Black Magic Sanction review

by Kim Harrison

This is book eight of the Hollows series, so first I'll give a little background (or you can red about it on Wikipedia, but that might give a little too much away for anyone who wants to read the full series). The Hollows series takes place in an alternate timeline. When scientists first began to understand DNA, they accidentally unleashed a genetically modified virus (carried out of the lab in a tomato). The virus, called T4 Angel, killed hundreds of millions of people. However, supernatural creatures that had lived, hidden, among humans for millennia were unaffected - vampires, werewolves, pixies, faries, witches (an actual race, not simply humans doing magic), etc. So, these supernatural creatures, collectively known as Inderlanders, come out of the shadows and live openly since they're no longer such a minority.

The main character, Rachel Morgan, is a witch. She used to work for the Inderland Service - a sort of police force to deal with crimes of a supernatural nature that regular police couldn't handle. After they kept giving her crappy assignments, she left to go to work as a private investigator. Two friends from the IS (a vampire named Ivy Tamwood and a pixy named Jenks) joined her in the new business. The three, most especially Rachel, have gotten themselves in and out of trouble throughout the series. Also, Rachel was born with a genetic defect known as Rosewood Syndrome. She was cured of that defect and the cure had a curious side effect - allowing her to mix earth magic with ley-line magic. And to top it off, Rachel has become the student of a demon who can teach her how to use her magical abilities to the fullest.

And that brings us to Black Magic Sanction. Rachel has been declared a black witch by the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards. Also, they've declared her to be shunned. So, no witch will have anything to do with her. Further, her abilities due to the cure from Rosewood Syndrome have brought to light some secrets among the Inderlanders that most want hidden. And that puts Rachel's freedom and life in danger, especially from the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards. To save her life, Rachel has to take some major risks, trust old enemies, and defeat the Coven without appearing to be the black witch they accuse her of being.

This volume is much like the others in the series. It's got a nice, fast pace. There's lots of action, solid character development, enough humor to keep it relatively light but not turn it into a comedy, yet still enough real substance to have some real merit. It's no highbrow example of literature, mind you, but it's certainly not mindless drivel. This volume has some interesting bits relating to the ecology of the various Inderlander species, making the world seem like much more than a collection of supernatural creatures in the modern world. It also has some (though brief) examinations of morality. For example, the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards doesn't seem to have a problem with using white magic for obviously lethal purposes. Yet they despise any use of black magic, even if it's used to help people.

Overall, it's a very good chapter in a fun series.


/ [Viking]

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