I have been a HUGE Kim Harrison fan since I found the Hollows series in 2009. So, when I found The Turn was on netgalley, I immediately put in for an ARC. I literally squealed with delight when it was approved and I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

And, it is honestly everything I hoped it would be. As always, the writing is top notch. The characters are fully developed and you really get to know how their minds work. The way she weaves the human, pixie, vampires, witches, and elves together during this huge event is simply perfection. And, as a HUGE Hollows fan, It was such fun to read about this major event that is talked about, understood, and just a part of life during the Rachael Morgan years. Learning about the virus that almost wipes out humanity really helps set up the framework for the Hollows series. It was also fun meeting new characters, particularly Trisk and Kal, as well as some old familiar faces.

In general, this book is a fantastic prequel to the Hollows and I truly hope that there will be more to follow and fill in the years before Dead Witch Walking. If you’ve read the Hollows, RUN to grab this book. If you haven’t read anything by Kim Harrison, just wait…you’re in for a tomatotastic treat!

Kim Harrison's The Turn tells the story of the virulent tomato plague that decimated the human populace, allowing the Interlanders (witches, vampires, weres, elves) to break the silence of their own existence and come forth onto the world stage. The world created in this book become to back-drop to Harrison's popular Hollows series featuring Rachel Morgan, witch for hire. Fans of the Hollows will not be disappointed with this book. It's a blend of familiar characters and past events that will give reader's insight to various characters in the Hollows universe.

The story is mostly told from the perspective of Trisk Cambri, elf and creator of the T4 Angel tomato, and no it was not supposed to decimate the humans - a certain arrogant elf (let's call him Trenton Kalamack Senior) did some bad genetic intervention that had some disastrous results. The story does a good job of blending science and magic. For Hollows readers, familiar faces will include Takata, Quen, Piscary, Cormac & Mrs Ray, but even if you haven't read the Hollows, you will find some complex characters that will lead you there. For fans of Mira Grant.

I must start with saying I have been a big fan of Ms. Harrison’s The Hollows (Rachel Morgan) series since the very first book came out. When a series ends and then the author decides to write more in the series, I am always really, really reluctant to read the new book. When I saw Ms. Harrison was writing a new book, a prequel, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to read it. Well, as you can plainly see, I did read it and I am glad I did. This book is set far enough in the past, Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks aren’t in the book, which I think makes it even better: I didn’t compare the characters to then and now. What was in the book: the author’s great writing, great characterizations, and a lot of filling-in-the-blanks to questions about how the plague actually came about, and how everything came to be in the earlier books. We did see a few old familiar faces, and they were their same old self which was a nice connection to the other books. Long story short, don’t be afraid to pick up this book if you are a fan of the other books in the series. The only fly in the ointment was that the end was a little rushed, and I feel the romance came on way too suddenly. I might be in the minority, but it just seemed to come on too quickly. Other than that, it is well-worth a read, and I am definitely looking forward to more. I do think you need to have read the previous books to enjoy this book. Not that you wouldn’t enjoy this book, but I think some subtleties would be lost. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the e-copy of the book. This same review will be posted on both Goodreads and Amazon.

The Turn, by author Kim Harrison, is considered to be the prequel to the Hollow series. This story takes readers back in time to the 1960's where humans thought they were alone in the world. They weren't. Where two genetic researchers, dark elf Felecia Eloytrisk Cambri (Trisk) and Trenton Kalamack, aka Trent's father, competed against each other for bragging rights and prestige in a game that ended up having deadly consequences for the entire world.

After a spectacular fight with Kal, Sa'han Ulbrine offers Trisk a job working at Global Genetics where she is supposed to spy on the company & report back on any new developments. 3 years later, she has created a hairy tomato called T4 Angel Tomato. The tomato was supposed to help feed the poorest of the poor world wide. But, she also secretly made sure that Daniel Planks virus would not be deadly to Interlanders. It also wasn't supposed to be deadly to humans either, but....

Along came a spider who decided that taking taking credit for Trisk's work would finally get him the respect and admiration that he needs to go forward with his plan of saving the Elf population. How dare a dark elf usurp his plans for world wide admiration and respect! How dare it be Trisk who he taunted, and made fun of most throughout school!! Kal, not unlike his future son Trent, is one of the more arrogant & Nonredeemable characters in either series, and that's saying a lot.

After a deadly virus crosses with Trisk's tomato, humanity finds itself in dire straights. Kal, Trisk, and Daniel Plank end up going on the run from those who are not in a hurry to save human kind from itself. This is the time for the Interlanders to either step out of the shadow, or let humanity die out. Who knew that a little tomato, with hair on it, could cause so many problems? Who knew the tomato would end up being the most villainized fruit in the history of human and supernatural kind?

