The Turn by Kim Harrison (UK edition)

Title: The Turn (The Hollows 0.1)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Piatkus (7th February 2017)
Blurb:

Kim Harrison returns to her beloved Hollows series with the official prequel.

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 uncomfortbale choice: stay hidden and allow humanity to die, or show themselves in a bid to save them.

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 not only does humanity have something to offer, but that long-accepted beliefs against women, dark magic and humanity itself might be mistaken; and that love can hold the world together as a new balance is found.

An unmissable story – discover Rachel Morgan’s world as you’ve never seen it before . . .

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)
Review:

THE TURN is the prequel to Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series, which follows the adventures of Rachel Morgan. THE TURN is set several decades before this series, with Inderlanders (that is witches, weres, vampires, elves, and pixies to name a few) still hidden and unknown by humans. THE TURN follows the story of Trisk a geneticist and dark haired elf, who has been sent out to work with humans because she is dark haired and female. Whilst in the lab she creates a genetically modified tomato, and her hated rival Kalamack is sent to check her work. A plague sweeps the world, and Trisk and her tomato seem to be the cause. With humanity dying, Inderlanders have to make a choice.

Having read and enjoyed The Hollows, I went into THE TURN with high expectations. I was excited to discover more about the mysterious Turn that is referred to in The Hollows, and to see some (younger) familiar faces. THE TURN is a good, solid read but for me it lacked some of the magic of The Hollows. I think there were two main reasons for this. The first being that my expectations were so high; The Hollows is one of my favourite urban fantasy/paranormal romance series. The second being that because I’ve read The Hollows I had a pretty good idea how THE TURN was going to end.

THE TURN is, as I’ve already said, a good solid read; Harrison tells an interesting and complex story, with lots of twists. THE TURN is also a much darker and bleaker book. And it certainly adds a new layer to certain characters that appear in The Hollows – I don’t really want to say who, because I don’t want to spoil anyone, but I will say it’s made me want to dive back into The Hollows to see what the knowledge from this book adds to that story.

Trisk is a compelling main character. I really enjoyed the fact that she was determined to follow her own path and go into the field she wanted to, rather than the one she was expected to go into. It made me root for her from the start. I also formed a strong opinion of Kalamack pretty quickly. It was fun to see them face off against one another to begin with. One of the reasons that I have given this book three stars is because whilst I did enjoy the rivalry, the further the book progressed the more uncomfortable with it – and what it said about them – I became.

Fans of The Hollows will I think enjoy THE TURN, though they may have similar problems to me in terms of it losing some of its elements of surprise – but this book still has Harrison’s brilliant storytelling, and it does explore the world more. I do think if you are considering reading The Hollows series then THE TURN could be a good starting point for you, as it definitely gives you a unique insight into the world.