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The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (The Hollows, Book 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Kim Harrison
Publisher: HarperTorch
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $2.18
You Save: $5.81 (73%)
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Rating:  127 reviews
Sales Rank: 12241
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 453
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0060572973
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780060572976
ASIN: 0060572973
Publication Date: February 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: FRONT COVER IS TORN AND BENT, ACCEPTABLE with noticeable wear to cover and pages. Binding intact. We offer a no hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders are generally shipped no later than next business day. We offer a no hassle guarantee on all our items.
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Product Description
It's a tough life for witch Rachel Morgan, sexy, independent bounty hunter, prowling the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati for criminal creatures of the night. She can handle the leather-clad vamps and even tangle with a cunning demon or two. But a serial killer who feeds on the experts in the most dangerous kind of black magic is definitely pressing the limits. Confronting an ancient, implacable evil is more than just child's play -- and this time, Rachel will be lucky to escape with her very soul.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 122 more reviews...
 Even better than the first one January 25, 2005
trekchick (Walton, KY United States)
126 out of 130 found this review helpful
Wow! I thought Dead Witch Walking was excellent, but GB&U knocked my socks off. The events of this book take place a scant few months after DWW, so there is a high degree of continuity to the story line. Several of my niggling questions left unanswered in DWW were resolved nicely. We find out who called up that nasty demon and why. And I was happy to learn that my suspicions about Trent's species were correct. The relationships and interactions between the growing cast of characters are more complex and interwoven than in the first installment, and Rachel learns that there are so many more shades of gray than she'd like to think about. The mystery is solid and intelligent. The urban fantasy elements are richly textured. Rachel is impetuous and prone to jumping to conclusions (sometimes correctly, sometimes not), but she's still young and those flaws make her character more believable. All in all, I give this book my highest recommendation, and I can't wait until the third in the series, Every Which Way But Dead, comes out this summer.
 Never Nibble on the Neck of the Teeth that Bite You April 6, 2005
Marc Ruby™ (Warren, MI USA)
64 out of 75 found this review helpful
This is the second in a new series written by Kim Harrison that is based in an alternate world where magic happens and a vampire can be your best friend - during the day. The premise is that a runaway virus brings about The Turn, and when it runs itself out, half the world is occult - witches, fairies, pixies, vampires, etc. And the other half is human, and scared to death of tomatoes. The premise is the same as the old Shadowrun series, but the world of Turned Cincinnati is almost as cozy and familiar as the one we live in. Well, almost.
Our heroine is Rachel Morgan, an independent runner (as in trouble shooter/maker), who almost lost her life to a demon disguised as a vampire in the previous volume. That story established Rachel as a freelance investigator, living with an almost undead vampire (Ivy), in an old church. In the garden live her trusty assistant, Jenks (a pixie), and his family. This would be almost normal if Ivy wasn't in a perpetual struggle with her desire to eat people and her obvious affection for Rachel, if Jenks wasn't a potty mouthed mischief maker, and if Rachel didn't have a knack for careening from one deadly mess to another.
This time Rachel's problems start when she accepts a contract to help with the investigation of a series of serial killings that is leaving the city's ley line witches in a bad state of disassembly. Her task is to play a college student in the local University to spy on a particular professor. Rachel, however, believes she is watching the wrong person, and that Trent Kalamack, the man who once turned her into a ferret and dropped her in a rat fight. With Rachel compulsively chasing Kalamack and Ivy trying to desperately avoid her own fate, this is a story that is in perpetual crisis.
The publisher will tell you that Rachel is a combination of Anita Blake and Stephanie Plum. But even though the telling has a dash of Anita Blake's sexual follies the story lacks the high drama of Laurell Hamilton or the perpetual slapstick of Janet Evanovich. If anything, the stories are more like Jim Butcher's work. Rachel is interesting, but she as an underlying illogic which creates crises that could be avoided that only get in the way of her real goals. Despite some momentary displays good manners she is primarily a woman who does whatever she wants regardless of consequences, which can be bad news for Ivy and Rachel's human boyfriend Nick. And for Rachel as well, who finishes this book in trouble on all planes.
If you disregard the improbabilities and the complexities of yet another version of vampire life this is an entertaining book. All this disregarding would be easier if Harrison paid just a bit of attention to the consistency of her characters. As it is, I enjoy her books until almost the end, which is where people tend to step out of character to get the plot to a proper hiatus. If you are finicky (and I'm not) this may bother you. But the story is more than adequate for entertainment.
Avid Reviewer and Reader January 31, 2005
Alisa McCune (Chicago, IL USA)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead is Kim Harrison's follow-up to Dead Witch Walking. The world of this duo is a future Cincinnati which has survived a genetically engineered tomato plague that has exposed `supernaturals' to the world. The supernaturals have staked out a community called the Hallows. To humans, the Hollows is like Vegas or New Orleans during Mardi Gras - a definite walk on the wild side and tourist trap.
Rachel is back with a vengeance along with Jenks, her pixie sidekick, and Ivy, the living vamp. The story begins about a month after the conclusion of Dead Witch Walking. Rachel is still struggling to earn her half of expenses at the church with Ivy. Rachel's new association with FIB - the Federal Inderlander Bureau, police force for humans, finally pans out. On the surface the case appears simple - Sara Jane's warlock boyfriend has disappeared. Normally IS, police force for supernaturals, would handle the case, but they have a 72 hour waiting period. Rachel jumps at the chance to be involved for the money and Sara Jane is Trent Kalamack's secretary.