I was happy to hear about The Turn being released by author Kim Harrison and Gallery. I loved the Hollows series, and was on the sad side to see it end. I was happy to see old Hollows characters like Quen, Algaliarept, Piscary, Rynn Cormel, and my favorite new character, a pixy named Orchid who pre-dates Jenks, and may be just as kickass as Jenks was. I have told that this story takes place five decades before Rachel's story. I've been told that I should have most likely read Dead Witch Walking before this. But, I think you'll be just fine reading this novel alone. If you haven't read this book yet, and want to read the first chapters, please check out the authors web page. I do hope there is another prequel that picks up after the ending of this book. There is, I believe more to tell about these characters.

Finally an explanation for how tomatoes almost wiped out the human population! It makes more sense getting the whole story rather than getting bits and pieces in the Hollows. I still question why tomatoes, but then again it's not like any other food would have been less ridiculous.

Trisk was an elf in the sixties. She had two strikes against her: being a dark elf and being a woman. At that point in time all supernatural creatures were still in hiding. Trisk, despite being the smartest in her class, was sent to work in a human lab. She managed to do two amazing things while there. She made the T4 Angel tomato which was helping to feed the hungry around the world and perfected Daniel Plank's virus so the biological weapon could not harm the inderlanders.

Kal had picked on Trisk for her whole life. An argument between them caused Kal to lose his shot at getting a prestigious job. After a while he was tasked with the job of verifying Trisk's work would work as she claimed. If there were fault with her work, Kal would be able to take it over and make a name for himself when he perfected it. He was determined to find fault with it whether it was there or not.

I liked Trisk. She made the best out of what she was given. Sometimes she made some stupid decisions but it made her seem normal. They weren't of the TSTL variety. She was strong, caring, and determined to do what was right regardless of the odds being against her. Kal OTOH was a self serving bastard. It's easy to see where Trent got his ruthlessness and superiority complex from. Kal would have done anything, manipulated anyone to get what he wanted. Despite being privy to his thoughts, I didn't like him. Regret and self doubt weren't there, so it was hard to see him as redeemable. I didn't hate him, but there sure as hell wasn't much to like either.

I enjoyed the book, but it took me a while to get into it. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few characters from the Hollows series like Al. I'm not sure if this is a prequel series or simply a novel. The storyline about killer tomatoes was wrapped up, but I want to know more about Kal, Trisk, and Quen. Things weren't settled between them, and I'm hoping they end up better for them at some point.

The Turn: The Hollows Begins with Death is a is an eye opening story that answers questions that were left unanswered! Wow, just Wow!! That is what I can say about this book. if you are like me, you have always wondered how a TOMATO the worlds population like it did in the book. With this book we finally get the whole story about what went on to make the tomato the killer it was made into. Trisk and Kal have always been hated rival all through college. Trisk is sent to a human run lab, Global Genetics, to oversee their research. This is such a great book and I loved reading it. I loved reading the history before Rachel Morgan. I recommend this book to everyone. I give THE TURN 5/5 STARS.

This book started off slow for me. Once you get a few chapters in it does pick up though. That was my only drawback, although I understood that those chapters were necessary in order to understand the relationships of the characters. I loved that it was back in The Hollows world! If you loved that series then you will love this one as well. I love how we get to meet Trent's parent's and see all the different interactions and understand how everything truly started. There is a lot of backstory that was never truly talked about in depth in the original books and it was nice to understand things fully now. A definite must read for people that love this world that Kim Harrison has created.

SHE'S BACK!! Whoo hoo!!!! This early look at the Hollows is EXACTLY what I was looking for! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

3.5 Stars
I am a huge fan of the Hollows series, and was so excited to get my hands on this book, the prequel to the Hollows. And it was good...... But it just didn't live up to my expectations. I think part of it was that I hated Trent so much. He was a thoroughly unlikeable character, and I couldn't find anything to redeem him. Also it felt long. But it was fun to meet some of the characters younger selves, and of course learning the what and how of the virus was great.

I love this world. Kim Harrison is an amazing author. This book stands on its own, but for Hollows' fans it's a peek into the past. And the story... I love that the story doesn't pull punches. It's a fairy tale before fairy tales became fluff and happily ever afters. I need more Hollows. Please let there be more Hollows...

This was a very well written and enthralling novel that kept me awake long past my bedtime trying to finish. The story moves well and the characters are both believable and compelling. I look forward to reading future books Kim Harrison writes.

