Pale Demon: Road Trip to Redemption

Rating: Five Burning Bunnies and a Box of Milk Dudes

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison is the ninth book of the Hollows series (released February 22, 2011, HarperCollins; ISBN: 0061138061). As a fan of the series, I have been anticipating this book for almost a year. I was not disappointed. I have read it three times so far, and I need to put it away so I can get back to work.

Pale Demon builds on the previous books. This book may not be the best stand-alone novel. I recommend that people start at the beginning of the Hollows series and read the books in order. 

Pale Demon delvers fun and excitement with a satisfyingly level of character and relationship development. Fans of the series know the basic description of Rachel's wild road trip from the book's blurb. This review will have a sightly spoilery discussions of some of the major themes of the series.

Laws, Morality and Shades of Gray

In Pale Demon, Rachel notes that everyone makes sacrifices for what is important to them. She may have been thinking of how Jenks killed to protect his family and how Ivy killed to survive, but there are many more moral compromises in this book. Oliver breaks his word for what he sees as the greater good. Trent endangers innocent lives so that he can keep a promise (although he may have underestimated the danger at the time he made his choice). Rachel embraces her black magic powers because she sees it as necessary for survival.

Pale Demon demonstrates how what is legal is not always what is right. Oliver leads both the coven and the witch community with his view of strictly following the rules, even if circumstances are changing so that those rules no longer protect them. Rachel condemns Trent's use of illegal spells, but Trent justifies the compel and forget spells when his survival is threatened because the other option is to hurt or kill people. Rachel herself uses black magic again when it is the only way to stop a demon who is eating people. Rachel has been moving into shades of gray since the series began, and she continues to broaden her perspective.

In Pale Demon some characters see black magic as sometimes necessary in special cases (ends justifying the means). Others cannot let go of the idea of evil as a state of being (i.e. a demon must always be evil, therefore if a person can do demon magic, that person is evil). Still others accept that all magic is a tool, and that distinctions of "white" or "black" are not as important as how the magic is used. Many of the choices take place in an atmosphere of fear and desperation, but some characters act for love and to protect others. Survival and guiding the future take center stage for the Rachel and those closest to her

It's For the Children: What Parents Do to and for Their Young

Pale Demon continues the theme of parent-child relationships. Some make sacrifices to protect the young, and others manipulate their children to make them into better tools. A child can become a prize to be won or the face of redemption. Rachel sees her own mother's love again even as all other witches turn away from her, and also receives an oddly motherly tutelage from Newt. Newt regrets past mistakes made for the love of a child when she sees what that child has become. In revealing that demons are cursed by their mothers while in the womb in order to ensure their survival, Newt exposes the harsh conditions that may have come from war with the elves or  from a power-driven "might makes right" society.

In the Hollows, saving the lives of the enemies' children seems to be a path for peace. Rachel's dad worked with Trent's dad because the elf saved Rachel's life. Trent comes to accept Rachel because she saved the elves' chance for future generations (and he becomes closer to her because she helps him to win his own daughter). Jenks accepts a fairy in his garden because she saved his children when he was away. Cooperation for mutual survival seems to offer a future that Rachel may embrace.

Dying children are a special concern in the series. Much of Rachel's character is formed in the “Make a Wish” camp where she was cured of a terminal condition. In parts of Pale Demon, Newt appears looking like one of the dying children Rachel knew from the Cancer Ward, and while Rachel is appalled, she sees that the form somehow fits Newt. Both elves and demons are on the brink of dying out, but each now have new hope. At some point each person in the book must face the question of what he or she would do for the survival of a child.

For the Shippers: How Many Nasty Little Men Do You Need?

Those readers who enjoy exploring Rachel's romantic options will love Pale Demon. This book has something for everyone, with the possible exception of Nick fans (are there still Nick fans?). In Pale Demon, Rachel kisses Al, Ivy, Pierce and Trent (though Trent's kiss may have had the most impact). She thinks of Kisten briefly (though he remains, alas, dead dead). She wishes she were small enough to hug Jenks, though there are no lusty thoughts involved. For a shunned witch, Rachel gets a lot of action. Of course nothing gets resolved, but we leave Rachel tingling with all sorts of possibilities. 

Good natured shipper-wars can be fun, but it would be a mercy to some readers if at some point the major contestants will be limited to those characters we already know.  Although I find these "dodecahedron of love" subplots to be entertaining, I hope there won't be many new love interests added in books to come. I have trouble keeping up with Rachel's current crop of hopefuls. In the interest of full disclosure, I was a Kisten fan, but I never warmed up to Pierce. Maybe I have an anti-new-guy bias, but I could see Trent or Ivy ending up with Rachel, or even Al or Jenks--just not someone new.   Naturally Kim Harrison can and should do whatever she sees fit, because she does it so well.  I just hope she gives all the main characters a satisfying happily ever after when and if she decides the series should come to an end.

Are Americans Really More Emo When Being Human?

I am giving SyFy's Being Human time to grow on me. It won't be easy to live up to the original Being Human from the UK. So far I'm bit disappointed with some aspects of the US show.  At times it seems like it was hit too hard by the Twilight stick. All the same, I am hoping it will develop into something interesting. Unfortunately, I think the US show has a few obstacles to overcome before it can truly hit its stride.

