The first half of this book contains a series of short
stories set in the Hollows world. And I think they do some excellent jobs as
short stories – filling in the gaps of the character’s development. They tell
the story of things we know happened in their past that we’ve heard about, that
has often been mentioned, but which we haven’t actually seen. Because we’ve
read the Hollow’s series we know that they are pivotal moments in the character’s
past and really add to what makes them the characters they are and what
motivates them.
So we see Rachel when she first summoned Pierce. Her
struggle in still recovering from her illness and the constant battles against
fatigue which, in turn, drive her to prove she is as strong and physically
capable of those around her. Her resistance to a quiet “academic” life as, in
some way, giving in to that weakness. It also really characterises and adds
depth to her relationship with her brother.
We see Ivy first framing Arthur, her supervisor which certainly
becomes a major element in later books as well as her interviewing Mia the
Banshee for the first time. I think this story is excellent not just for
showing us two iconic events in the Hollows series, but also for displaying
vampire culture at its most blatant. I don’t think we learn over much about
Ivy, certainly not beyond what we already do – the broken, damaged person that
Piscary abused and the problems that left her with – but it did really show how
much such abuse fits into the vampire world and how it is an expected part of
vampire politics and, through that, the IS. The expectation that a rising
living vampire has an obligation to give up their blood and their bodies, and
how harmful this exploitation and abuse can be to their psyches.
The stories I thought were most revealing were both
looking through Jenks’s eyes – just seeing things from the point of view of the
Pixie, their culture, their size, their power and seeing through Trent’s eyes
as he claims his daughter back. After so long with him being the cold hard
manipulator, the almost antagonist, it’s such a change to actually see who he
is, his motivations, his beliefs, his worries – and through them to gain an
insight into Elven culture, perhaps the Inderlander species we’ve seen the
least of. The same applies to seeing Ceri first becoming Al’s familiar – these
were the 3 stories that shed more light into corners of Inderland we hadn’t seen
very much.
At the same time, if you have read the Hollow’s series,
this book won’t add anything. Everything in these books has been referred to or
inferred to some degree in the main plot line. The extra information added does
nicely flesh things out and let us see their pasts rather than merely hear it
reported or remembered; but it adds nothing new, nor, particularly, does it
develop the characters since we know this about them. It is still nice to see
these moments we know defined their lives, nice to hear it from their own
mindsets and especially nice to step outside of Rachel’s POV and see what the
characters around her think – gaining gems like Ivy’s respect for witch magic
or Rachel’s determination to overcome her physical weakness and definitely Jenk’s
pixy-eye view.
It’s also worth noting for people who have bought
anthologies that these short stories appear in different anthologies Kim
Harrison has contributed to. Double check if you don’t want to buy the same
story twice.
As these stories did occur in anthologies for readers
unfamiliar with the series, there are moments when the lore has to be
explained. Unlike some, I think this is really well done in most of the stories
with minimal unnecessary exposition or clumsy info dumping. But Ivy’s story is
still full of not just a lot of personal angst, but also a fair amount of
info-dump to fill in the world.
This book also contains a section “Beyond the Hollows”
which are stories not set in the Hollows universe. And I, honestly, didn’t
enjoy them very much.
Spidersilk
This is the story of grandmother, mother and daughters
who are facing the seductive and dangerous draw of a spirit, a dryad, that was
bound to a tree by the grandmother and is now free. It’s an interesting concept
and certainly a new twist on the dryad mythos, but he story just seemed to be consumed
by Lilly’s worry about her daughter and her mother without much plot. Either
she’s fretting about her mother succumbing to dementia for believing in
children’s stories or she’s worried about her daughter falling into the dryad’s
clutches. The first is cured by reaching the second which is cured by quick,
relatively simple action. It ended on a question but without more character
development beyond what we’ve seen it didn’t have much impact. It either needed
developing beyond a short story, or it needed more story in it beyond Lilly’s
own internal conflict.
Temson Estates
He inherits land, he goes to check it, is convinced by some relatives that the lands has dryads on it so doesn’t sell it and, instead, tries to encourage more dryads. It’s not a bad story it’s just a little… flat and linear. Was there something missing? Is there more to come? I feel that it may be my personal dislike with short stories as a format that is shining through here – I expect more twists and turns and aspects and development, I prefer more of them, so this simple little closed storyline of “have forest, convinced dryads are real, aww, isn’t it shiny” just feels hollow, there needs to be more, even though it is neat, self contained and everything is contained and addressed perfectly, I’m left feeling “and?”
Pet Shop Boys Grace
I’m putting these together because I had a very similar
reaction to both of them. In the Pet Shop Boys we’re introduced to a new world
with vampire fae crossing the boundaries of the world to try and harvest
people. There’s a suggestion of a lot more as well, with his employer clearly
being involved into the shadow world. They make their play for the protagonist
to join them in the darkness…
Which is an intriguing idea, a fascinating looking world and a great introduction. This would be a perfect book for a mixed anthology to introduce me to a series of books – I’d go out and look up book 1 straight away. But there isn’t a book 1. As far as I’m aware, this is the only story in this series. So, again, I finish the story and think “and…” but this time even more frustrated.
Which is only multiplied with Grace. Ok, the character
Grace is very very very similar to Rachel Morgan – and? I like Rachel Morgan.
Another Rachel Morgan, in a very different setting would be quite interesting,
with different characters around her and a different world interests me. She
works for the Strand as a person who seems to have some kind of power to throw
and control electricity or similar power, finding people like herself before
they become a danger to other people. It’s intriguing, it’s interesting and it’s
a great introduction to a series of books… that doesn’t actually exist.
With both I’m left with a feel of “what’s the point?” and
“where’s the rest?”
In general it’s a nice book I enjoyed yet, whether from
my personal dislike of short stories or simply from the stories within, it felt
like a rather unnecessary book. I didn’t care for the books in the Beyond the
Hollows section, and the others were interesting but didn’t really add anything
to what I already knew. I think it may also be part of my excitement and
self-hype at a new book in the Hollows series that built up expectations higher
than was warranted. It was a nice book, it was an interesting book – but it’s
not a book I could ever see myself reading twice and would probably borrow it
rather than buy it.
