From /tmp/sf.12867 Mon May 3 13:08:44 1993 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!gumby!wupost!uhog.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!nobody From: Rex Croft Subject: "Blood Lines" by Tanya Huff Message-ID: <9304250303.AA15960@presto.ig.com> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: news@news.media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1993 00:39:50 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 40 "Blood Lines" by Tanya Huff - reviewed by Rex Croft ccc_rex@waikato.ac.nz This is a police detective story involving mythical creatures. The novel is set in modern day Toronto, with the addition of a vampire. The 450 year old vampire Henry is a friend and lover of the two police officers Mike Celluci and Vicki Nelson, although Vicki has had to resign from the force because of worsening eyesight. The story starts with an Egyptian sarcophagus being openned in a musemum. Unfortunately the mummy inside isn't quite dead. A god has preserved him. The deaths he causes bring in the above two detectives. And the vampire is having trouble with a dream about the sun when he sleeps. Not a good omen for a vampire :-) . The plot is well crafted and reaches a very good climax. The book refers to previous escapades the three have had and it turns out the author has written two previous novels in the series - "Blood Price" and "Blood Trial". For people who enjoy detective stories or vampire stories I recommend this series. I bought this book because I had enjoyed two other fantasy novels by Tanya Huff - "Child of the Grove" and "The Last Wizard". This author is on my "to buy" list. %A Tanya Huff %T Blood Lines %I DAW %C New York %D January 1993 %O paperback, US$4.99 %P 271 pp. %S The Blood Series %V 3 %O DAW Book Collectors No. 901 %O Cover art by John Jude Palencar From /tmp/sf.4146 Tue Aug 9 01:50:36 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!emory!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.kei.com!hookup!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca (Humphrey Aaron V) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Prograde Reviews--Tanya Huff:Blood Lines Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <94Mar18.120740-0700.138958@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca> Date: 19 Mar 94 20:20:42 GMT Lines: 64 Tanya Huff:Blood Lines A Prograde Reviews by Aaron V. Humphrey [ some spoilers; also minor spoilers for _Blood Price_, _Blood Trail_, and _Blood Pact_ ] Sometimes I wonder how long Huff will be able to pull this off. In the first book in the series, _Blood Price_, we have a vampire and a demon. In the second, _Blood Trail_, we have werewolves. In this one, we have a mummy. And in the next, _Blood Pact_, we apparently have zombies. But I get ahead of myself. Vicki "Victory" Nelson is a former cop, who quit the force when her vision started to deteriorate, and now has a P.I. business. Her sometime partner is Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry VIII, and a vampire. And then there's Michael Celluci, Vicki's former partner, still on the force; he knows about Henry, but tolerates him somewhat. The lover's triangle between them provides for some interesting dynamics. The mummy in the book is a priest of a minor god called Akhekh, god of despair. He was entombed for years, imprisoned by a magical seal; now some unsuspecting Egyptologists at the Royal Ontario Museum(did I mention this was taking place in Toronto?)have broken the seal. He is much weakened, but after claiming a couple of victims he is able to leave the museum, covering his tracks by erasing memories behind him. Meanwhile, Henry Fitzroy starts having dreams of the sun. He begins to wonder if, after all this time, he is secretly yearning for death; this disturbs him, and Vicki as well. Celluci, who is investigating the deaths in the museum, becomes suspicious when people there forget things they told him about earlier... The mummy, which goes about using the name of Tawfik(not his real name), starts taking control of the provincial government and police force; he also senses Henry's presence and tries to lure him over to the Dark Side. And, at Akhekh's bidding, he has his minions make Vicki's life a living hell, and gets her arrested for child molesting. _Blood Price_ had some weak points; _Blood Trail_ was distinctly better; and now I think Huff has come into her own with this book. Tawfik is a believable and nasty nemesis, the interactions between the main characters are wonderful, Vicki comes up with some great lines, and you're not sure they're going to triumph until the last minute. (Okay, there's a sequel, and besides we _know_ they're going to win, but it's damn close.) I'm looking forward very much to the next book. %A Huff, Tanya %T Blood Lines %I Daw %C New York %D January 1993 %G ISBN 0-88677-530-2 %P 271 pp. %S Victory Nelson, Investigator %V Book 3 %O Paperback, US $4.99, Can $5.99 -- --Alfvaen(Editor of Communique) Current Album--The Beautiful South:Welcome To The Beautiful South Current Read--Nicole Luiken:Running On Instinct "curious george swung down the gorge/the ants took him apart" --billbill From /tmp/sf.4146 Tue Aug 9 02:05:40 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!trane.uninett.no!eunet.no!nuug!