Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan, Book 8) | 
 enlarge | Author: Kim Harrison
Publisher: Eos
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
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Rating:  132 reviews
Sales Rank: 6626
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 496
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.5
ISBN: 0061138037
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061138034
ASIN: 0061138037
Publication Date: March 1, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison's most complex and nuanced adventure yet, bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan fights a deadly battle—mind, body, and soul Black Magic Sanction Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief. It takes a witch to catch a witch, but survival bears a heavy price.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 132
 Loved it! March 4, 2010
mlle. x (California)
33 out of 35 found this review helpful
I often find it difficult to review a new book from a favorite series because my feelings are pretty simple. They boil down to, "I love this series, I love this book, I wish I didn't have to wait a year for the next one!" That's how it is with Kim Harrison's books anyhow. I am totally hooked on The Hollows.
I figure if you're reading this review you're probably not new to Kim Harrison. The Hollows is not a series that can be read out of order (for any newbies who've found there way here: start with Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)). If you've enjoyed the direction that the series has been heading over the past few books, Black Magic Sanction will fill you with glee. If not, what's wrong with you?
What are some little plot teasers I can throw out. Well, the villain of Black Magic Sanction is the coven of ethical and moral standards. As judge and jury to the witch population, members of the coven tend to be ruthless and power hungry...so it shouldn't be any surprise that these ruthless, power-hungry witches have found a way to use white magic for dark purposes. I really enjoyed this aspect of the novel - seeing a witch with an aura as clean freshly windexed glass use white magic to do some pretty black deeds, for selfish reasons, really drives home the point that however ugly Rachel Morgan's sooty aura is, she's the one fighting the good fight. Sometimes appearances really are deceiving.
We see a lot more of Pierce, the former ghost, who serves as this book's dangerous love interest. We don't see enough of Trent, who makes a couple of brief yet crucial appearances. Nick turns up again, and boy, if you thought you couldn't hate Nick any more than you already did, you will find out that you were wrong. That little snothead is just about the most despicable fictional character I've ever encountered. But the sexy/evil enemy/ally that really shines in this book is Algaliarept. I've always thought Al was a great character; when he appears in a scene, I know it's going to be fun to read (even if I know Rachel won't enjoy what happens very much). But until Black Magic Sanction I was never even slightly tempted by him as a romantic interest for Rachel. That's right, I said "until," and no, I am not explaining any further.
There's one really major thing that happens in Black Magic Sanction that all of Harrison's devoted readers have been dreading for a while now. We know that pixies have short life spans - and Jenks and Matalina have reached the ripe old age of 20, the sunset years of their species. But just try to imagine The Hollows without Jenks. It's impossible, right? He's the magic ingredient. Him and his whole family. Well, we get a day of reckoning in Black Magic Sanction so keep your tissues handy. I cried big fat tears over this one.
That's about it. Ugh, another year until the next book!
Brilliantly written, Rachel grows up. March 24, 2010
Graves (Pennsylvania)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
In Black Magic Sanction long time fans of Kim Harrison's series about Rachel Morgan a bounty hunting witch living in Cincinnati, have a chance to truly appreciate and enjoy how Harrison has grown in her craft as a writer.
Building on the threads left at the end of the last book Rachel discovers that the coven of witches who ordered her shunned for dealing with demons is trying to capture her so they can surgically neutralize her. Unfortunately for them and luckily for Rachel she has not committed any crimes so instead of having the police arrest her they start a guerrilla war to capture or kill her. Since they are willing to torch a building she *might* be inside but Rachel holds back from using dangerous magic even in self defense it raises interesting moral questions about who really is a black or white witch.
Also in previous books of all the Inderlanders, various magical beings, witches seemed to be the weakest. Among vampires and were-wolves and things that go bump in the night, witches seemed like the innocuous wimps of the occult, support troops to the true monster. Here they are seen as a real threat not to be underestimated.
The real charm here is Harrison's writing. She has created a rich and well developed world and in her earlier books she was sometimes so eager to show off parts of it that the plots became very cluttered with sub-issues. Even more enjoyable as in what I think was the best book in the series, Fist Full of Charms, Harrison strips away a lot of the usual cast of characters and settings some of which could be seen as crutches for her writing. Before she had left town. In Black Magic Sanction her supports are pulled away by the enemy who start neutralizing her carefully built up support systems.
The book is so well put together that even though there are references to a lot that came before, you don't feel that you're missing anything if this is where you started the series. As the book unfolds so do hard truths and ugly lies and we learn that nothing is black and white. The effect on the character is that we see Rachel as more rounded and developed person as she becomes more adult. The effect on the book is a moving, in pacing and emotion, easy read that is quite enjoyable.
Harrison's 8th Hollow's book recaptures the series' earlier magic March 11, 2010
melindeeloo (sb,ca)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Yay! Harrison has brought her Hollow's series back on track and it's filled to the brim with the good stuff that made the earlier books so great.
