Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Original Year of Publication: 2004
Hardback Page Count: 368
Genre: Urban Fantasy
After first getting hooked on urban fantasy, I've been looking for a book series that isn't as stereotypical as the ones you see on the paperback Romance shelves. Though the Rachel Morgan series first turned me off based on the covers--more on that later--I eventually got around to reading the first book in the series, Dead Witch Walking. Considering the praise I'd been hearing from most reviewers, I had high expectations.
Summary: In an alternate reality where "Inderlanders" have revealed themselves thanks to a killer tomato virus, Rachel Morgan, a twenty-something witch, has just quit her job working for Inderlander Security. Partnered up with her living vampire roommate, Ivy, and Jenks, the pixie who lives in her garden, she's quickly drawn into a biodrug case surrounding Trent Kalamack, a prominent figure in Cincinatti. Along the way, Rachel has to confront a demon, avoid being bitten by a supposedly "non-practicing" Ivy, and master the art of transforming into a mink without getting killed in a rat-fight. Sound interesting? It gets better.
The truth is, a lot of things worried me when I first read online reviews of this book. Raciness really doesn't bother me, within limits. The fact that Rachel was a witch--again, it didn't bother me. I did, however, balk at the apparent sexual tension between Rachel and Ivy. Sorry, but girl-on-girl romance, especially when the main character has been straight all her life, just isn't my thing.
Am I the only one who thinks that the relationship was entirely out of proportion? I may be biased, but it was the weakest part of the book, in my opinion. From the beginning, Rachel notices how gorgeous Ivy is, but more in a girl-credit way, in my opinion. The way you might grudgingly--enviously--admit that an actress is beautiful. Ivy does seem to have feelings for Rachel, but I hold to my theory that Rachel just isn't into her. The entire relationship seemed strained, because there was none. I'm a strong believer in not pushing characters' chemistry to make the story more interesting--even to go along with plot--and frankly, Rachel had more chemistry with Kisten in her one scene with him than she ever did with Ivy.
That was the book's largest flaw, in my opinion. Pushing chemistry where there was none. It wasn't just with Ivy, either. Nick, who's obviously going to be a future love interest, is boring and flat. Typical hunky nerd. I was glad to see that his part in the first book was minor, and I hope that he doesn't stick around for too long. (From what I've heard, he really doesn't.)
Now, on to the good parts. The characters really were likable, and Rachel's voice was strong and firm. You knew who she was, right from the very beginning. She's a great protagonist, flawed without being too down on herself. (Believe me, if she had been, the book would have sucked.) She had her witchy without being a typical Buffy-style urban fantasy heroine, which was exactly what I was looking for. (The realistic character, not the Buffy-style one.)
Minor characters, like Jenks and Kisten--again, only one actual scene, but damn--really stole the show for me. Not that Jenks is really minor, persay, but he wasn't a big character, either. He had definite personality going on. I wish that Trent would have been more elaborated on, but I can see why he wasn't. He's enigmatic, and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him as time goes on.
The plot itself got a little confusing--I was more interested in the characters than I was about the biodrugs. It could be all over the place at times, to the point of being annoying. But again, Rachel's narration smoothed it over and made it fun. The mystery was good, but the humor was better.
In the End...
Four out of Five Stars: The book isn't perfect. Far from it, as a matter of fact. But nevertheless, it's a great start-off for a series, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest. It's addictive and fun, a recommendation for just about any urban fantasy fan. I would like to see work on the chemistry and clarity in the future, but those are my only main complaints. You'll care about just about every character--even if it's not necessarily in a good way. I would say that you should check this out from the library first, and buy if you really like it. After all, they are being reissued in hardback. Oh, and as for the cover issues I mentioned... I honestly felt a little embarrassed reading it with the cover facing out. I mean, come on. Can't they be a bit more subtle? Just a little less... stripper-looking? But then, every single urban fantasy heroine seems to dress like a stripper on the cover these days.