The Good, The Bad and the Undead is the second novel in Kim Harrison’s Witch Runner series. This novel has a good sound plot, with characters that continue to develop. Harrison has a nice readable style that keeps one interested. She does remind me of Laurell K Hamilton with a slight different focus--a Witch who is a runner (bounty hunter) as opposed to the Necromancer (raiser of the dead) Vampire slayer. While this novel features one slight sex scene--Harrison's novels thus far entail much less graphic gore and sex then do the latest Laurell K Hamilton novels.

Background: This is another novel that is set in the US (Cincinnati), in a not too distant future, where the supernatural have revealed themselves to humans and have become part of human society. The twist for Harrison's novels is that humans engineered a biodrug that wiped out half or more of the human race using tomatoes as a vector. This caused the supernaturals and humans to be equal population-wise so the supernaturals came out of the closet so to speak. Because of this, biodrugs became illegal therefore many of the cures we take for granted are outlawed and this sets up a great potential for an underworld of crime for Harrison. Plus never ending comedy due to the fact that humans now find tomatoes in all its varieties from ketchup to pizza revolting. Catching the main character Rachael in socially un-PC situations with her human contacts.


*****************************************************************************
If you haven't read the first novel (Dead Witch Walking ) then read no further for there are some spoilers for the first novel ahead!!

******************************************************************************





Plot: Ivy (A live vampire--see below), Jenks (a pixy) and Rachael (a witch) have left the government bounty hunting service and started their own runner service (bounty hunter service). Now Rachael is a runner on her own investing stolen mascots? Seems some werewolves have stolen the mascots for the Howlers the Hollows (where the supernaturals live) baseball team, which happens to be a fish. But that is not the mainline plot, someone is killing leyline witches (witches that can manipulate rivers of unseen raw power that flow in a second level of the Earth called the ever after). Witches, select humans, elves, and demons can draw upon these rivers in the ever after or on the real earth. Trent (the villain from the previous novel) talked to every one of the dead witches before they ended up dead. Rachael believes he is killing them because they refuse to work for him, and she is determined to nail him this time. Plus she needs to make this run to pay her bills--cause the witch is flat broke.

There are a couple of side plots, the demon that attached Rachael in the first novel comes back to make trouble. Can she get "it" to go away without sacrificing hers or Nick’s souls?

Plus Ivy's uncle Piscary (who incidentally owns a pizza parlor) is pressuring Ivy to make Rachael her Scion (or the Human who guards a vampire and completes day tasks) which nether girl want to see happen, but can Ivy hold up under the pressure--she doesn't want to disappoint her family now does she?


Harrison's characters are still good. Rachael is still strong--though she is starting to bend her own rules a bit (I just hope she doesn't fall all the way as Hamilton's Anita has seemed to). Ivy is a still a very interesting character of duplicity--she wants to be Rachael’s friend and not hurt her, yet she is drawn to her and seems to really want her for a Scion. They really seem to fit each other as Scion and Vampire—plus they seem to be more and more attracted to one another. This will be interesting to watch play out. Then there is Kist, another live vampire (live vampire is a vampire child that is born of a human and a vampire--they can still go on holy ground and walk in the light, and they also have some supernatural powers, and they become true vampires when they "turn" or die; they can also be someone who has caught the vampire virus from a vampire bit--but these still have to be turned after dead--they will not automatically become vampires like hereditary vampires). He is Ivy's friend? and who knows who he is or what he wants--he may be fleshed out in further novels. Jenks (the pixy who also works with Ivy and Rachael) is not as prominent in this novel, but he still gets in a shot or two (banter-wise) on Rachael. I kind of missed the great banter between them that was so prominent in the first novel. Nick, the human Rachael rescued and fell for in the first novel is still an enigma--he has been talking to the demon way too much for mine, and Rachael’s comfort. We will see what happens with him in future novels. All these characters are very nicely done and seem very 3-D. They all have their setbacks and worries and well as the strengths. And we learn a little more about each of them throughout this novel—so they aren’t stagnant.

Harrison's has developed a very unique version of the supernatural incorporated into the now complete with some interesting characters--that have stayed interesting. The plot moved well and the book was easy to follow and read without being boring. She is good at explaining the "rules" of this world without dumping too much info on us at time. She gives some very scientific reasonings (like Witch chromosomes being different than human so no witch/human children) for some things mixed into the magical. Which is very nice if you happen to be a biology geek like me. I have enjoyed her novels and characters thus far and if you enjoy Laurell K Hamilton's books then you should enjoy Harrison's as well although Harrison's books don't have the gore and sex that are rampant in Hamilton's novels. I look forward to reading Harrison's next novel.




Recommended: Yes