Oh, grow up already! In the 8th Hollows book, Black Magic Sanction, Kim Harrison continues the story of Rachel Morgan, a witch with demon abilities who seems to attract trouble like a magnet attracts iron filings. If you have read the first seven, you know the characters and the basic story – if you haven’t, then you need to start at number one, as they are all laid out in a linear fashion and each builds upon the previous.
As the title suggests, Rachel’s ability to kindle demon magic in addition to her normal earth witch abilities has gotten her sanctioned by the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards, which is the general white witch governing council. However, as the sanction does not seem to be the favorite method of dealing with Rachel, several of the coven members decide to take matters into their own hands. They want her to stop doing black magic, and they want to keep her from having children who might also have the ability. As you can imagine, this causes many issues for Rachel, including being locked up and stolen away from her friends.
Thisi installment was definitely not my favorite of the series. The vigilante coven members seem to be a little crazy for high-ranking governmental white witches and embrace hypocrisy to a high degree. Not only do they seem to be overacting and hamming it up, they also seem a bit incompetent. In addition, Rachel the bounty hunter has no work and has not had any for some time – while this is pretty convenient for her in that she spends so much time running, hiding, and escaping that there is no way she could get any work done, how does she pay her bills? And all of this action seems to be an attempt to show that Rachel has grown, but, really, she seems to make the same mistakes – trusting the wrong people and not trusting the right ones. Rachel needs to grow up a little. Her friends are always there for her, but when is she ever there for them? All her time seems to be spent on her own problems.
Now, don’t think I didn’t like the book, because I did. I raced through it much like all of the others. I just felt that Rachel keeps taking the wrong turns. Somehow I think Rachel is going to need some time to work out her issues, get rid of those things that are holding her back, and embrace new ones that could help her grow. The book is full of action, Rachel winning fights and learning about some of her friends. A fast and fun read, but I am hoping for much more realistic issues to come around and for some learning and growth in the ninth book of the series.