Rachel, always a magnet for trouble, is in deep kimshee here. The Coven for Ethics and Morality (the witch ruling body) wants to imprison, neuter and lobotomize Rachel all without a fair trial because Rachel represents the dirty little secret about the true origins of witches and she is also the key to the demon's return to the Earthly plane.
Black Magic sanction is exactly what I was looking for in the last book (I could have lived without the Kisten rehash entirely). Finally we get to explore a bit of Rachel's apprenticeship to Al and the new dynamics that puts on their relationship. Also, thankfully we've finally (finally!) gotten past all of the blood-balance stuff with Ivy, I was finding that oh-so tiresome. That thread took way too long to resolve itself and actually made Ivy so one-dimensional a character that she wasn't all that interesting anymore, hopefully Harrison will be able to remedy that now that Ivy's moved on and has a new beau.
The constant peril for Rachel, as the coven keeps trying to kidnap her and to coerce her by threatening Rachel's home and family, keep the book really moving along and results in some really sad and poignant moments for our beloved characters. I loved the way that Rachel finally manages to solve her dilemma with the coven, and the way that she manages to accept her ability to do black magic doesn't make her an evil witch (and the way that the coven manages to achieve truly evil results while sticking purely to white magic.)
There is some resolution for Rachel with characters from the past: Nick, Rachel's lying ex (I always liked the devious little thief), Lee and Trent. The direction that Harrison is taking Bis is also fun.
So bottom line is that Black Magic Sanction is actually worth the hardcover price and has restored my enthusiasm for the series, can't wait to see what's in store for Rachel next.
Great book! February 27, 2010
Blink (Over there)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Harrison is really good at giving her characters distinct, vivid personalities. A lot of authors seem to have a problem with their character development. They are either too flat or rely on too many stereotypes. Harrison doesn't do this. She also has a good balance between the action and "down-time". Also, I like Pierce. Other reviewers seem to hate Pierce, but I think he and Rachel go well together. I'm really disturbed by the person that wants Al to get with Rachel. I mean, he beats her and is a murderer, rapist, and sells people as slaves. There were a couple of things I didn't like about the book... SPOILERS!!!! DON'T READ PAST HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET!
I didn't like how when M. was dying, the reason she didn't want Rachel to save her was because she was tired. She was eighteen and had a good life. Why was she tired?! I thought her death was too forced. I also agree that Jenks didn't seem to grieve enough for her, and I thought it was dumb that Rachel wouldn't kill the faeries that were ATTACKING them. Yeah, it was a black spell, but there are white ones that kill too, so what did it matter? If people are trying to kill you and your friends, then yeah, it's okay to kill them. Otherwise, your friends, like M., are going to die. All in all though, I really enjoyed the book and can't wait for the next one to come out.
Another Great Rachel Morgan Book: Intense and Gritty. March 1, 2010
W. Nelson (Minnesota)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Rachel Morgan has gotten herself in trouble again... but it's not her fault. The coven has shunned her for being a black witch, but she is only doing what she thinks is right, which usually involves saving peoples lives, including her friends. She is still Al's (the demon) student; Pierce is still around, although this time he has a body, and a nice one at that. There is a little crush or romance going on here, but it doesn't overshadow the story at all.... Rachel is being very cautious with her heart this time around since she is still so distraught over the loss of Kisten. She is bound and determined not to get her heart broken again.
In this installment of the latest Kim Harrison book, there is humor, edge of your seat drama, some seriously sad things, and just all around one big joy ride of entertainment. The characters are so intense and intriguing. This has to be one of my all time favorite series, and even though I've sworn not to buy hardcover anymore, I couldn't resist this and didn't even try. And was not disappointed.
Kim Harrison has a way of weaving an unbelievable story into something believable. I couldn't put the book down. Not only is Rachel and amazingly strong character, although you can easily see her humanity and the chinks in her armor, she has the best friends in the world in Ivy, a live Vampire, and Jenks, a pixie...who would do anything for her, and have, just as Rachel would go to the ends of the earth for them. The angst and competition between Trent and Rachel is still there, stemming from childhood and it's hard to believe they haven't killed each other yet, but there is a respect there that will keep them playing the "I hate you" game for some time to come.
For some reason I really like Al. The demon is funny, rude, and scary...but it's obvious he cares about Rachel in his own way, despite having no compunction about killing anyone, possibly even her some day. Rachel does spend a little too much time dwelling on things like whether she should do certain things to people who are attempting to kill her. She is trying to retain her humanity, but she really needed to be spending more time on self defense, even if it meant killing... such as a group of vicious fairies... who are a huge part of the tragedy that happens in the book that changes the lives of all 3 of them. Jenks especially.
If you have never read a Kim Harrison book, you should. I was hooked from the start... get the first one, and don't stop until you're done.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 132
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