The Turn: The Hollows Begins with Death (Hollows, Prequel) (The Peri Reed Chronicles)

by Kim Harrison

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison returns to her beloved Hollows series with The Turn, the official prequel to the series that will introduce you to a whole new side of Rachel Morgan's world as they've never seen it before!

Can science save us when all else fails?

Trisk and her hated rival, Kal, have the same goal: save their species from extinction.

But death comes in the guise of hope when a genetically modified tomato created to feed the world combines with the government's new tactical virus, giving it an unexpected host and a mode of transport. Plague rises, giving the paranormal species the choice to stay hidden and allow humanity to die, or to show themselves in a bid to save them.

Under accusations of scientific misconduct, Trisk and Kal flee across a plague-torn United States to convince leaders of the major paranormal species to save their supposedly weaker kin, but not everyone thinks humanity should be saved, and Trisk fights the prejudices of two societies to prove that not only does humanity have something to offer, but that long-accepted beliefs against women, dark magic, and humanity itself can turn to understanding; that when people are at their worst that the best show their true strength, and that love can hold the world together as a new balance is found.

• ISBN10: 150110876X
• ISBN13: 9781501108761
• Publish Date: 31 October 2017 (first published 7 February 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 560
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I don't usually double-back and read prequels, but after finishing the newest Hollows book I wanted more, so I picked this up. And I'm glad I did!

The Turn is essentially the story of Trent's parents, Kal and Trisk, and the role they played in The Turn -- where tomatoes became deadly to humans and the Interlanders begin to reveal themselves to humankind. Since Trisk is referenced a lot in the newest book, I was glad to read this and get a better idea of who she was and what she was capable of. We also get a younger version of Quen, which is a treat.

This is a worthwhile prequel, but you should read most of the Hollows series before you jump back to it -- I think you will have a better understanding of the characters and politics that way.

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

It is so great to be back in The Hollows. I love this series so much. Now, I did miss Rachel, Jenks and the gang, but that doesn’t mean that we go into this story without knowing anyone. We do see Quinn and Al (I love that we have Al as he was a favorite secondary character of mine, second only to Jenks, who will always be the best sidekick ever).

So this story is a prequel and so the story is set in the 60s. We start off with Trisk trying to get an interview for a job after graduating. You have to remember how things were back in the 60s for women in the workplace. They had to work twice as hard as men to get the recognition that they are deserved. Add to that Trisk is a dark elf, she is frowned upon even more. As if that wasn’t enough, she has quite the rivalry with Kal. He is a light elf male from a prestigious family. He’s done everything in his power to knock her down. He cheats off her and she is the one who goes down saying she cheated off him.

When the Enclave asks her to go work in a human research lab to keep an eye on what the humans are doing, she finds that it is best offer she is going to get. It at least is letting her do what she loves, research and development in genetics. The story jumps three years and she has developed a “fuzzy” tomato that is drought and pest resistant. She was going to feed the world and rid it of starvation. That is until things go very wrong.

I really enjoyed this story. Not only did I get to spend time with characters that I loved. I loved seeing Al again. He was himself and I’m so glad to see him again. There are other great secondary characters. Ms. Harrison does such a great job with secondary characters. In this story, we have Daniel, a human researcher that worked with Trisk. He was working on a virus that would help the military by making everyone sick, but the virus can’t reproduce outside of a lab, so people get sick, but they wouldn’t die from it. Give it a few days and they’re fine. Help the military take people down with less death.

There is also a pixie, because you can’t have a Hollows story without a pixie. Here we have Orchid. Her species is having a ton of difficulties because humans tearing down their forests. They are spread so thin it is hard to find a mate. She was living with Kal and when he goes to California to check Trisk’s work (boy did that piss her off), Orchid goes with him to hunt for a mate.

I haven’t any idea if there will be more books to follow this one. I don’t think so, but I would love to learn more about Trisk and Orchid. I think it would also be great to see more of how things go during and just after The Turn. I loved being back in this world and it makes me want to revisit the series on audio.

