"Black Magic Sanction" - Kim Harrison

Rachel Morgan finds herself fighting for her life, again.  She finds herself forced to do the wrong things for the right reasons (or so she tells herself), again.  She puts her friends in danger, again.  And she falls for a bad boy...again.  "Black Magic Sanction" may be the 8th book in The Hallows series, but it might as well be the first, as it's no different than any before it.


The main reason all books in The Hallows series feel the same is because of the lack of personal growth on the part of the characters.  Rachel still makes rash decisions that put people in danger, and only work out because someone comes along and bails her out at the last second.  If she was forced to rely solely on the plan she concocted as written, Rachel wouldn't make it through the first 10 chapters in any of her books.  But, with the help of her friends (and sometimes her enemies), Rachel survives to run another day.  Though to what end is anyone's guess.  It's not like she has any great aspirations for her life.  All she wants to do is be a small time runner, occasionally helping people out of sticky situations for a fee.  She doesn't have the heartbreaking backstory that makes for a great hero.  Sure, there's some sad stuff in her past.  Sure, they say she's the only one who'll be able to save mankind from the demons.  But she doesn't seem all that interested in worrying about any of that.  She'd rather just hang out with her vampire ex-girlfriend and their pixy roommate.


The only redeeming aspect of this book is the changes that Jenks undergoes.  Though not by choice, he discovers his own strength and resilience, and finds that he has the personal fortitude to overcome the limits of his genetics.  (Apparently, pixies aren't supposed to live after the death of their spouse, nor more than 20 years, nor with all of their children still around them.  But Jenks keeps finding himself moving past the genetic pre-dispositions of his kind.)


Add to the story the complete absence of physical descriptions of places and you constantly feel like your floating along in a empty space, watching Rachel's actions, but never feeling what she's feeling, or even able to follow along with her train of thought, which jumps faster than a demon can ride a ley line, and can land just about anywhere.  Her thoughts about herself don't make the character any more likable, as she calls herself a whore for having 4 relationships in the span of 2 years.


Rachel Morgan is not the hero the world needs, hers or ours.

Jim Butcher's first published work, "Storm Front," is an invitation to enjoy all this author has to write.

Meet Harry Dresden, Wizard.  He is a sarcastic, snappy, angry, lonely, kind young man who honestly wants to help people.  Living in Chicago, a city known for its corruption (and not just of the human origin) means that there's always someone around for Harry to help.


In "Storm Front," Harry finds himself helping the Chicago police, and sassy Special Investigations Detective Karrin Murphy, on a murder case involving black magic.  But the detectives aren't the only ones who want this case solved.  Local mob boss, Gentleman Johnny Marcone, has a vested interest in the assailant as well, as the victims were on his payroll.  But Harry is really put under pressure to find the bad guy when the Wardens from the White Council of Wizards start thinking that Harry might be the one behind the attack.


You see, it turns out that Harry doesn't have the cleanest record with the Wardens.  In fact, he's under something known as the Doom of Damocles.  Meaning, if he slips up one time - breaks even the tiniest of Wizard laws - he'll be executed without trial, and Warden Morgan will be all too happy to carry out that sentence.


With the police, mob, and a crying damsel-in-distress begging for justice, and the Wardens sharpening their swords, Harry has to find the Black Mage quick, but he'll do it with a lot of sass and only causing damage to two buildings in the process.


Harry's level of sass is near astronomical, but we find we like that about him.  He has a way of putting people at ease when they are faced with gore and pain, and he does it by making them laugh.  He is often the butt of his own jokes, and we learn that his self-deprecating remarks stem from a painful (physically and emotionally) childhood, but that is also where his unending drive to help others was born as well.  He may sass at Warden Morgan, but he won't back down from a fight when there are lives on the line.


The introduction to Harry Dresden, Wizard, is a promising start to a new series.