A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, Book 4) | 
 enlarge | Author: Kim Harrison
Publisher: Eos
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $10.00
You Save: $11.95 (54%)
New (31) Used (7) from $10.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  134 reviews
Sales Rank: 206372
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0060892986
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780060892982
ASIN: 0060892986
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Proceeds to help support the employment of NYC homeless and formerly homeless.
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Product Description
The evil night things that prowl Cincinnati despise witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan. Her new reputation for the dark arts is turning human and undead heads alike with the intent to possess, bed, and kill her—not necessarily in that order. Now a mortal lover who abandoned Rachel has returned, haunted by his secret past. And there are those who covet what Nick possesses—savage beasts willing to destroy the Hollows and everyone in it if necessary. Forced to keep a low profile or eternally suffer the wrath of a vengeful demon, Rachel must nevertheless act quickly. For the pack is gathering for the first time in millennia to ravage and rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul is at stake.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 129 more reviews...
 Harrison's most powerful book in the series so far... November 18, 2008
This is easily Harrison's best book in the series so far, and I've been an avid reader of hers from page one of Dead Witch Walking. Harrison's writing is the same as the first three books, so that certainly isn't why this book was such a great read. The plot itself was pretty good, but not something that, by itself, was ooh and ahh. But how it was executed and what she instilled in the characters are what made this such an amazing read.
We finally got to see the characters take on a life of their own. We see Pixies, and I admire them so much more, able to see how tough and amazing they are. Especially compared to the other species in the book. We finally get to see an extended scene of Werewolves. With as much as we've seen Witches, we certainly get to see so much more of Rachel and her powers as they build and grow. Add Werewolves, Witches and Pixies together and watch them fight and do battle together, leaving you with scene after scene of amazing charisma.
The only thing I do wish there was more of was to throw in Vampires more in this book. We've seen them in the three previous books, but never an extended scene that really showcased the Vampires strength in a fight. Yes, mental and seductive strength, but never an all out fight, mano e mano. Especially with Ivy. She is supposed to be this amazingly powerful and tough Vampire, and yet we have yet to see her power showcased. Sure, there was the fight scene in the last book when she whooped another Vampire, but the scene was peripheral to the main scene as Rachel passed through. Again, a disappointment for me, we did not see Ivy's in all out fight as we did with Werewolves and Witches, and the surprise of it all was watching a Pixy whoop every species behinds: Vampires, Werewolves and Witches all included. And as well we have yet to see a dead Vampire at its most powerful, especially since their power is continually alluded to as frighteningly powerful.
That being said, this was certainly a minor regret since there was so much action and amazing interspecies interaction that I wish the book were another 500 pages. I cannot wait until I start her next book. A most definite recommend for both the author and the series.
5 stars.
Another Great Rachel Morgan Book October 30, 2008
In this book, Jink's son partners up with Rachel's ex, Nick, and Jinks is going after him. Rachel does her thing and comes along to help. But they are in more trouble then they first realize. I group of werewolves wants the statue that Nick stole.
It is a power struggle between the weres, vamps, and any one else that thinks they can gain from this. There are a lot of plot twists, as usual, and great action. But this story revolves around Nick and saving his butt. I have to agree that he is not my favorite character, but he did need to be taken care of with the statue.
Also, Ivy finally gets pushed to the point that she bites Rachel. She was pretty savage about it then really goes into a bad depression. Instead of working it out with Rachel, it's just left hanging. I get ready to scream at Ivy because she can be so stupid about it.
I did enjoy the book, but I can't wait for the next one with the great characters of Trent, Big Al, and the rest. But I would still recommend it to anyone that likes the fantasy story line.
Were challenges, black magic, and tricking a thief - all in a day's work! October 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Honestly, if I hear the description 'wire-tight' or 'grey-silk-voice' one more time, I might scream. It's time I admit the repetitive descriptions are getting just a wee bit wearing. And yet, it's still a great book! Even that can't lower it too much in my estimation.
It's the little things that make this book so good - the way the characters are flawed (and, more importantly, recognize and in some cases embrace those flaws), the way they interact with one another, and the fact that, perhaps, no one is quite what they seem. There's always a lingering question, odd motivations, and very realistic personal dilemmas. I like that no one is perfect (or even close) and yet, they do manage to work together in a haphazard, yet effective, way.
