ARC REVIEW: Pale Demon

Kim Harrison
Pale Demon (Rachel Morgan #9)
Eos
ISBN-10: 0061138061
ISBN-13: 978-0061138065
Urban fantasy
February 22, 2011

Warning: if you haven’t read the previous books, know that the blurb below is a blatant spoiler for them. Read at your own risk. I have tried to avoid spoilers for this book, but there may be unavoidable ones for previous books in order to discuss a book this far into a series.

From Goodreads:

Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches convention in San Francisco and clear her name. If she fails, the only way she can escape death is to live in the demonic ever after . . . for ever after.

Banned from the flight lists, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack, headed for the West Coast for his own mysterious business. But Rachel isn’t the only passanger along for the ride. Can a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car survive for over 2,300 miles? And that’s not counting the assassin on their tail.

A fearsome demon walks the sunlight, freed after centuries of torment to slay the innocent and devour souls. But his ultimate prey is Rachel Morgan. While the powerful witch with nerves of steel will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

I think every time Rachel utters or yells the word rhombus (which she uses to invoke her magical, protective circle), a KMont fangirl pixie gets its wings. There’s a lot of those flitting around by now. Like many fans of this series, I was excited to see that NetGalley had Pale Demon up for review. My inner fangirl squealed in delight and I think my brain is still rattling because of it. Because there’s no denying I’m a fangirl of this series. Book nine has done what each book before it has done – it’s upped the stakes and only increased my excitement and love for these books in the process. This is the kind of read I hold especially dear because I’ve come to love the characters so much. Each book consistently engages me the way I like to be engaged by a book. My emotions buckle in for a roller coaster of a ride, my pulse pounds and I never fail to be surprised by turns of events. The Hollows series is a first-class act of urban fantasy, and I love, love, looooove how this book progresses the series.

We start this ninth installment with a sobering reminder of Jenks’ wife’s passing, as he tries to decide what to do about household matters that Matalina used to take care of. Rachel’s taking a rare opportunity to relax and sunbathe in the back yard, which of course if the cemetery attached to the church she and her friends live in. She’s waiting for Trent, to whom she owes a favor. When he shows up early, and she realizes dealing with the difficult elf isn’t going to be as easy as repaying said favor, she’s suddenly got an elf along for the ride as she heads out to San Francisco to attend a witch’s conference – and her trial. A couple of books back, Rachel was shunned, a formal sentence by which she was basically stripped of her rights as a witch for dabbling in black magic and consorting with demons. It’s torn her and her family apart, although she’s still on good terms with her mother. It’s made it so that the witch community won’t acknowledge her or even sell her a basic charm in a store. As a witch, she is alone and without her kind’s support. On top of all that, well, the ruling coven wants her dead. She has three days to get to her trial and there to defend herself, or she might be banished to the other side of the ley lines, trapped with demons. This of course is because there’s speculation that Rachel herself is one. A demon that is. Thanks to some experimenting that Trent’s father did on Rachel as  young sick child suffering from Redwood Syndrome (a disease solely related to witches), Rachel is literally the missing link between witches and demons.

This book focuses a good bit on Rachel and Trent’s relationship. In terms of character development, this aspect of the versatile cast of characters gets the most page time. Well, about half that, and half Rachel’s demon dilemma. Trent, as usual, wants Rachel’s help, or as those familiar with the story arc know, to use her, really. He needs to get to the West coast as well, and he will literally use anyone and any means necessary to get his way. But even as Trent displays more and more reasons not to be trusted – and Rachel has never truly trusted him anyway, he is a brimstone-dealing mob-esque boss after all – there’s something different about the him. There’s an edge of desperation that’s never been there before, and at surprising times, an almost apologetic nature to his machinations while at the same time he ruthlessly forges on with whatever his plans are. It’s like…it’s like he actually cares what Rachel thinks of it all! And that’s the thing we’re teased with as he pulls off one incredibly angering stunt after another, endangering Rachel, Ivy and Jenks as they all head to the West coast. Is there more to Trent than his own selfish wants?

