Harrison, Kim: Every Which Way But Dead
Every Which Way But Dead (2005)
Written by: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 501 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Three (The Hollows)
Why I Read It: After reading The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, I was a wee bit gun shy about continuing, but I did because that was part of the plan, and also because I was promised that the third book would more than make up for my experience with the second book. So read it I did, and the good thing about this time is that I didn't wait six years to read the next installment!
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master.
But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld.
And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay-literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. Some interesting developments in this book that I want to discuss, so if you're not caught up through book three in this series, please skip to "My Rating" and you'll be just fine. Everyone else, onward!
First thing is first: why is this title not Every Witch Way But Dead? Because that's what my brain was telling me this title should be!
Right away, this book put me at ease. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'd read book two just weeks before, but the opening chapter was far more engaging. More was at stake (Rachel's soul), which made the action that followed a lot more exciting.
Also promising was Rachel's ability to admit when she was wrong. This happened early on, page 27, after her first run-in with Big Al:
My breath came out in a puff and I turned back to Jenks. I started as I found him hovering right before my nose, his wings red. "You're an ass," he said, his tiny, smooth features creased in anger. "You should have told us. What if it had gotten you? What about Ivy and me? Huh? We would have kept looking for you, not knowing what had happened. At least if you had told us, we might have been able to find a way to get you back. Ever think of that, Ms. Morgan? We're a team, and you just stepped all over that!"
My next outburst died. "But there wasn't anything you could have done," I said lamely.
"How do you know?" Jenks snapped.
I sighed, embarrassed that a four-inch man was lecturing me -- and had every right to. "Yeah, you're right," I said, slumping. Slowly my arms uncrossed. "I'm just … I'm just not used to having anyone I can depend on, Jenks. I'm sorry."
The humor was also working better this time around. I don't know if it's because I was more receptive to it or what, but I definitely found myself having a better time. It may be mind-frame: after all, the book got off to a rocking start, which put me in a good mood, you know? Of course, learning that the poor fish Rachel had stolen and let Jenks eat (which boggled my mind last book) was a wishing fish does have a nice, demented ring to it. :)
We also see Rachel come to some realizations the reader has known all along, like Ivy being bisexual. Talk about Rachel being in denial, because it was so obvious from book one that Ivy was into her, not simply as a potential scion, but I'm glad Rachel's finally realized this. There's still a part of me that wants to see them end up together.
Interestingly, I did get a little annoyed with Ivy in this book. Not detrimentally so, but her stubbornness about taking over as Piscary's scion was frustrating: she's so worried about her little sister, but her little sister would be just find if Ivy did the job she agreed to. From what I remember, Ivy did agree to be scion, even if she was upset at the time, but there's enough of a gray area over area that I feel sorry for her, but not so much that I like listening to her complain like a petulant teen when the easiest way to fix the issue is to do her job.
I also found myself questioning the role of familiars. We learn how painful it is for a human to have the role, but what on earth does it do to an animal, and how do poor animals survive it? I may have missed some details in book two, but I started to get perplexed over the whole issue in this book, maybe unnecessarily so.
Another question that popped up, and this question is because it's been too long since I read the first book and also because I'm so jaded in the paranormal genre that I no longer see vamps as anything scary, but why is it that Rachel is so utterly terrified of vampires and being bitten? She certainly finds herself in the trap of being a bigot, but at least in this regard, she makes some great headway by dating Kisten. But yet again, these sex scenes had me wondering how witches are different in bed, because it comes up again when she and Kisten start getting it on. There's a tiny part of me that's getting annoyed with the constant reminder of these differences without being told what exactly those differences are.
And speaking of nitpicks, since I seem to have gotten on that particular topic, more than once Rachel comments on someone having the ability to raise one eyebrow and how she doesn't have that ability herself. I think it happened last book too, and it's starting to irritate me, because it's clear that every time someone else raises a single eyebrow, Rachel's going to mention it to us.. :)
Another nitpick: the running joke of Vampiric Charms being mistaken for an escort service. I kept wanting Rachel to ask Ivy why this happened, but instead the joke kept coming up, and it bore on my nerves quickly, but that's a personal thing.
That should be it for the nitpick section: I'm wondering how many readers ship Rachel and Trent? We're already in the third book, and despite what happened in book one (the nitty-gritty details of which I've forgotten), I'm starting to think that perhaps if Rachel and Ivy aren't the OTP of this series, that perhaps Rachel and Trent are. They certainly have chemistry, though some of it's forced because Rachel's determined to make an ass of herself in front of him. Still though, that scene where he didn't want her to leave got to me in a way it didn't get to her. I'm not sure I read that the way the author wanted me to, because I wasn't so sure why Trent was so surprised when she said it was time for her to go. Regardless, it's clear he's getting into a loveless marriage, and I can't help but feel sorry for him.
And I have a theory: Ceri was with Big Al for a thousand years, but who knows how old she actually is? I suspect that her genes are exactly what Trent needs, and it'll be interesting to see what happens when Trent finally meets her, and how that's going to affect his working relationship (potentially romantic one) with Rachel. After all, we saw Jenks fly off the handle (har, har) when it slipped that Rachel knows what Trent is. That's one subplot I hope gets resolved soon, because Jenks is a favorite character, and I want him to come back to be a regular part of the narrative.
The story this go around was very, very solid. I loved the whole fallout of Rachel agreeing to be Big Al's familiar, and I loved how urgent that promise made things by the end of the book when Lee dragged her into the ever-after. Page 467:
"Hi, Al," I said, backing up. I had to get out of there. There's no place like home, I thought, feeling the hum of the line I was standing in and wondering whether it would help if I clicked my heels. Lee had flown over the rainbow, why, oh why, the hell couldn't I?
There's quite a lot to enjoy in this installment. New characters (Ceri, David, Newt), the background on Rachel's father, Nick's running away and Jenks moving out. This book definitely felt more solid than the previous installment, and that's a relief.
My Rating: Good Read
This book was a lot more fun for me, and that's a relief since I had polarizing experiences with both book one and book two. I'm not only happy to keep reading at this point, but wondering how I'll go about catching up once I get through the last book I own, which is book five. Will I start downloading them on my Kindle? Get the mass markets through Paperback Swap? Who knows, but at this point, I'm happy to keep reading. Rachel's growing a bit, and while mistakes are made, the story is definitely captivating because the stakes feel a lot higher. Lots of action in this book, and if you're a reader of this series, not a book you'll want to miss.
Cover Commentary: The cool thing about the cover is that Rachel actually wears the boots described, which is fun. The cover isn't offensive by any means (no tattoos! Not an awkward pose!), but it definitely screams urban fantasy, which is the point.
Next up: Blue Magic by A.M. Dellamonica