90 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a slow start, but the plot gets better halfway through, July 17, 2005
In the first 275 pages of this third volume of the series, there's some action, but nothing actually happens. Rachel resists getting dragged into the ever-after by Algaliarept yet again; Rachel resists getting laid by Kisten yet again; Ivy manages not to bite Rachel yet again... same old, same old. However, about page 275, Rachel decides to let herself be seduced into sex, but not blood, by Kisten. (And if you are a prude about sex between vampires and witches, you shouldn't be reading this book, really.) After we get that out of the way, Rachel can start kicking ass, rounding up bad guys, trading smart-ass remarks with Trent Kalamack, and all the other fun stuff. Up until that point, I thought I was going to have to say that the third volume in the series isn't as good as the second, but based on the last 200 pages, it's the best yet.
We get to know more about Weres in this volume. In "The Good, the Bad, and the Undead" we got elves. This book, we find out lots more about the elves, and more about weres. In fact, at the end of the book, Rachel has a relationship with both Kisten and David (the Were insurance adjustor) but it is so VERY different from Anita Blake's relationships with her vampire and were! Those of you who follow the Anita Blake series will see what I mean - this is not a case of lust for every species she meets an alpha male of, unlike Anita. I really like the character David Hue - and there is apparently a whole subculture of werewolf insurance adjustors, which strikes me as a very funny idea. Closer to Tanya Huff than to Laurell Hamilton.
One small complaint I have about this series is that although it's set in Cincinnatti, we don't get much of a sense of the place. I happen to like to know more about the cities our characters live in; that's a personal thing. Some authors do it, some don't. Hamilton's St. Louis is sorta vague - could be any city that has nightclubs, and we only know it's St. Louis because she says it is. Jim Butler's Chicago, where Harry Dresden the wizard and his vampire friends and enemies live, and Tanya Huff's Toronto and Vancouver, on the other hand, are very clearly real places - we learn street names, characteristics of the city, peculiar idioms of the speech of the inhabitants, and so on. Harrison's Cincinnatti falls in between - we know this is a city with a river, and we hear a lot about baseball back in Volume 2, so we can narrow down where it is, but we still don't get much detail.
Among other things in this book, we get a 1000-year old elf, who then gets taken in for safekeeping by Mr Keasley across the street, who turns out to be a witch who doesn't want to let people know that's what he is. I suspect that in a later volume, we'll find out more about Mr. Keasley. We meet Trent's fiancee, Ellasbeth, as unpleasant an elf as you'd ever care to avoid. Most important, we meet the villain of the book, Lee Saladan, who shares a secret with Rachel...
A short observation that many of the vampire authors seem to have last names beginning with H - if you know of Hamilton and Harrison, but haven't read any Huff or Charlaine Harris yet, you'll want to check them out, too. On the other hand, there's Jim Butler, so it's not a 100% rule.
And, for those just finding out about this series, a few notes on how it compares to the overall vampire genre, a/k/a BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification: What is the vampires' position in the world; do they stand as an allegory for women's sexual fears; what powers do the vampires have; are there other supernatural characters; is the author dead serious, if you'll pardon the pun, or have a sense of humor? The answers, in this case: The vampires in this series can be either good or bad guys. Most of them have jobs; they don't exist merely to be evil and brooding, unlike some series which shall remain unnamed. They do have extra powers, which vary based on the age of the vampire and the living or undead status; in general these powers include the usual super strength, and once undead, they live very long lives, but there's no turning into bats, no invisibility or seeping like smoke between walls. These vampires' taking of blood frequently involves sex, but doesn't have to; they do need human blood to survive, unlike some (P.N. Elrod's vampires can survive quite well on animal blood, for example.) There are several other species of supernaturals besides vampires, the most notable of which is that the witches such as Rachel are a separate species, not actually human. Perhaps the least common additional species we have, not one we run across in other series, is the pixies, such as Jenks.
In sum: if you liked the second volume of the series, you'll enjoy this even more; if you haven't read the second volume yet, I'd recommend buying it as well and reading them in order, and if you read several vampire series, you should have at least as much fun as I have comparing the similarities and contrasting the differences in how the various authors treat their supernatural characters.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ahhh, another blissful witchy read, March 10, 2008
This was another breathtaking entry in the complex and colorful world of Miss Rachel Morgan, sort of a supernatural bounty hunter if you may, who always manages to get into immense trouble and who longs for drinking coffee on Ivy's couch while trying to figure a way to save her life. This is the third installment of this delicious series and I cannot stress enough to read it in order, this story line has so many twists and turns that's it's easier than I can say to spoil things and ruin those great surprises, I don't even read reviews for next entries because it's never safe with the amount of ingenuity Kim Harrison puts into each one of her books.
I adore the subtle mix of humor thrown in, the main heroine has the audacity to make fun of the demon that keeps trying to pull her into the ever after, calling him big Al and stealing his familiar, and she enrages him to the point where their battles become hairy. Her relationship with Ivy is back on track although an old flame shows up, a vampire that I am sure Ivy is not going to be done with yet and whose job stands in Rachel's way. Kisten is back, the bad boy has some heart and really grows on the reader, I am starting to adore his role in the books, and he always smells like silk and leather, interesting combo...There is also more Trent drama but better than ever, I didn't know whether to sit or stand when reading, some parts were so ingenious and wonderful that I giggled or made noises while reading, making my boyfriend look at my strangely, books rarely have this effect on my hard to please reading palate but his one was superb. Nick is here somewhere, he needs to have a great excuse for his deplorable acting or he's out of my fan club, Jenks is fresh as always but with some changes, and new characters are subtly added, it's hard to tell who's bad and who's just pretending - but that's just part of the fun.
Currently being in the middle of the series I have to force myself and not read the remaining three books in the next three days, because then I think depression would set in, so hopefully I can stretch out the time between each because they are true jewels in the fun, wicked world of witchcraft, vampires, werewolves and all things magical. Although these books are very much part of the fantasy world of writing they are realistic, insurance, jails and lawyers are always breathing down everyone's back, some things can't be avoided even in other worlds...
- Kasia S.
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And they lived happily in the ever-after, July 4, 2005
Kim Harrison has positively out-done herself this time. Every Which Way But Dead is the best in the Rachel Morgan/Hollows series to date. New friends, old friends, and a new romance to set the sheets on fire await in this latest installment.
Rachel made a deal with the devil -- a demon, actually -- and now "Big Al" is coming to collect. Our beloved heroine finds a why to stay one step ahead of the demon but karma has a way of finding you when you least expect it. And Rachel has quite a debt to repay. Yeah, he's a demon. Yeah, he's evil. But, you have got to like a guy who dares to wear lace while supplying some of the book's best one-liners and some of the most unforgettable scenes.
New friends are introduced and promise to make Rachel's continued existence all the more interesting. Many mysteries remain while many questions are answered along the way. Old friends return and offer a new view of their own lives and their ties to Rachel. Kisten and Ivy offer the most interesting twists and the most possibilities for the future. Both show their human sides and leave Rachel (and the reader!) craving more.
Filled with wit and seat-of-your-pants action, anyone who is already in love with this series is bound to enjoy this book. For those who are just beginning to explore the world of the Hollows, be sure to pick up the other two books -- Dead Witch Walking and The Good, The Bad, and the Undead -- to read first so the full impact of Every Which Way But Dead isn't lost.
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