DEAD WITCH WALKING -- Kim Harrison

I was in the bookstore, having a chat with my best friend about my disappointment in the Buffy Knockoff subgenre, when a geeky-cute girl slipped around the corner of the aisle, placed DEAD WITCH WALKING in my wildly gesturing hand, shyly smiled and told me I'd enjoy it, and scurried off.

If I were male or gay, it would have been a total meet-cute.

So, I read it in the airport while waiting for a plane to Kansas City, and have mixed feelings.

Over break, I (finally) watched Pan's Labyrinth with my sister. In the DVD extras* there was a fascinating segment with Del Toro in which he talked about fairy tales. He characterized them as "very simple, and very brutal" and went on to talk about how people these days are afraid of simplicity. Movies that are too simple make us nervous. Characters that are too simple make us nervous. Music that's too simple makes us nervous.

I kept thinking back to that observation while reading DEAD WITCH WALKING. Rachel, the main character, pulls off the Tough Chick shtick better than most narrators, and a couple times I even giggled aloud. I was genuinely curious about the villain. Her relationship with Ivy, her vampire roommate, is pretty intriguing. And her meeting with her love interest, even if it happens at the 11th hour, is memorable. It was a mostly enjoyable read.

On the other hand, I couldn't tell you what the plot was. At 416 pages, the book felt rushed. There was so much crammed in that it was hard to follow the arc of the plot, or that of the subplots. At any point in the book, I had difficulty feeling where I was in the arc.

I can't put my finger on it exactly, but while it was a fun read, I was relieved when it was over. I don't think I'll be reading any more in the series.

Rating: ***1/2

___________________________
*I have been so terribly, terribly spoiled by the Lord of the Rings DVDs. I inevitably feel cheated by the special features on other DVDs. But still, this was the Collector's Edition, and the features were pitifully few.