Pale Demon
Book 9 of the Hollows Series
by Kim Harrison
Published: Feburary 2011 – Harper Voyager
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 528 (paperback)
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Rating: ★★★★★ (5 Stars)
Summary
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 her 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.
The Good
Pale Demon sucked me in from the first page to the last. I couldn’t put it down. Non-stop action had me staying up till early morning. Oh, and the comedy. I couldn’t stop laughing half the time. Rachel and Trent (elf) are hilarious together.
The character development was superb. Harrison has a way with flushing out her character’s personalities. Many reveal themselves to be more complex than we first thought as many straddle the line of good and evil, black and white.
Trent fans will love this book. He is a major player who always sees the bigger picture. His actions may not always be the saintliest, but he is trying to be a better person. And his and Rachel’s relationship is building to much satisfaction.
I like the fact that the readers never truly know were the series is going. Who will Rachel end up with, who is truly bad or good, how can Rachel help everyone she loves without tearing apart her soul to do it.
Jenks (pixy) of course is the best sort of comic relief. He gets better and more interesting per book. Al (demon) is just as scary from book one but he has become more approachable progressively. I find the dynamic between Rachel and Al quite intriguing.
But the best part was Rachel’s time in the Ever-After. My stomach hurt half the time from nerves as Rachel gets put in a horrible position that seems inescapable. The last 40 pages of the book was simply epic.
Rachel is of course put through such an emotional and and physical grinder that it surprises me that she could still have such a big heart and put other’s needs first.
The Bad
I just wish there was a little more character development with Rachel. Her decisions are so horrendous sometimes I want to yell.
The Snuggly
Just some sexual tension.
Overall
I had a huge smile on my face when I finished this book. The Hollows series has always been one of my favorites. It is also one of the most frustrating series I read. Harrison has no qualms in being super mean to her characters. She has no limits, but that’s what makes her books so great. This was a great book from beginning to end and I would for sure recommend it to everyone.
Nancy Bailey
Totally agree with your review of Pale Demon. Wish I could write such a concise complete review of a book the way you do!
I too thoughly enjoyed this book and the whole series, I’m holding off reading Ever After as I finally got a copy of For a Few Demons More, book #5, the only one I’d missed in the series to date. So far so great!
Again great review!
Jennifer Bielman
I have a copy of Ever After but have yet to read it. I so hope it’s good.
Happy you liked my review. 🙂