Followers of Kim Harrison’s Urban Fantasy series, The Hollows, will be interested to read this new story, THE TURN, which is actually a prequel and explains how the tomato plaque happened, and who was responsible. The focus is on Trent Kalamack’s parents; his father, also named Trent but going by Kal, and his mother, Trisk, who have grown up together and are now Elf scientists working in the field of genetics. Trisk is a dark elf who has dealt with prejudice her whole life. And as a working woman in the 1960’s, she is trying to succeed in a field controlled by men whether they are the dominate golden elves like Kal, other Inderlanders, or humans. She developed a tomato that will help save the world from hunger because of its resistance to drought and disease which has been hugely successful. She also works for a research company that developed a virus for the military to help subdue populations during wartime. Her hated lifelong rival, Kal, is sent to verify and inspect her work by the Elven Enclave and through his jealously and greed, he interferes to the extent that a worldwide catastrophe is set in motion.

At this time, the human race does not know about the other races of supernatural Inderlanders and keeping their existence a secret is one of the prime directives. But now, with the whole world in crisis, that may change as Trisk works with the with Daniel,a human scientist, who created the virus which became deadly, to help find a solution before all of humanity and even Inderlanders who are mostly immune but dependent on humans, is destroyed. Trisk has some untenable choices to make both personally and professionally that make this book quite a thought-provoking read. I came away with some very mixed feelings about the main characters, especially Kal, and I suspect others will too.

Readers of this series will enjoy seeing many of the characters from Rachel Morgan’s world and get a glimpse into why the elf, Trent the younger, whom she knew as a child had some morally questionable issues of his own. This book really sets the stage for the way Rachel’s world functions and answers many questions about how and why the turn happened. It always seemed odd to me why anyone would be scared of a tomato, but this story fully invests the reader in the horror of what those living in that time period endured giving depth and providing a framework for the Hollows series. Fans of Kim Harrison who have been missing this world will be quite happy to be back there. This prequel is a good kick-off to reading the series again with a new lens through which to view it as well as some interesting background on several of the well-known characters. It is a must read for Hollows fans and a great way for new readers to start the series although you will know things about Trent that were not revealed until later on.

For all of you Rachel Morgan fans wondering if The Turn is worth picking up, the answer is an emphatic YES!!! Even though the story takes place at least 50 years before Dead Witch Walking, it still managed to bring all the magic that made The Hollows series so great. Trisk was an amazing main character, comparable to Rachel, herself. In fact, all of the characters in this prequel were great - don't be surprised to see a few familiar faces along the way (after all, we are dealing with a few of the more long-lived supernatural.) It was that infusion of old and new that made The Turn seem so special. It brought me back to when we first met these characters, and I now appreciate more than ever their individual growth arcs throughout the series and marvel at how far they've come. Notice I haven't mentioned specifics? The surprise is half the fun! Although I'm sure you already have some theories…

I'm so glad Harrison decided to tell this story. Dead Witch Walking felt a little like jumping aboard a series already in progress, so it's nice to see what came before, and I'd wager she's been hoarding tons of notes for this backstory ever since that first book. It's such a compelling segment of this world's history. The basic premise is telling the tale of "The Turn" where a tomato-hopping virus kills off most of humanity and, as a result, the supernatural community comes out of hiding. It set the framework for The Hollows series and I was super impressed at how many other creative ways Harrison found to tie the entire thing together. It was masterfully done, loads of fun, and everything a Hollows fan could hope for. I loved every moment!

After finishing The Turn, I feel confident that there will be more to come in this prequel saga. I, for one, cannot wait!

If you haven't read The Hollows series, you'll still enjoy The Turn, but that's like taking a single bite out of a cookie and putting it back on the tray. Dead Witch Walking takes a little time to get going, but once it does, it doesn't let up!

Niki Hawkes – The Obsessive Bookseller

**I received this free from the publisher for an honest and unbiased review.**
I will start by saying this is a prequel for Harrison's already fantastically epic Hollows series, that follows one of my favorite witches of all time, Rachel. But, I digress; this story may be a prequel, but you can rest assured there is no back story you're missing,
Harrison has always astounded me with her ability to build such an engrossing plot tied into not only the world building (which is superb), but her characters themselves. This is a prequel that sets up for her previous series, giving the backstory to a plague that started through genetically engineered tomatoes. I saw a meme on facebook that only Kim Harrison can take something as harmless as a piece of fruit and make it utterly terrifying (after having read this I couldn't agree more.
If you haven't read the original series and you're a fan of urban fantasy and all things badass-ery you are truly missing out. I won't lie and say I am Trisk's (the main character) biggest fan, but like Rachel in the original series, she grew on me. She is a down-to-earth fight for what needs doing type of character and she's very realistic in that sense. Trisk is part of a hidden species that is trying to find a way for her species to not only survive an epidemic, but thrive. Elves have slowly but surely decreased in numbers throughout the generations and her people are wondering why. Throw in a sickness that is infecting many in the others community and you get a recipe for disaster.
If you are familiar with the original series, the prequel follows Trent's mother, father, their group of "friends".... and my all-time favorite demon, Al! It was wonderful to see how the times (the 60's) differed from the modern day Hollows and what lead to it being as it is. As always, with such a killer series, it was a little bittersweet finishing it. It definitely called for a reread of Rachel's story.
The characters were phenomenal and Harrison has a real gift for making them seem like everyday people you'd meet, beside the fact that their elves and demons (not to say that they can't be real, but current evidence proves otherwise). I can't wait for this to come out as it's going on my permanent bookshelves along with all of her other wonderful works.
4 stars

