Pale Demon (Hollows, #9)

by Kim Harrison

[ibeforem]

What do you do when you’re 8 books into a series and you need to shake up the character dynamics a bit?

You take all of your main characters and shove them into a Buick and make them drive cross-country in three days.

Harrison could have written an entire book just about that road trip. Friendships and alliances are tested, and new alliances are formed. Along the way they’re challenged by elves, pixies, and one particularly nasty demon. But some of the most interesting things happen once they reach their destination.

Not only are the interpersonal dynamics in flux, but Rachel also changes a lot. She’s forced to look very hard at herself and make some decisions, once and for all, about what it means to be a white witch or a black witch. And the result of it all could be a sea change for the series

I am still in love with this series. I’ve enjoyed how Rachel has grown and matured, even if she still slips into old behaviors from time to time. Trent is a particularly intriguing character in this book, though I did guess his big secret almost immediately. He could have easily been written off as bit player early in the series, but instead he’s more important than ever. The one big criticism I do have has to do with his quest. I understand that the point of view the book is written in doesn’t allow us to go on the quest with Trent without Rachel going along, but there were still things about it that bugged me. Like, how in the heck did they get back to San Francisco in that amount of time? Ah well.

Harrison has left us at a very interesting crossroads in The Hollows, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.