As normal, nothing is as it seems. Dan, Sara Jane's boyfriend, may be one in a string of grisly murders of ley line witches. Ley line witches tap into the Ever-After using ley lines for their power. Rachel is at a disadvantage as she failed the ley line witch class she took in college. She is also very leery of the Ever-After due to the demon attack in Dead Witch Walking and the death of her father. Rachel finds many links to Trent, but is unable to find hard proof to satisfy Detective Edden of the FIB.
The Hallows is the incredible world created by Kim Harrison. The alternate world of the Ever-After with a demon city is very interesting. Rachel finally takes us to Pizza Piscary and we get to meet the master vampire Piscary himself. Kist and his motorcycle are back to torment Rachel. During the course of the novel, we finally get a much clearer picture of what Trent Kalamack is and what his motives are.
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead far exceeded my expectations after Dead Witch Walking. The storyline branches out in many directions that are unexpected and thrilling to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and am anxiously awaiting the third installment, Every Which Way But Dead due out in July of 2005.
Kim Harrison describes herself as born in the Midwest. She has been called a witch, among other things, but has never seen a vampire (that she knows of). She loves graveyards and midnight jazz, and wears too much black. Please be sure to visit her website at: http://www.kimharrison.net/
 Amateurish, Weak Writing... March 9, 2005
NYC Book Lover (New York, NY)
14 out of 28 found this review helpful
I bought this book based on the glowing reviews I found here, and I have to say I am really, truly, solidly disappointed. I read this one before Dead Witch Walking -- perhaps that was a mistake, but I find it hard to believe that a second book has MORE basic prose issues than a first. Possible, but...
I have tried 3 times to finish this book, so far no luck. And this from someone who regularly reads the average novel, cover-to-cover, in a few hours. The writing is so incredibly awkward at points, I find myself constantly yanked out of the story and marveling that some editor somewhere didn't notice! Overuse of trite phrases (please, no more "my face went slack"), weird/bad/stilted/confusing descriptive elements inserted in odd locations, thinly developed/undeveloped characters, I could go on and on. The premise of the story is strong, but the telling of it leaves a great deal to be desired.
I really, really tried to like this book, I WANTED to like this book, but after groaning aloud for about the 15th time at yet another badly written paragraph/overused cliche, I have to accept the fact that it's possible for a solid concept to be badly executed and still get published. Overall, this book reminds of the writing of a college student with enormous potential but who has not yet developed to the point where her writing truly flows.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a lit snob...I love contemporary fiction and fantasy! Mercedes Lackey, Charles DeLint, Rosemary Edgehill, Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Carey, Laurell K. Hamilton, Lawrence Block, MaryJanice Davidson, Katie McAlister, and so many others have been resposible for many a "lost weekend" spent immersed in great books. It's not that hard to snag me: give me a strong story, smoothly told, along with solidly developed characters, and I'm 75% there. Call me picky, but if I paid money for a book and then have an overwhelming urge to pull out the red pen and CORRECT SENTENCES while I'm reading it, I haven't gotten my money's worth.
I may not make a lot of friends saying this, but I think Ms. Harrison was published prematurely. Do I think she should be published? Absolutely. She obviously has a talent for creating stories and characters. Do I think she should have had more development as a writer before this book was released? Absolutely. The ungainly descriptive attempts, the lurching transitions, the poorly defined characters, all things that can be improved upon with experience and development. I'm not sure if Ms. Harrison's editors are simply not very good, or if they knew they could toss out an amateurish book and get away with it. Either way, they do her a great disservice. She obviously has some talent, and with development and nurturing could be a good writer.
So folks, if you enjoy stories like those crafted by Charlaine Harris, LK Hamilton, MaryJanice Davidson, etc., AND don't mind your books poorly written, you should be OK. If that's not the case, skip this book. Really. Unless you're a Creative Writing instructor...in which case it might make a nice case study on the mistakes/shortcomings of "professional" writers/editors.
Pretty one-liners, all in a row March 4, 2006
D. Thoren (Snellville, GA United States)
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
I had worked up a whole host of complaints about this book. I was going to list them in order, use examples from the book, and possibly even have footnotes. Then I turned on the television to discover that Aaron Spelling has done all my work for me.
This book is exactly like "Charmed." If you enjoy sassy, beautiful, powerful, sexy people performing magic and spouting timely one-liners, this is the book for you. If you really, really care about what your literary characters are wearing and how they have styled their hair, this is the book for you. If you fantasize about being the one woman in town that everyone wants, nay, NEEDS to possess, and the one woman in town that can always get what she wants from anyone, no matter how ridiculous the demand or how hurtful the consequences, this is the book for you.
This book is pure escapism. And I mean we're escaping from everything here, including proper editing. I would be very surprised if anything besides Spell-Check was used to proofread this book. If the plot held my attention better, the typos, word misuse, and missing punctuation probably would not be as distracting. But the author's obvious Daddy issues, frustrated love life, and desire for a closet full of leather should not compete with the plot of the book. It could have been more interesting if actual detective work and thinking were used to solve the case, but the main character just runs around using feelings and "instinct" until she stumbles across the answers.
I have not read the previous book in the series. A friend loaned me this book, claiming that it was the first book. That probably goes to show how poor the writing is, when even a FAN couldn't figure out in what order to read them.
If your sole purpose in reading is to escape from your dreary, miserable life, by all means read this book. Otherwise, do not read it if you have anything better you could be doing. Like watching reruns of "Charmed."
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