Did you ever wonder about what caused the world to change in the Hollows series? This book tells how the virus that attached itself to tomatoes and killed so many humans and outed the supernaturals to the rest of the world.
Set during the 60’s, fashion and music do play a part to the story and how attitudes towards women pushed the plot a bit but for the most part this is petty revenge of a childhood rivalry gone way out of control. There are some cameos sprinkled in the book and I enjoyed each and every one of them. The nice thing about the book being a prequel is no prior knowledge is needed for a reader so it does appeal to the fan of the Hollows and a new reader picking it up for the first time.

I got this book from Netgalley, whilst there were a few hiccups with grammar etc. the story itself was far better than anticipated, I could not put it down!!

Kal was a douche and I'm glad Trent was better than him in the end, I rly shipped Daniel and Felicia and overall I loved this book! Perfect for fans of the Hollows or Patricia Briggs.

The Turn is a prequel novel in The Hollows series. I was so sad to see the series end, then super excited when I heard KHarrison was releasing a prequel. While it doesn't have all the characters we've come to love, it does have a few we've met as their younger selves. If you're familiar with the series, we've known a bit about the turn but we've never had a ton of details.

We start off meeting Trisk, an elf at a job fair for graduates when she gets in a spat with Kalamack (aka Kal). After the altercation Kal's dream job removes their offer and Trisk is not left with many choices. She winds up accepting an undercover position at a human company where she'll be able to work as a geneticist and report to the elves if there is anything they need to be aware of. Her project that helped feed the world was engineering a tomato that could thrive in all environments, everyone is going wild for it. She's also helping her colleague by checking over his work and tweaking what needs it on his virus that will assist with war efforts. He's somehow managed to create a virus that will get a focused area of people ill for a day or two then recover. The elves are nervous even with Trisk's tinkering on the virus and decide to send Kal to inspect her work. As you can imagine, things don't go quite as planned and it's quite an adventure.

The Turn gave an already amazing series another book I could love. I've missed The Hollows series so much, I'm glad we get some light shed on The Turn and getting to see younger versions of secondary characters we know and enjoy. I wasn't sure what to expect with Trisk's character, but I came to admire her quite early in the book. She's not had it easy, with the time period being what it is, she's always second best to a man and add on that she's a dark-haired elf she's an outcast. While we've seen The Hollows told in the POV of a witch, it was nice to get more info on the elves this time around. If you enjoy Urban Fantasy with little to no romance, I suggest you grab this series up ASAP.

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.

I loved Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series and I was sad to see it come to an end. Yet, it was with joy that I discovered some little returns in the universe starting by this little prequel. If you do know the series, you know that the tomato story really touched the world, this epidemic that surprisingly led the world to the gates of its loss. We do not really know what happened exactly but we have clues that ultimately lead us to this story.

Do not expect a short story as is often the case with prequels because we have a full story here while following Kal and Trisk. It was really interesting to discover what ultimately forged the world we discovered in the novels.

I learned to discover their son along the stories going from this arrogant and pretentious man to someone that we like to meet again with and that we start to understand. Here, once again, we have the terrible man and I realized just how much I can hate a character again. Indeed, we discover a young woman, Trisk, full of ambition, hope for the future … until Kal destroys, as always, everything to put himself in first place. But in recent years, Trisk’s studies have once again brought her to the forefront, to the great displeasure of the latter. Hoping once more to ridicule her, our two heroes will turn around one another in a continuous dance. Everyone trying to get ahead, and believing they can manipulate the other but Trisk and Kal will quickly burn their wings.

It was very nice to discover the characters and their stories, be it Daniel the human, Quen we all know about, or this darling Pixie who brings a big touch of freshness to the story. I loved having the opportunity to come back into the universe even if I missed Rachel a bit anyway. It is a nice story and I confess that I am curious to see if we will have more novels as there is still matter to do!