One of my favorite enigmatic characters, Trent, play no appreciable role in the book (his name is mentioned once or twice, but he makes no appearance). However, the storyline revolves around Janks, his family, and Rachel's ex-boyfriend, Nick, and that more than makes up for his absence. We see a lot more of the pixie's world, and get a much better idea of who his is. Towards the end, we also see a bit more of Ivy and Rachel, and get a better understanding of their characters. Oh, and there's a whole bunch of action and drama in there, too!
Despite the overall fun and fluffy adventure feel of the book, if you really want to delve into it, there's a lot of fairly interesting and meaningful bits. Rachel and her quest to keep the black off her soul despite the allure of black magic ('just this one more time...') and her dealings with a boyfriend that used her (who she, perhaps, finally sees for who he really is) are the two biggest realistic messages in this book, and they're well presented. Even in this fun, escapist book there's some measure of deep thought. And, perhaps, that is why it works so well. There are bits of the characters you can relate to, even while there are parts you can't understand.
This is still a very good series, and I can't wait to read the fifth book. I'd recommend it to any supernatural/fantasy lover, though I would strongly recommend reading the books in order.
AUDIOBOOK NOTE: This is the same reader that did the previous books in the series, and admittedly, while her voice is nice and she does a great job with the characters, there are some places where she pauses in odd parts of the sentence, leaving a strange, hiccupping rhythm to the book. It can be distracting at times, so bear that in mind when deciding between the print or audio version of the book - if that would drive you crazy, pick up the print version!
 I'm glad my library stocks this book... September 7, 2008
Before buying a book, I go to the library and borrow it. In this case, with Harrison's series "Dead Witch Walking", "The Good, The Bad and the Undead" and "A Fistful of Charms" (very cute puns on Clint Eastwood films) I'd feel my money would be better spent elsewhere.
I *enjoyed* parts of the books, when there was plot evident, but I did not enjoy the constant emo-ing and angsting. Although the plague that wiped out a huge portion of humanity is mentioned once in a while, usually in tandem with tomatoes, the only effect the plague seems to have had was to bring supernatural creatures and witches and so forth out of the closet. If Harrison was not going to incorporate such a enormous societal change in a realistic way, it should not have been included at all as an explanation for a world with open magicking.
By "A Fistful of Charms" the only character I give a hoot about is Jenks. He doesn't emo all over the place, although he does take part in one too many deep heart-to-hearts with Rachel Morgan about her love life and psychological state. This book in particular felt like I was eavesdropping in on a massively long and drawn out therapy session instead of following along in a well-structured adventure/mystery puzzle.
The plot, when it bothered to show up between talking head heart-to-hearts, was sort-of cohesive. There was some weaving together of elements from the beginning of the book to later scenes, but, either I wasn't reading closely enough, or I missed the section that introduced a character (by name) and by who he was arriving with in order to have an assisted suicide. I had to figure out he'd been mentioned cryptically a few chapters earlier, but not by name. He was not a character until Rachel had the chance to ooze emo all over HER ethical dilemma. It made her incredibly self-indulgent and unlikable. I almost found myself wishing she'd been killed in the car wreck, also.
Rachel Morgan's own revelation at the end of the book about her psychological nature of needing thrill-seeking to have sex was just...I won't say repulsive, but really, I didn't need to have it spelled out for me. In fact, I didn't like having every deep personal motive of the every major character spelled out for me in dialogue between the characters, as if they were all in Junior or High School trying to figure out their social status and who they could screw and why not or why it could work or not. Does every character own some sort of speshul knowledge about a key character, as if they all have canted telepathy?
Harrison does have a way with writing hooks in her stories. I just wish she'd reign in the emo-talk, the spelling-out of motivations, and hang her stories together a little more securely. Also, make Rachel less of a whiny sex-driven stereotypical witch, please. Sex is healthy; but I don't want to read about characters endlessly whinging about it!
Someone Should Make a Movie August 25, 2008
This one was so full of events...I think someone should make it a movie. I would certainly go see it!
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