This book made me love Trent, but that was only after we read through chapter after chapter of him acting like a complete, pardon my demonic French, asshole. I mean, I already loved him as a character. He’s a bad guy. A really excellently drawn bad guy. He’s caused Rachel so much grief time and time again. But what he does in this book, the reasons he does them for, I couldn’t help but melt. I mean, I melted enough, but I also love how conflicted things are now. Because there is still the fact that Rachel has this huge, canyon-esque chasm filled with problems between her and Trent. By the end of the book, he wants something else from Rachel, and the only question is, is it worth it to her?

Rachel’s job in accepting Trent’s presence on what was supposed to be her journey West is to be his protector. As you can guess from the above, he doesn’t make this easy for her. Elf assassins are on their tail, too, and before we know it, three days in a car with a witch, a pixie, a vampire and an elf is anything but the beginning of a joke. Those three days might feel as though they lag for some readers, because they do take up a good bit of the book, but we also gain some amazing clarity and insights into the traveling companions, and you just know there’s going to be nonstop action and adventure. It’s an incredibly important segment of the book, too, because at one point in their journey, they meet Ku’sox. Yeah, that’s an odd name. I dunno how to pronounce it correctly, probably, I just went for Koo-Socks.

What Ku’Sox is exactly is for you, the reader, to find out, but I can tell you he’s a demon. And I can tell you he’s almighty powerful. And that the demon world hidden away in the ever after is deathly afraid of him. And that he’s got a score to settle with them. And he finds Rachel very, very enticing. He’s the one to beat in this book, and there’s no clear, easy way to do so, of course. The problems keep mounting for Rachel as she desperately tries to avoid being banished to the ever after, and Ku’sox is another problem she so doesn’t need.

People, there is SO much that happens in this book, it would be impossible to encompass it all in a review. Not unless I went on and on like I usually do with reviews for this series. Since this has already gotten pretty long, I’ll try to wrap it up.

Pierce, the ancient witch who we originally saw in a short story/anthology, is back and his role this time was pretty disappointing for me. As with everything in this series, his role is complex, but that of Rachel’s love interest was at least a welcome one. I’ve always pulled for Rachel to find someone that can understand and fully support her. There have been other possibilities before, but I thought Pierce would be a strong contender. After this book, I pretty much can’t stand him. He cuts ties with Rachel in a way that were hurtful and final, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last of him.

Ivy does go with Rachel to her trial, and folks have always wondered about the living vampire who expects Rachel to somehow find a solution to her one day dying. Because when a living vampire dies, and becomes undead, they change. And not for the better. Ivy has always been terrified of becoming undead and a crueler version of her already deadly self, and she’s struggled with her vampire nature and culture her entire life. She loves Rachel desperately, and would like something more between them. This time, that need of hers takes a back seat to Rachel’s problems, although the question of Ivy’s dilemma is raised. I won’t say what happened, but I will say that I was disappointed in Ivy at one point. When it seems it’s the bleakest hour for Rachel, I felt like Ivy was abandoning her, and it made me sad and angry at Ivy. More than ever, the true test of the friendship between Rachel, Ivy and Jenks is carried out. And one can’t help but wonder if that friendship isn’t strong enough after all.

We get to see a good bit of the ever after, and I love it. Rachel has her dealings with Al, her demon teacher, and we learn more about demons than we ever have before. This is what I’ve been waiting for, and Rachel accomplishes something that astounds the demonic world.

Pale Demon is a phenomenally strong entry in the Hollows series. It reaches back to the very beginnings of the series and ties things together in that way that I love for a truly good, cemented series to do. There are revelations. Rachel is beaten down, trod on…and in some ways she is finally vindicated. God I loved this book. For me, there was never a dull moment. I laughed, I cheered for Rachel and at times I cried for her. A lot. I wouldn’t ever have it any other way. This is my most favorite book in the series to date. I honestly don’t know how I could love this series any more than I already do, but somehow Harrison manages to enable me to find more love for it with each book.

Rating: The Five Biggest Scoops. Ever.

You can read an excerpt of Pale Demon here.

Series order (and yes, DO read them in order, so worth it):

• Dead Witch Walking
• The Good, The Bad and The Undead
• Every Which Way But Dead
• A Fistful of Charms
• For A Few Demons More
• The Outlaw Demon Wails
• White Witch, Black Curse
• Black Magic Sanction
• Pale Demon