The first hurdle the US show faces is with those viewers who are familiar with the UK Version. The best way to describe many reactions is what TVTropes refers to as “They changed.  Now it sucks.” In interest of full disclosure, I am often critical of adaptations. I usually like the book better than the movie. I liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer better without Dawn (Buffy's little sister who was added to the show in Season 5). I prefer the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender to The Last Airbender movie. Although I am excited about the upcoming Torchwood (international version), part of me is afraid of what might happen to the show as they try to broaden its appeal. 

On the other hand, some shows that change a good thing do manage to make their own mark. For example, I enjoy the dark comedy True Blood so much that I hardly ever point out the differences between Alan Ball's creation and the original Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries. Showtime's Dexter is worth watching, even though the show is very different from the Dexter books. I love the urban fantasy genre, so I feel the more vampires, ghost and werewolves in mainstream media the better. If Being Human US can find it's own interesting twist on the original series without attempting to broaden it's appeal by lowering the quality, then I will give it my full fan girl support.

The second obstacle facing Being Human US is the deadly emo cloud that hangs over every episode. The angsty voice-overs may be meant to sound pithy, but they often come across as whiny. Part of the "woe is me" problem is the overall melodramatic style that sometimes drops on the viewer, but a larger part of it is the way the characters are presented.  Dark is a good mood for a show about monsters, but we also have to be able to like monsters a little if we are going to embrace them as they try to be human.

Each of the main characters has room for improvement.  The clean-cut hunky style vampire, Aiden ,seems too much like other popular US male vampire characters (Edward, Angel, Stefan) to pull off a good brood.  When he tries it, he just seems superficially sulky or Lestat Lite. Sally, the ghost, has a reason to be sad, but we never fully see the caring or nurturing side of her character.  Josh, the werewolf, is a lost puppy most of the time but he lacks adorkable appeal. Oddly, the most likable character at this point is the werewolf's sister, who is both fully human and minor to the plot.

It is a challenge to make each character fresh and have them show the good as well as the bad points of being supernatural.   Hopefully the show will find a way to give the characters feeling and depth without keeping them all in unending self-absorbed agony. After all, they are monsters not teenagers. Even in the US, 20-somethings do grow up.

The third issue facing the US Being Human is chemistry, or lack of it. The three main characters seem thrown together. At this point they are more like distant roommates than true friends. Each has their own story and each tries to show polite interest in the others. The feeling of genuine friendship is lost. They need to find more warmth and connection. If the characters don't really care about each other, it is harder to care about any of them.

The US Being Human needs more time to grow. The creators may find their own way to tell the story without feeling pressure to make the show “more marketable” based on generalizations about what Americans are supposed to want. It's true that nothing succeeds like success, but it is also true that mechanical imitations of things that are already popular tend to fall flat. Luckily, there are some good points to the US version of the show. I will keep watching to see what they do with it.

A Guilty Goodbye to Borders

The local Borders is closing and it is (partially) my fault. Let me begin by admitting two things: (1) I enjoy browsing in books stores and (2) I am extremely cheap. I would regularly go to Borders to hang out. I like to touch and feel books, and preview the latest arrivals. I like the coffee and the comfy chairs. I like the people who work there. I like the free Wifi and company of book lovers. I rarely, however, bought books at Borders. I either buy the books for the cheapest price online or borrow them from a library or my friends. As a result I spent a lot of time at Borders but rarely spent much money there. Now that Borders is declaring bankruptcy and closing my local store, I will loose this friendly space to browse.

The doors of my doomed local bookstore have not yet closed, so I descended upon the soon to be unemployed clerks to get the 20-40% off final sales prices. I was not the only scavenger at the store. The place was packed. The lines were long. There was no coffee for sale, but at least we all finally bought something. Well, maybe everyone else was a regular customer. I finally bought books at Borders. Soon it will be gone (at least from my neighborhood). I sadly and guiltily wished the sales clerk luck in her job search as I checked out. And so, as they say, it goes.

I was thinking as I stood in line that if I were to suddenly find myself a billionaire, I could open a private nonprofit book club where people could come in, drink coffee, use the resources and meet for book-themed events. If the wisdom of the old TV show WKRP in Cincinnati can be trusted, I might even get a tax write off for my efforts if the place lost money. Then again, if I were to to suddenly find myself filthy stinking rich, I'd have a large private library in my new mansion, and a warehouse full of paperbacks. I would sit for hours alone with my piles of books, move them around with a fork lift and act like Scrooge McDuck in his money vault.

Perhaps it was penny pinching coffee bums like myself who pushed Borders into bankruptcy, or maybe they were too slow to understand the ebook market and other changing market factors. There are those who might say it's all come full circle, since big chain stores like Borders once drove many local mom and pop book stores out of business. Whether it's market forces or karma, I am not hurting too badly since I can still make it to the local library and to the comforts of Barnes and Nobel. So I give this last thought for my local Borders—thanks for being there. I will miss you.