For a Few Demons More

For a Few Demons More (2007) Kim Harrison

Michael is actually the one who has been following this series. I’ve been reading them, but only after his initial push to get me to read them, after I started the first book and was completely and utterly annoyed by the main character, Rachel Morgan.

As Michael said, Rachel got better as the book went on, and has continued to improve throughout the series. There are some things that still annoy me, but they’ve become more like quirks than major annoyance. Plus, miracle of all miracles, her friends are actually trying to get her to dress better. (But really, why do they care so much about clothing? This infatuation with dressing well is one of the things that annoys me most about supernatural fiction directed towards women. I don’t care what they’re wearing, and don’t want to read a multi-page description of anyone’s outfit.)

Anyway.

Rachel is still doing ley-line magic, and still owes favors two two demons. She’s also trying to resolve her relationship issues, and deal with the consequences of not destroying the were Focus. Never mind the number of living elves she knows. Many of these things end up coming back to bite Rachel in For a Few Demons More. Trent wants Rachel to work as a bodyguard during his wedding, Rachel and Kirsten are trying to find balance in their romantic relationship while Rachel and Ivy attempt to find balance in their friendship. And to make things worse, the Focus is not remaining quietly hidden away, but is instead causing problems for both Rachel and David.

The strongest part of this series is Rachel’s struggle with her magical powers, and her fight to keep from using dark magic. It is this struggle that interests me most. I also like Rachel’s dependence upon her friends. She is not ultimately powerful, and makes many mistakes. Rachel is a flawed character who is struggling to deal with her lot in life, and those flaws make her a complex and interesting character.

The other thing I like is that Kim Harrison is not afraid to kill of major characters. Rachel has suffered several losses throughout the series, and there are more losses in her future, as we are reminded of Jenks short lifespan. I have a lot of respect for authors who are able to do that, because Rachel’s lifestyle is a dangerous one, and if she and her friends and companions were constantly surviving unscathed, the stories would be unbelievable. So even if I don’t like it when someone is killed off, it makes a great deal of sense.

There were some issues with this story, primarily that several issues remain unresolved, including who killed one of the main characters in this story. I suppose that since the death wasn’t part of the story arc/mystery, this wasn’t quite as frustrating as it could have been. But it was frustrating.

But mostly, I am enjoying the way that Rachel is growing through this series, and learning to live with her responsiblities–whether she likes them or not.
Rating: 7/10

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