Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond on + 2527 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I got an ecopy of this book to review from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This books includes all of the Hallows short stories as well as a couple novellas/short stories from new urban fantasy worlds.
I had read most of the Hallows short stories previously in other anthologies. The Bespelled was one I had missed and was an excellent story about how Al and Ceri meet.
Million Dollar Baby is original to this book and is a story about how Trent rescued his daughter; this was a good read as well. There are four novellas/short stories that are not set in the Hallows world. Of these the one that really stood out for me was Grace; this was a wonderful world were certain types of people can manipulate energy. It had lots of action and some great new characters.
You can read summaries of all of the stories included in this anthology below.
Overall this was a decent read and something you should definitely pick up is you are a fan of the Hallows series.
- The Bespelled
This is story about Al and Ceri and how they originally met. More of a fantasy read, it provides some interesting background information on the two.
-Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel
I had previously read this story. This was a great prequel to the Hallows series. It was fun to read about a younger Rachel who is still struggling to recover from Rosewood syndrome and trying to decide if she should join the IS or not. It was nice to read about a time in her life that helped get her to where she is at the start of the series. This is the story where Rachel and Pierce first meet.
- Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil
I had previously read this story. This story is about Ivy when she was dating Kisten; Mia (the banshee from "White Witch, Black Curse" is involved as well). This story helped explain some of the back story between Ivy and Mia, as well as gave nice insight into Kisten and Ivy's history. It was an engaging story and I enjoyed it; overall
- Dirty Magic
I had previously read this story. This story is about Mia the Banshee and how she ended up in the situation she was in in White Witch, Black Curse. It is well written and engaging.
- The Bridges of Eden Park
Rachel and Kisten rescue Kistens sisters son from an attempted kidnapping. Good story, gives a bit more background on Kistens character.
- Ley Line Drifter
I had previously read this story. This is an excellent story about Jenks helping a fellow pixie. You learn more about pixie culture and there is a ton of action.
- Million Dollar Baby
This is a previously unpublished story all about Trents journey to save his daughter. Adds a lot to Trent and Jenks relationship and lets you look into Trents thoughts and how he feels about fatherhood.
- Pet Shop Boys
Previously unpublished story about a man who encounters a lady and her daughter in the pet shop he works in. He finds out that there are more evil things in the world than he ever dreamed. Okay story, but my least favorite of the bunch.
- Temson Estates
Previously unpublished story about a man who finds out he has inherited a forest full of dryads. This was a fun little story.
- Spider Silk
Previously unpublished story about a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughters and the danger they face from a forest spirit. The grandmother trapped the evil forest guardian in a tree but when the tree dies he tries to claim one of her granddaughters. The mother does what she must to save her daughter. Full of irony and very well written.
- Grace
This was my favorite story of the bunch. It introduces readers to an excellent new world and characters. Grace has special powers; she can manipulate energy. She has chosen a career where she hunts down other undiscovered energy manipulators like herself before they do serious harm to society. When her current target (a 17 year old boy) hurts her dog and her friend, Grace has no choice to to hunt him down with a vengeance. An interesting new world and wonderfully done characters. I really enjoyed this story a lot. It would be great to see some books to follow-up this novella. The story is part urban fantasy, part science fiction.
I had read most of the Hallows short stories previously in other anthologies. The Bespelled was one I had missed and was an excellent story about how Al and Ceri meet.
Million Dollar Baby is original to this book and is a story about how Trent rescued his daughter; this was a good read as well. There are four novellas/short stories that are not set in the Hallows world. Of these the one that really stood out for me was Grace; this was a wonderful world were certain types of people can manipulate energy. It had lots of action and some great new characters.
You can read summaries of all of the stories included in this anthology below.
Overall this was a decent read and something you should definitely pick up is you are a fan of the Hallows series.
- The Bespelled
This is story about Al and Ceri and how they originally met. More of a fantasy read, it provides some interesting background information on the two.
-Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel
I had previously read this story. This was a great prequel to the Hallows series. It was fun to read about a younger Rachel who is still struggling to recover from Rosewood syndrome and trying to decide if she should join the IS or not. It was nice to read about a time in her life that helped get her to where she is at the start of the series. This is the story where Rachel and Pierce first meet.
- Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil
I had previously read this story. This story is about Ivy when she was dating Kisten; Mia (the banshee from "White Witch, Black Curse" is involved as well). This story helped explain some of the back story between Ivy and Mia, as well as gave nice insight into Kisten and Ivy's history. It was an engaging story and I enjoyed it; overall
- Dirty Magic
I had previously read this story. This story is about Mia the Banshee and how she ended up in the situation she was in in White Witch, Black Curse. It is well written and engaging.
- The Bridges of Eden Park
Rachel and Kisten rescue Kistens sisters son from an attempted kidnapping. Good story, gives a bit more background on Kistens character.
- Ley Line Drifter
I had previously read this story. This is an excellent story about Jenks helping a fellow pixie. You learn more about pixie culture and there is a ton of action.
- Million Dollar Baby
This is a previously unpublished story all about Trents journey to save his daughter. Adds a lot to Trent and Jenks relationship and lets you look into Trents thoughts and how he feels about fatherhood.