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!postmodern.com!not-for-mail From: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca (Aaron V. Humphrey) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Prograde Reviews--Tanya Huff:Blood Pact Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 3 Jun 1994 23:24:36 GMT Organization: The Anna Amabiaca Fan Club Lines: 51 Sender: mcb@postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch) Approved: mcb@postmodern.com (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <2seglm$f5l@scapa.cs.ualberta.ca> Reply-To: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu Originator: mcb@remarque.berkeley.edu Tanya Huff: Blood Pact A Prograde Review by Aaron V. Humphrey Well, it looks like Tanya Huff solved the problem with her Vicki Nelson series: How long could she plausibly keep introducing a new horror-movie monster with every book? This book has an ending that strikes me as final, or at the very least signaling a radical change in how future books would go. The creature feature of this book seems to be zombies--but despite the title, they are in no way supernatural. Rather, they are the products of a scientific experiment in life after death--a secret, unauthorized one, taking place at a Toronto University. Background: Vicki Nelson is an ex-cop, forced to leave the force because of progressively deteriorating vision. She formed a P.I. agency, along with a vampire and romance writer named Henry Fitzroy. Her former police partner (and still cop) Mike Celluci is also often involved, and the three of them form a delightful lovers' triangle. Vicki gets involved when her mother dies, and the scientist in charge of the research spirits away the body, which is in prime condition for their purposes. But the deceit is discovered at the funeral, and the three of them start hunting down the body. Meanwhile, the experimental subjects are indeed improving...and they occasionally get free... The lovers' triangle, which has been building for the past three books, comes to a head, several times in fact, in this book. (The final resolution is a bit surprising, mind you...) That, and Vicki's grief over her mother, show that Huff's ability to handle depth of character is still improving. Whatever she may turn her hand to next, her improvement over this series will no doubt make it well worth reading. %A Huff, Tanya %T Blood Pact %I Daw Books %C New York %D November 1993 %G ISBN 0-88677-582-5 %P 332 pp. %S Victory Nelson, Investigator %V Book 4 %O Paperback, USD4.99, CAD5.99 -- --Alfvaen (Editor of Communique) Current Album--Absolute Beginners Soundtrack Current Read--Joseph H. Delaney & Marc Stiegler:Valentina: Soul In Sapphire "Thinks again--thanks to brain, the new wonder head-filler!" --Bluebottle From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Apr 3 21:43:29 1998 From: harstan@ix.netcom.com (Harriet Klausner) Newsgroups: alt.books.reviews,alt.horror,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Summon The Keeper-Tanya Huff Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 Mar 1998 13:50:40 -0500 Organization: Netcom Lines: 36 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!genius.dat.hk-r.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!not-for-mail Xref: news.ifm.liu.se alt.books.reviews:44847 alt.horror:102307 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1820 SUMMON THE KEEPER by Tanya Huff Review Copyright 1998 Harriet Klausner Magic is the ability to tap into an energy force that is outside the ken of the real world. Every time someone does a good or bad deed a hole in the barrier that separates the physical plane from the magical plane appears. The holes are monitored by Cousins, offspring of Adam and Lilith to ensure no evil can escape into our world. When a hole becomes big enough to allow a magical creature to enter the mortal side, a keeper attends to sealing up the portal. Clare Hanson has been a very busy keeper for many years. She is summoned to the Elysian Fields guest-house where she is tricked by a sneaky Cousin into becoming the carekeeper. Her first job is to seal the hole to Hell without awakening the sleeping evil residing in a guest room upstairs. While pondering her project, Clare must deal with her loquacious cat, who runs her life, catch the imps causing minor mischiefs, resist the wiles of an amorous ghost, and protect the odd assortment of guests that hover in what she considers the house from hell. Tanya Huff's new series is a brilliant creation that is sure to appeal to readers of the Victoria Nelson vampire series, Cherry Scotch's werewolf novels, and Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde books. SUMMON THE KEEPER has uniquely memorable and quirky characters, especially that darn cat and the amorous ghost. Clare is an interesting protagonist, who will be fun to observe in future stories. The story line is riveting with never a dull moment. SUMMON THE KEEPER is a keeper that will summon its readers into buying future novels in the series. %T Summon The Keeper %A Tanya Huff %I Daw %O $5,99 %P 331 pp. %D May 1998 %G ISBN: 0-88677-784-4 Harriet Klausner