. Also for referring to Ivy as 'oriental'. Shudder, like how did that make it past an editor? Quick fact Kim Harrison/Dawn Cook or whatever your name is: orientals are rugs, Asians are people. Yikes. The author is too young and from Detroit which ain't a white city (though I'm sure her family fled after the 60's riots during the mass exodus known as White Flight) to not know how to handle diversity better. show less

I'd never read Kim Harrison before. I picked the book because Margaurite Gavin is the narrator and I normally enjoy what she reads.

By the end of "Dead Witch Walking" I was convinced that Kim Harrison had created the basis for a strong Urban Fantasy series.

Her imagining of an alternative earth where a bioengineered disease has accidentally wiped out enough of the human population to bring the weres, vampires, fairies, pixies and witches out of the closet is rich and original.

She has assembled a strong ensemble cast in an iconic location and taken them through trial by combat.

There are secrets and mysteries, murky motives, undisclosed back-stories and shifting agendas enough to feed a dozen books and enough acts of heroism and loyalty to show more give everyone something to win/lose/feel guilty about. The action scenes are clear and exiting. The vampire/witch dynamic has an instinct-driven frisson to it that remains unresolved.

Only two things marred the book for me: I didn't much like the main character, Rachel Morgan, at the beginning. She was meant to be a tough, wise-cracking, kick-ass-but-honourable witch with a past but, in the first few chapters, she came across as whiney, self-pitying and mistrustful of the people trying to help her; I also began to feel that Morgan's head-long rush into any situation wasn't a character flaw that was an attempt to disguise a weak plot.

Still, I'll be back for more. I think this is one of those series that will get better as it goes along. show less

In Cincinnati, the Inderlander Security polices all supernatural creatures of the city. Rachel Morgan is a runner for the I.S. and she hates every minute of it. Any job she does for the I.S. is either cursed with bad luck, or intern level work. She's a damn good runner, but her boss refuses to acknowledge it. It's time for something to change. When her latest job is to catch a leprechaun for tax evasion she calls it quits. Glad to see her go, her boss never suspects that his best runner, Ivy Tamwood will quit alongside Rachel. Furious, he puts a price on Rachel's head. With the help of Ivy and a four foot tall pixie named Jenks, Rachel has to dodge the I.S. assassins. The only way to make them stop is to buy out the contract she broke show more by quitting. While Ivy might have the cash to quit, Rachel is penniless. Rachel sets her sights on Trent Kalamack, a millionaire in the public eye who runs the Brimstone drug trade on the side. But no one has been able to prove his hands are dirty. If Rachel can pin him down, she'll be home free.

Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks have been a dynamic set of characters since I first read The Hollows series years ago. Returning to The Hollows to start the series from the beginning is just as fun as it was the first time around. The three just work well together. Ivy, the one who needs a set plan of action and multiple fail-safes in place. Rachel, the one who rushes into things with a half ass plan, and wings it. And Jenks, the wiseass companion who makes sure to never let them live down said mistakes. Sure they may bungle through some jobs, and mess up plenty of times, but you can't say it isn't entertaining to experience it with them.

Kim Harrison has created a vivid urban fantasy world that is only scratching the surface of the Hollows in this first novel. Even though I already know what happens, I found myself immersed in her world and chuckling at the antics of the three characters. This time around I did notice there is a lot of world building stuffed into the first novel. This might slow some people down, but it lays the groundwork for future novels to take off right from the start. Trust me, wading through the information dumps is worth it.

I can't wait to start the next! show less

I'm an Urban Fantasy addict and this book hit all my fan-girl buttons.

It does have it's slower parts compared to some other books in the series, and the first part is harder to get through than the rest. I had no problem with it holding my interest as I loved the characters and the small humor scenes, but there wasn't much action-wise hitting until later, so some readers may grow slightly impatient. Hang in there and rest assured the wait is worth it.

The humor in this first book is high and causes frequent chuckles, and that's without being forced, false, or cheesy. Rachel is a fun character - intelligent and driven but also a bit awkward and prone to mistakes and misunderstandings. Sometimes her mistrust of Ivy grew tiresome and show more ridiculous, but overall I really dig her as a main heroine. She has reasonable fears and isn't unrealistic, and her being a witch trying to leave the IS and make her way in the world amongst so much turmoil, death threats, changes, and hangups makes an interesting read.

Great introduction for Ivy as a sensual, intriguing character, leaving you wondering what's going to happen with Rachel and Ivy in the next book and what she really holds up her sleeve. Jenks? How could you not love the pixie with his foul, unique language, honor system, humor, and grumpiness.

The villains frighten - Trent Kalamack is ruthless here, cold and cruel, luring the reader into almost liking him before turning a 180 and showing brutality. Algaliarept the demon popped in to make a grand entrance with an eerie, creepy, and almost strangely erotic section. Nick comes across a bit in this one as actually likeable and not as dull as he later will. Jonathan as Trent's main man comes across as the biggest villain of the story because of the tormenting scenes with pencils ~ bastard.

Harrison's world is complex and awesome. The vampires come in a few forms - the undead, the living vampires, and ghouls (those aspiring to become vamps one day and serve as tools for the manipulative undead.)

The undead vamps are without soul or conscience, following guidelines of other vamp stories - no churches, sunlight, and they can bespell you. They're not nice but have learned to adapt through politics and putting on a fake front/face to trick people and have an easier life for themselves. Living vampires are those not yet dead, so there soul is still there. They have less power but less vulnerabilities as well. You have weres in the book but they're not shown much in this one other than a few scenes and they are considered an Inderlander race but not much is gone into yet about their structure.

The witches are broken into sections of magic too - earth witch, ley line witch, black magic and white magic. The small bit seen with demons is awesome, creepy, and exciting.

Great introduction to the series - well-written heroine, an interesting blend of characters, small dabs of humor that's genuinely funny, an underlying dark, gritty feel and theme, unique blend of circumstances that make the book stand out. Hard to put down and I went in hunt of the rest of the series the next day,already obsessed. show less

I have to start off by saying that I felt this book took forever to read. I really couldn't get into it until the final stages. That's why this review will probably seem more like a rant than anything; I'm trying not to focus on what I didn't like but rather what I did. Clearly, I'm finding it somewhat difficult.

I liked the idea behind the story; the world the characters were set in. Supernatural creatures such as witches, pixies, vampires and shape-shifters lived among the humans (with the human's knowledge that they exist) after a deadly virus genetically engineered by the humans wiped out most of their population. The virus didn't have any effect on the Supernatural, leaving them able to reveal their existence to the humans. A show more relatively cool idea right?

The big problem was; I didn't like the protagonist set in this wonderful world; I thought she was stupid at times and that she didn't think things through.

I actually loved reading about Ivy (the vampire roommate) and Jenks (the pixy) more than Rachel. Ivy's history was intriguing, original and very well thought out while Jenks was absolutely hilarious and refreshing to read about.

Also, the main villain in the story, Trent Kalamack, was a genius. I was half-expecting him to repent for his ways and for Rachel to eagerly fall into his open arms. But, alas, that did not happen. Maybe if it did, I would have liked Rachel just a tad more!

All in all, Dead Witch Walking was a slow read that I almost didn't finish. It had it's moments but they were certainly not due to Rachel Morgan and her quick wits (notice the sarcasm?). show less