- Pet Shop Boys
Previously unpublished story about a man who encounters a lady and her daughter in the pet shop he works in. He finds out that there are more evil things in the world than he ever dreamed. Okay story, but my least favorite of the bunch.
- Temson Estates
Previously unpublished story about a man who finds out he has inherited a forest full of dryads. This was a fun little story.
- Spider Silk
Previously unpublished story about a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughters and the danger they face from a forest spirit. The grandmother trapped the evil forest guardian in a tree but when the tree dies he tries to claim one of her granddaughters. The mother does what she must to save her daughter. Full of irony and very well written.
- Grace
This was my favorite story of the bunch. It introduces readers to an excellent new world and characters. Grace has special powers; she can manipulate energy. She has chosen a career where she hunts down other undiscovered energy manipulators like herself before they do serious harm to society. When her current target (a 17 year old boy) hurts her dog and her friend, Grace has no choice to to hunt him down with a vengeance. An interesting new world and wonderfully done characters. I really enjoyed this story a lot. It would be great to see some books to follow-up this novella. The story is part urban fantasy, part science fiction.
PAMELA G. (pamgram1) -
From Kim Harrison's website www.kimharrison.net
This is a copy of the first Harrison compilation. This is the one with all the extra Hollows shorts and novellas that have been published up to now. In it, we see Ivy frame a man for murderthe same who goes on later to kill Kisten. We see Daryl and see how she and Ivy met. Theres Ceris abduction, and why blue butterflies figure into Als psyche. Why Ivy gave Mia her wish, and what Mia did with it is in there. How Pierce gave Rachel her first feeling of true independence is explained. And of course, Trent and Jenks rescuing Lucy. (Go Trent and Jenks!)
Then there are the new pieces, bits of thought that I played with as possible future series. If you want a peek into how the creative mind works . . . Well . . . here you go. Ive got three novellas and one short, all different worlds, all different magics, all hopefully different feels to them: Pet Shop Boys from a guys point of view about the perils of winter solstice parties; Spider Silk, a is-she-isnt-she kind of horror story; and Grace, whove Ive been talking about ever since Ive had a blogwhich is actually before they had a word for it. (Im thinking 2001?)
Its a fabulous collection of old and new, and Im very pleased to be able to do this.
This is a copy of the first Harrison compilation. This is the one with all the extra Hollows shorts and novellas that have been published up to now. In it, we see Ivy frame a man for murderthe same who goes on later to kill Kisten. We see Daryl and see how she and Ivy met. Theres Ceris abduction, and why blue butterflies figure into Als psyche. Why Ivy gave Mia her wish, and what Mia did with it is in there. How Pierce gave Rachel her first feeling of true independence is explained. And of course, Trent and Jenks rescuing Lucy. (Go Trent and Jenks!)
Then there are the new pieces, bits of thought that I played with as possible future series. If you want a peek into how the creative mind works . . . Well . . . here you go. Ive got three novellas and one short, all different worlds, all different magics, all hopefully different feels to them: Pet Shop Boys from a guys point of view about the perils of winter solstice parties; Spider Silk, a is-she-isnt-she kind of horror story; and Grace, whove Ive been talking about ever since Ive had a blogwhich is actually before they had a word for it. (Im thinking 2001?)
Its a fabulous collection of old and new, and Im very pleased to be able to do this.
Kim Harrison has brought to her fans a collection of short stories from her Hollows series along with a few that are from outside the Hollow. Many of the stories have been published before in anthologies but now Kim has brought them all together just for us fans. I love that Kim gives us a background before each story. My favorite short was Million Dollar Baby which takes us on Trent and Jenks and their Elf Quest to save Trents daughter. It provided some good insight into Trent and his insecurities. Many of the other stories I have read before but it was fun to revisit the Hollows. Her stories from outside the Hollows, though not my favorite, I still enjoyed the creative aspect of them. Kim takes us into the world of dryads and other paranormal creatures and also provides the reader to a little insight of the direction she might take in the future.
I loved that Kim has brought all these stories together for the super fan. I am not a huge fan of short stories but I did enjoy Into the Woods for the fact that it provides the back story to her popular Hollow characters. This is definitely worth adding to the collection.
(DRC was provided by publisher via Edelweiss for an honest review)
I loved that Kim has brought all these stories together for the super fan. I am not a huge fan of short stories but I did enjoy Into the Woods for the fact that it provides the back story to her popular Hollow characters. This is definitely worth adding to the collection.
(DRC was provided by publisher via Edelweiss for an honest review)
Rachel A. (ra7) reviewed Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond on + 1026 more book reviews
All, expect for one, of the Hollows stories are previously published (either in anthologies or in the back of the MMP release). This is a nice collection for fans. Million Dollar Baby, the new Hollows story lets us know how the kidnapping of Lucy went. I really enjoyed this one. I thought it added more depth to Trent. I enjoyed the banter back and forth between Jenks and Trent.
Then there were 4 non-Hollows stories. My favorite of the bunch was "Pet Shop Boys." I thought it was an interesting take on the Fey. There could certainly be more in this new world.
All-in-all, a good collection.
Then there were 4 non-Hollows stories. My favorite of the bunch was "Pet Shop Boys." I thought it was an interesting take on the Fey. There could certainly be more in this new world.
All-in-all, a good collection.
