Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25420 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Synopsis
This is the first book in a new urban fantasy-thriller series with the perfect amount of wry humour and a sassy female lead, which will delight all fans of thrillers and fantasy alike. Rachel Morgan is a white witch and runner working for Inderland Security, in an alternate world where a bioengineered virus wiped out a great deal of the world's human population - exposing the existence of the supernatural communities that had long lived alongside humanity. For the last five years Rachel has been tracking down law-breaking Inderlanders in modern-day Cincinnati, but now she wants to leave and start her own agency. Her only problem is that no one quits the I.S. Marked for death, Rachel will have to fend off fairy assassins and homicidal weres armed with an assortment of nasty curses. She's a dead witch walking unless she can appease her former employers by exposing the city's most prominent citizen as a drug lord. But, making an enemy of the ambiguous Trent Kalamack is just as deadly as leaving the I.S.

About the Author
The only girl in a large family of boys, former tomboy Kim Harrison invented the first Brigadier General Barbie in self-defence. She shoots a very bad game of pool and rolls a very good game of dice. When not at her keyboard, she enjoys lounging on the couch with a bowl of popcorn watching action movies with The-Guy-In-The-Leather-Jacket. She plays her Ashiko drum when no one is listening, and is hard to find when the moon is new.

Customer Reviews

Dead Witch Walking
-No Spoilers -

Like most readers I found this book difficult to get into - in fact I started reading the first few chapters and it didn't grab my attention so I put it down and I gave up on it! I started reading another book instead and went back to this as I run out of books to read - and I'm glad did!

Despite the slow start the story actually gets a lot better and in the end it turned into an addictive read they only way I can sum it up the first chapters are like a 1st movie that is good but the rest of the book is like a sequel which is even better but won't be so good with out watching the 1st movie!

I think the problem is in order to appreciate the character or the story you need to know her background story but the author takes her time to explain the ins and outs but once you have got through that the real fun begins!

The story is about Rachel Morgan who is a witch without giving it away has a bounty on her head and is trying to survive from the old company she quit from and trying to bring in a known drug lord down to clear her bounty!

If you have read Anita Blake - I have to say the story is similar to Anita Blake novel but not a complete rip off and has it own originality to it -I liked the concept of the ever-after which is featured in the book!

Sorry If you haven't read Anita Blake but I can't help compare the two. The book is taken from Rachel point of view like Anita! She always gets traps in situation she can't get out off like Anita! And the writing is so similar to L.K Hamilition if I didn't know I would have said that she wrote this!

The fact is I prefer Anita to Rachel as she is more kick-ass and where Rachel relies on others to save the day! Don't get me wrong I did enjoy this book!

To be honest I'm a fan of vampire literature and thought this was a vampire book through internet recommendations but it really isn't! It features a vampire but the story is not based on vampires so if you are looking for a vamp book try Anita Blake, Anne Rice or The Twilight series!

The book is really focus on Rachel and her being a witch! If anything this is like Charmed to Buffy with Anita Blake being the Buffy of books! If you want to read about witches this is highly recommend as it is a cool witch book instead book about spells and naff stuff - it has action! If you're a fan of Buffy & Charmed I would recommend this to read!

On the plus side once it gets going the action is non-stop as Rachel tries to survive not getting killed and bring down the big bad! As far as the character goes Rachel is ok but nothing brilliant as first point of view she never makes me laugh as compare to Mary Janice Dickson Betsy - who is sarcastic and witty or Anita - who is kickass and hard as nails!

To be honest I prefer the supporting characters like her roommate Ivy the vampire I would like to read a book from Ivy's point of view!

The author herself doesn't do a bad job at narrating from Rachel's point of view and this is the first time I have read a Kim Harrison book I will carry on with the rest of the series I just hope they don't start as bad this one did!

It is a good book once you have paced through the beginning if you are looking for a book full of action, supernatural fun and some kick-ass this will be right up your street! Worth-checking out!

Late to the party
Given the book is four years old, I'm rather late to this particular party. The author was recommended by someone who shares my love of the Sooky Stackhouse stories (Charlaine Harris) so I knew what to expect - more or less. In fact, this book is hard work. The story itself is well reviewed elsewhere but, for me, the pace slowed with so many pages of detail (for example, dealing with Rachel's injuries after a tussle with a demon) that I decided to skip a few pages at other points in the book.

The premise is good; the fantasy world created by the author leaves several doors open for the following books and I shall be buying number 2 in the hope that a solid base has been built from which to develop these characters - and my understanding of who can do what to whom and why!

Brilliant
This book has everything sexy vamps funny pixes and stubborn witches. really good defo worth a read