Really liked this.
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I'm thoroughly enjoying these books. Ms Harrison writes in a similar vein to Laurell K. Hamilton before her books turned into bonk fests. There's a great story line that's easy to get into, characters that keep you interested, what with all their various foibles and problems, and you find yourself looking forwards to seeing what Rachel Morgan's going to get up to next. She's a heroine who loves to get her hands dirty. What's a little blood between friends anyway? I would definitely recommend this book (it's book 2, so you may want to start with the first book so you don't miss anything.)
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As good as the first
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this book is as good if not better than dead witch walking. all the charecters are in there with many more.
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An Ending That's Worth It!
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Having loved the ideas presented in the first book, I was a little disappointed at the rather plodding, unexplained pace of this second book's opening. Then it became appropriately gory, sarky and demony. The demon's moments are by far the highlights of the book, and while the character of Kist flickers between potential and cliche, all those who see Spike from Buffy written down on paper, raise your hand now....
...Or that could just be me.
Visually, this book presents some very strong scenes, obviously depending on the quality of the readers imagination. The humour in the anti-tomato attitude of the humans also verges on the irritating, but if you can kind of skim over those parts and focus on the bits that are actually good, then this book is a faithful second part of the series, giving you a climatic ending that leaves you desperate to know what comes next.
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Bandwagon supernatural soap opera
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I read a lot of books in this genre: Jim Butcher, Laurell K Hamilton, Kelley Armstrong etc. and so I had high hopes for the Rachel Morgan series. I even made it through the first book (Dead Witch Walking) with a mild sense of optimism given that there were a few worthy characters and the promise of some deeper mysteries being revealed... *if* Harrison could improve on some of the debut-novel prose and pacing that wasn't exactly top notch in book 1.
Sadly, she has not delivered in book 2. In fact she has dropped a lot of the original charm seen in the first novel (the character Jenks for one) and replaced it with cringeworthy cliche and clunky storytelling of a bogstandard bargain bin vampire soap opera. Yawn.
This book reads like an amateur novel: The foreshadowing is heavy handed and predictable, many of the characters are one-dimensional and the idea that Rachel will yet again be pitched against a somewhat random arch-rival Trent (no doubt based on a romanticised Trent Reznor of NIN fame) seems tired and forced already. Humanity's ridiculous fear of the tomato features heavily, as if it's meant to be funny rather than meaningless and annoying. Meanwhile the character of Ivy becomes such an unnecessary irritation, one wonders if there's an element of Mary Sue going on. And this is only book 2!
I had to force my way through 250 pages before giving up entirely. Frankly if Harrison can't get it together in half the book, the ending won't be worth waiting for.
Unless you felt that Dead Witch Walking was the best thing you've ever read, don't bother with the rest of the series. I know I won't.
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More fast paced witch action
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The good the bad and the undead picks up right where dead witch walking finishes and neatly picks up the threads that were left open at the end of the first book.
The heroine Rachel Morgan is trying to get her bounty hunter business of the ground and is dealing with problems like the rest of us, how to pay the bills, how to try to balance a romantic life with a working life. She is also trying to build her relationship with her new "human" boyfriend Nick (Introduced in book one) who also dabbles in magic!
The best thing in this book is the sense of humour and the characters! Rachel is pig headed and very gung ho about tackling nasty powerful creatures. But she is also mischievous, vulnerable and extremely likable. Jenks the pixie is a well-drawn character who is great to read and very funny! You really feel for the vamp room mate Ivy who is struggling against her dark nature as a vampire and trying hard to protect Rachel from other Vamps, as well as keeping her side of the business running!
Rachel occasionally works on a contract basis for the FIB who are a non magical police force. The main story sees the FIB employ Rachel to track down a missing witch. Rachel connects the case to a witch killer and tries to identify the serial killer who is targeting Ley line witches. Ley line witches dabble in darker magic and have a high potential to turn evil due to the tremendous dark power they access and the sacrifices it involves. As Rachel is increasingly but reluctantly having to use Ley line magic to try to catch the killer she could be getting herself in more danger.
Nasty characters from the first book such as Trent Kalamack and the demon are explored more thoroughly and as their stories unfold we see how they weave together.
Rachels relationships with the other characters and her own past are delved into more deeply. We start to learn some of the characters secrets and histories and it helps explain their actions.
I got the feeling when I read this book that Kim Harrison imagined this story as epic as there are threads running through the first two books that could continue through many books. But after having read the first two, it does not leave you dissatisfied as it resolves the main mystery that is the guts of the plot and just leaves you hungry for more.
This book is a little slower in pace than the first but it really picks it up in the latter half and is unput-downable!
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