VeganCleopatra

I really wanted to like Dead Witch Walking as I have heard the series really takes off around book three. But after book one I'm not so sure I will be making it that far.

The writing was one of my main turn-offs as it was choppy and excessively detailed without truly adding to the story. An editor was in desperate need in this novel, a good one probably could have knocked a 100 pages or so off and made for a more cohesive story.

The biggest issue I had with the book was Rachel Morgan, the main character. She is extremely annoying and unlikeable and left me wishing another character had been the narrator, such as Ivy the vampire (a much more interesting character). But no, we are trapped in the mind of the immature, unintelligent and inept Rachel Morgan. Does she mature and increase in common sense at least in later books? That is my hope (even if I do not read them).

The overall plot is scattered and the story feels forced. The situation between Ivy and Rachel makes little to no sense, why is Rachel afraid of her after years of knowing her?

As with the storyline I felt the humor in the book was also forced. Things that would have easily been humorous in another author's hands came off as a pathetic attempt at humor, probably due to the choppy writing and unlikeable characters. And why do I have to continually read a character saying or thinking things like "ju-u-u-u-u-ust" in a whining tone? It was eye-roll worthy to say the least and left me perceiving many of the characters as immature and downright annoying.

Also, the basis for the decreased human element in the world was really lacking. First off, I do not know why the author felt the need to explain a decreased human population in the first place since Rachel's world deals with the supernatural and up until the point of describing the T4 Angel virus had encountered few humans, but that could have easily been due to her job and life in general. But no, the T4 Angel virus is thrown at us as a ridiculous reason for human populations to plummet. A tomato, literally, becomes infected and causes a massive population decline in worldwide. I understand how viruses can spread but it really felt like she was playing with something she did not need to. The pages dedicated to this came out of the blue, added little to the story and left your scratching your head as to the purpose of the inclusion. But it does exemplify the odd writing style of Harrison, at least in this installment. Superfluous descriptions, situations and conversations abound.

I can see where the series shows promise but I do not know if I am willing to deal with another heavy handed installment or two in order to get to the good parts of the series.