Early Review – The Turn (The Hollows Prequel, Book 0.1) by Kim Harrison (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: February 7, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1501108716
Stand Alone or Series: Book 0 in The Hollows series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Can science save us when all else fails?

Trisk and her hated rival, Kalamack, have the same goal: save their species from extinction.

Death comes in the guise of hope when a genetically modified tomato created to feed the world combines with the government’s new tactical virus, giving it an unexpected host and a mode of transport. Plague takes the world, giving the paranormal species an uncomfortable choice to stay hidden and allow humanity to die, or to show themselves in a bid to save them.

Under accusations of scientific misconduct, Trisk and Kal flee across a plague torn United States to convince leaders of the major paranormal species to save their supposedly weaker kin, but not everyone thinks humanity should be saved.

Kal surreptitiously works against her as Trisk fights the prejudices of two societies to prove that not only does humanity have something to offer, but that long-accepted beliefs against women, dark magic, and humanity itself can turn to understanding; that when people are at their worst that the best show their true strength, and that love can hold the world together as a new balance is found.”

I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review. I was a huge fan of the The Hallows series and was excited to see that a prequel was being released. This was a well done prequel to The Hallows. I enjoyed it but did think that the book wraps up kind of abruptly. I am wondering if we will see additional books in this “prequel” storyline.

I loved seeing how The Turn happened and seeing some of our good ole favorite characters from The Hollows series in their younger years. This book is mainly told from Trent and Trisk’s perspective. Both of them are hellbent on having their genetic research receive recognition.

We also see some characters from the later books in the series. Quen is a main character in this book and some other characters such as Rynn Cormel and Piscary show up towards the end of the book. I am sure there are others that feature from the Hollows series that I am missing.

It was incredibly intriguing to see how the Turn happened and the whole “death to mass humanity” gives this book a very apocalyptic feel.

I did struggle a bit at points with trying to figure out how this story gets Trent to where he is at the beginning of The Hollows series, I couldn’t figure out how Trisk fit in. I am hoping there will be more prequel books to fill this missing portion of the story in.

The characters are not as likable as the characters in the following Hollows books. Both Trisk and Trent come off as selfish and conniving. However, the intense events surrounding them make the book engaging. The writing is well done and easy to read.

Overall I would definitely recommend to fans of The Hollows series. I personally would recommend reading the other Hollows books first and then come back to this prequel. Trisk is very different from Rachel and it was interesting to see some of the characters in this series at earlier points in their lives. The book is well written and easy to read and I really enjoyed it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Paranormal Reading Challenge