Pale Demon (The Hollows, Book 9)

"I wouldn’t miss a Kim Harrison book for anything."—Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novelsNew York Times bestselling urban fantasy superstar Kim Harrison is back with Pale Demon—her ninth electrifying adventure featuring contemporary witch Rachel Morgan. This time Rachel's leaving the Hollows, on a cross-country road trip with a pixy, an elf, and a vampire, as she races to clear her blackened name at a California witches' convention in order to avoid an eternity of torment at the claws of a soul-devouring demon. Pale Demon is Kim Harrison at her gothic best—combining mystery, action, intrigue, paranormal romance, and breathtaking dark fantasy in a delicious witches’ brew that fans of Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Stephenie Meyer, and Jim Butcher simply will not be able to resist.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Harrison's intriguing ninth Hollows novel (after 2010's Black Magic Sanction) lives up to the earlier books, which established Harrison as a major urban fantasy player. Witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan needs to get to her brother's wedding. This leads to an uneasy alliance with her elven frenemy Trent Kalamack, who's being pushed toward Seattle by a quest. Meanwhile, Jenks the pixy is recovering from the loss of his wife, Matalina, and needs distraction. The result: "A witch, an elf, and a pixy on the Great American Road Trip" through a landscape reworked by magic, facing down terrifying foes en route. Elegant and taut as a gymnast's cartwheel, Harrison's polished prose drives a story that will have readers swerving in their seats every time Rachel turns the wheel. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The ninth Rachel Morgan novel finds our tough and feisty witch on a mission to get her shunning rescinded, which requires traveling to the annual witch convention in San Francisco. But the coven doesn’t want her to make her appointment, so they’ve put her on the no fly list, which is why she has to accept Trent’s offer of a cross-country car trip. The rich elf has his own reasons for traveling cross-country, telling Rachel and Ivy that he is on a traditional elf quest. Fans of the series will recognize that simply having Trent, Jenks, Ivy, and Rachel on a road trip is enough to make for a good story, but that is merely the beginning of an action-packed tale that finds Rachel coming fully into her demon magic powers and reevaluating her long-held impressions of Trent. Ending with hints of some major character developments and changes in Rachel’s life, this is an excellent entry that is guaranteed to satisfy Harrison’s legion of followers. (Should there be any overlap between Clint Eastwood and Kim Harrison fan clubs, that subset will certainly enjoy Harrison’s allusions here to Eastwood’s Pale Rider.) The Rachel Morgan series is fast becoming one of the hottest tickets in the urban-fantasy subgenre. --Jessica Moyer

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Elegant and taut as a gymnast’s cartwheel, Harrison’s polished prose drives a story that will have readers swerving in their seats every time Rachel turns the wheel.”

or a magical ley line.”

“Hollows” books in print, Harrison has definitely tapped a nerve

Booklist (starred review)

“An excellent entry that is guaranteed. … The Rachel Morgan series is fast becoming one of the hottest tickets in the urban-fantasy subgenre.”

Charlaine Harris on Dead Witch Walking

“You’ll love this bounty-hunter team. . . . A fun-fair ride through a fascinating version of our world.”

Jim Butcher on Dead Witch Walking

“Blends the best qualities of Anita Blake and Stephanie Plum. . . . Kim Harrison carries it off with style.”

Kelley Armstrong on Dead Witch Walking

“Dead Witch Walking is a wonderfully fun romp through the supernatural world, a spellbinding blend of sharp wit and vivid imagination that left me eagerly awaiting the sequel.”

From the Back Cover

Condemned and shunned for black magic,Rachel Morgan has three days to get tothe annual witches’ conference and clearher name, or be trapped in the demonicever-after . . . forever after.But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, anda pixy in one car going across the country?Talk about a recipe for certain disaster, evenwithout being the targets for assassination.For after centuries of torment, a fearsomedemon walks in the sunlight—freed at lastto slay the innocent and devour their souls.But his ultimate goal is Rachel Morgan, andin the fight for survival that follows, evenembracing her own demonic nature maynot be enough to save her.

About the Author

Kim Harrison is best known as the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series, but she has written more than urban fantasy and has published more than two dozen books, spanning the gamut from young adult, accelerated-science thriller, and several anthologies and has scripted two original graphic novels set in the Hollows universe. She has also published traditional fantasy under the name Dawn Cook. Kim is currently working on a new Hollows book between other, nonrelated, urban fantasy projects.

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