Book: Black Magic Sanction
ISBN-13: 978-0061138034
Author: Kim Harrison
Series: Book 8 of the The Hollows / Rachel Morgan series
Publisher: Eos
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release: February 23, 2010
Length: 496 pages (Hardcover)
Rating: C+ (75/100)
Verdict
Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series continues to be one of the most entertaining series in the urban fantasy market, standing head and shoulders above most of the formulaic flotsam flooding the genre.
In a genre suffering from a surfeit of gruff, morally ambivalent private detectives, Kim Harrison’s The Hallows series is a breath of fresh air. Her protagonist, Rachel Morgan, is the closest thing the genre has to a female Harry Dresden, which is high praise among urban fan enthusiasts. Her plots are tumultuous joyrides. Her story premises are extremely innovative in a genre that’s rapidly growing stale.
In fact, the single greatest flaw of the series is that Harrison generates more potential than a single book a years can possibly fulfill. Now, if only she’d repeal the “G” rating, let her protagonist stray from the straight and narrow now and again, and butch up the fight scenes!
As it stands, however, this series still comes highly recommended, and while this isn’t the best book of the lot, it is a worthy addition to the series and a major step up from the previous installment, White Witch, Black Curse, which felt a bit like a holding pattern.
-
Pros: Charming character. Excellent premise. Funny narrative. Great dialog.
Cons: Far fewer action scenes than a fan might wish for. A bit simplistic. Main character is a bit too ethical for genre norms.
Synopsis
In Brief: In this, the eighth book in the series, Rachel is being hunted down by her own kind, the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards, for being a a witch-born demon. Rynn Cormel won’t help, and David is out of town. The only two people left who might help her, the demon Algaliarept and Elf-turned-drug lord Trent Kalamack, would both use her desperate situation against her. So, once again, it’s up to Rachel to invent new options before the world closes in on her.
Official: Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she’s never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.
It takes a witch to catch a witch, but survival bears a heavy price.
Review
The Hallows series comes highly recommended for a bit of light reading. Unlike many series, such as those of Charlaine Harris or Laurell K. Hamilton, neither its underlying premise nor its characters are loosing their attraction, which is an absolutely excellent quality for a fantasy series to possess. And, while the series does have a few slow spots, Black Magic Sanction isn’t one of them.
After an excellent set-up in books one through four, Black Magic Sanction, the eighth entry in the series, finally brings The Hollows back on course, returning to the storylines we care about. Namely, Rachel Morgan being chased all over creation by magical things intent on killing her. What’s more, Black Magic Sanction has untangled those complications necessary for forging ahead with more action in coming volumes.
Unfortunately, in order to get back on track, some aspects of the series were neglected. In particular, this book includes fewer scenes with Ivy than any previous entry in the series. Because Harrison has done such an amazing job growing her characters into three-dimensional people readers can love, most fans of the series are going to sorely feel this oversight.
To her credit, though, Harrison resolves a large number of the mysteries she’s built into her series in Black Magic Sanction, making it one of the most intellectually satisfying entry in the series yet. The book finally reveals the backstory of Rachel’s long-forgotten history with Trent. Pierce’s person history is revealed. It even fills in a a lot of the blanks concerning demons and their magic. All in all, by the end of the book, the stage is set for something big. Let’s just hope that Harrison’s next book delivers.
Buy it, don’t borrow it. You’re going to want to read it again.
Note: The eBook release of Black Magic Sanction has been pushed back to April due to industry politics. Read more about the reason behind the delay in Harrison’s blog post, Battle of the e-books has spilled onto my desk.
Similar Books
If you enjoy this series, you may also enjoy these very similar series:
- The Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
- The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
- The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews.
- The Mercedes Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs.
Further Information
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