Narration
I’m so glad that they stuck with Marguerite Gavin for this book. She narrates all but one of The Hollows series, so it was perfect to have her back, even if this book is mostly new characters. I love Gavin’s narration. She does a great job with male and female voices. I love listening to her voice Al. She does an amazing job with pixies too. She is a favorite narrator for me. I have searched out books with her narrating and will continue to do so. If you haven’t tried her yet, I highly recommend you check her out.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Berls]

4. 5 stars! I loved this - it was so cool to see so many familiar characters at this pivotal stage of human/inderlander history. I do feel that the ending was a bit abrupt - like, "and you all know where this heads, so that's it." personally, I feel like it opened up so many questions about Trent's upbringing, even while it explained so many things - like Qwen's devotion to him. I'm so incredibly curious about the time between this book and the start of book 1, in a way I never was before. So now, I'm hoping for books that I never cared about before lol! I grew really attached to these characters and I just want to know how things unfold - even though I do know where they end up.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Five reasons to grab The Turn

Tomatoes and familiar faces. While I don't necessarily think one needs to read the Hollows first, those who have will certainly enjoy seeing how the world we know in the Hollows began and everyone's role in it. We get answers and enjoy many ah-ha moments. There were many tidbits that have you craving more.

It's a full-length novel. Often prequels are novellas, but Harrison treated us to an entirely fleshed out story. The tale takes place in the sixties and long before Rachael comes into the picture, but we do see familiar faces like Quen and Al. The tale begins when Trisk and Kal are at an event hosted by their University. Top graduating students interview with alumni for jobs in their fields. Here we get our first taste of problems Trisk faces as both a female and dark elf. We also see Kal's hand in Trisk's woes, and oh man, you will love to hate Kal. We then fast forward and spend time with Trisk as she works on a drought resistant tomato.

Kal and Trisk are both interesting characters. While not without flaws I liked Trisk from her career goal to personality. The elf is a real jerk and had me thinking evil thoughts. I wanted him tarred and feathered.

Secondary characters from humans to pixies add interest and will keep you flipping the pages. Harrison added depth to them giving them a strong presence as events unfold.

The story that unfolds was fast-paced. Kal is asked to double check a project that Trisk's made safe for Inlanders. Betrayal, summonings, and more await you! Harrison will have you yelling at the characters. I know I found myself muttering aloud and trying to warn Trisk. Of course, there are also moments that will have you bursting with laughter. Al was a hoot, and reading The Turn brought back memories of the series, and it's characters. Heck, I wanted to reread them all! I will warn you, while the story is complete it did leave me wanted more.

Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
The Turn was very enlightening on many points, even as it brought me to question many others.



There is something so very special about The Hollows, and reading more about what actually happened prior to the action in the main series was quite thrilling! The reason why humans were so afraid of tomatoes, and what happened to make the paranormals come out, so to speak. The Turn was more than 'just' a way to explain the world and those living in it, though. True to form, Harrison painted some very vivid characters who evolved in a storyline that was well done and quite complicated. And there were some sightings of characters who were part of the series as well.

Trisk was a strong-minded and smart character, one who knew she had to fight twice as hard as the men in order to be taken seriously. Added to this, she was a dark elf, and she was not afraid to use her magic in order to further her agenda, and keep both humans and paranormals safe. The Turn was nicely paced, not too fast, even if the plot managed to move forward fairly quickly anyway. There were no downtimes, and there was a little bit of everything to make a great story. There was a hint of romance, a lot of action, a fight, a mystery, loyalty and - my favorite - there was a pixie!

If you have enjoyed The Hollows, The Turn is a must-read! Even without Rachel and Ivy, there are characters who will make you want to know more, and as you get to know them better, you might even hope there will be more books set in the prequel-era of the series. I enjoyed a trip back to The Hollows before it was The Hollows I came to love and know, and I loved how everything was tied together with the main stories of the future, and how it set up some characters to go on the path we found them on there.

Written in third person point of view, past tense, with dialogues and some inner thoughts from Trisk's perspective, The Turn left me both satisfied and wanting more at the same time.



Trisk and her father had entertained only three employers at her table, all of them more interested in her minor in security than her major in genetic research.

A witch, a vampire, a were, and an elf go out for lunch, he thought sourly, hoping he wasn't the punch line. That he was by far the youngest man at the table didn't bother him half as much as the fat that all four major Inderland species were represented.