Blood Lines [Paperback]

Tanya Huff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

Fearing for his sanity, 450-year-old vampire Henry Fitzroy calls upon his sometime-lover and comrade, ex-cop Vicki Nelson, whose friend and former partner is in the middle of a murder investigation involving a museum mummy. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A mummy stalks the streets of modern Toronto in this third outing for ex-cop Vicki Nelson and her vampire partner.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'An entertaining blend of warmly idiosyncratic characters, cinematic pacing and sharp-fanged humour' LOCUS 'The perfect vehicle for a diverting evening's entertainment' MYSTERY SCENE 'A fine mix of the detective story with the supernatural' SF CHRONICLE --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: DAW (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886775302
• ISBN-13: 978-0886775308
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,954,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars demons, werewolves, now it's a mummy- what next?, January 18, 2001

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Lines (Paperback)

This is the third book in a series about Vicki Nelson, PI, and Henry Fitzroy, romance writer, bastard son of Henry VIII, and vampire. The titles, by the way, have nothing to do with the plot - other than the word Blood, there's no reason this one is Blood _Lines_ while another is Blood _Trail_. Those who already know that they like vampire novels, anything at all that features a vampire, can skip this review, and likewise, those who hate the whole idea of vampires can skip it. But for those trying to decide whether or not to read more of this genre, or whether the one vampire novel you've already read was a fluke, it may help to have some ways to categorize these novels. Thus: BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification Guide. First, most authors of vampire novels approach from one of the main genres of genre fiction; thus their background may be primarily in romance, or in science fiction/fantasy, or in murder mysteries, or in horror. Second, many vampire novels come in series; knowing whether this is one of a series, and where in the series it falls, may be helpful. Then we have some particular characteristics: - Is the vampire character (or characters) a "good guy" or a "bad guy"? Or are there some of each? - Are there continuing characters besides the vampire, through the series? - Are there other types of supernatural beings besides vampires? - Can the vampire stand daylight under some circumstances, or not stand daylight at all? - Does the vampire have a few other supernatural characteristics, many other supernatural characteristics, or none other than just being a vampire? (E.g., super strength, change into an animal, turn invisible) - Does the vampire have a regular job and place in society, or is being a vampire his or her entire raison d'etre? - Does the vampire literally drink blood, or is there some other (perhaps metaphorical) method of feeding? - Is sex a major plot element, a minor plot element, or nonexistent? - Is the entire vampire feeding act a metaphor for sex, part of a standard sex act, or unrelated to sex? - Is the story set in one historical period, more than one historical period, or entirely in the present day? - Does the story have elements of humor, or is it strictly serious? - Is the writing style good, or is the writing just there to manage to hold together the plot and characters?

Tanya Huff's series about the vampire Henry Fitzroy starts from the mystery and thriller genres (Huff also writes Fantasy), and is a continuing series. Fitzroy is a good guy, just leading a quiet life. The continuing characters include several types of humans: police officers, detectives, street people, family members. There are other supernatural characters, usually only one type per book (e.g., werewolves). Henry definitely can't stand daylight at all; it literally burns him. He has extraordinary strength and speed, and a sort of hypnotic influence but no "magic" powers. In fact, other than the existence of a few types of supernatural beings, there is little supernatural going in in the series - it's everyday modern Toronto, not a fantasy world. He's got a day job - er, make that a night job: he's a writer. He drinks blood, usually from consenting adults, sometimes associated with sex, but not necessarily. There is sex in the books, but it's a minor plot element, not graphically detailed. These stories are there for the mystery/thriller elements; romance is only a sideline. Huff allows the characters to have a sense of humor: witty dialogue, a way with words. Some of the characters are set up for humor and farce as well, although not in a crude or gross way. The writing is well above average for "genre fiction" and the books are quite enjoyable to read.

In each of the books in the series, we get introduced to one other sort of supernatural character. In the first book it was demons, in the second, werewolves - and now it's a mummy. That's right, an Egyptian mummy, complete with curse attached - sort of. The mummy isn't exactly dead, you see; he's been dreaming and plotting in there all these millennia, and once he gets out, he has distinct plans for Toronto. Starting with the police department, where he has a nasty impact on the day to day life of Vicki's lover, detective Mike Celluci. He also has an unusual effect on Henry - who hasn't seen the sun in several centuries, and is rather puzzled to suddenly begin dreaming of the hot Egyptian sun. Henry, Vicki, Mike, and Tony team up, as usual, to pool their respective abilities and save each other's butts from odd situations (for example, Vicki gets thrown in jail at one point!) complete with the usual witty dialogue. One small quibble- I don't think it's quite that likely that the entire law enforcement apparatus of the city and the province could turn that strange without more people noticing- but hey, it's a small quibble. It's still a good read.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mummies AND Vampires!!, September 4, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Blood Lines (Paperback)

I have to confess. I am just as addicted to mummies as I am to vampires. Possibly even worse. Ever since I was completely terrified by both Karloff's and Chaney's portrayals of Kharis I have been a loyal pop-corn chomping mummy fan. So I took great delight in discovering that the latest opponent of Vicki Nelson, Mike Celluci, and Henry Fitzroy is an ancient Egyptian wizard who is so old that his origins go back to pre-dynastic times. Eventually he challenged the gods themselves and was promptly trapped, wrapped, and entombed alive. Several thousand years later the Royal Ontario Museum purchases his sarcophagus and brings it back to Toronto.

Opening the sarcophagus triggers a series of eerie events. Two men die of 'heart failure' and then the whole museum staff suffers from selective memory lost as the mummy reawakens, feeds, and prepares to reinstate his god's reign on earth. Taking the name Anwar Tawfik the mummy uses its command of sorcery and hypnosis to extend its power and to feed on its favorite delicacy, young and infant children.

Mike Celluci is the first to suspect, when he finds clues at the museum that simply do not agree with the testimony of the staff. And then Henry Fitzroy is suddenly haunted with dreams of a burning sun. Dreams so vivid that Henry doubts his own sanity and fears the he will be driven to suicide. Vicki is enlisted by both men to help with the investigation and to keep Henry from committing auto-da-fe. As usual, when these three are involved the tension of the love triangle adds suspense and humor to their otherwise grim struggle.

Tawfik successfully takes over the police department and turns Mike and Vicki into fugitives. In addition, he plans to make a feast out of Henry's ka (Egyptian soul). Absorbing Henry, Tawfik figures, will give him such a boost that he can get rid of his unpleasant deity and move up himself. He is also planning to perform a ceremony that will cement his powers and make him virtually unstoppable. Careful detection, as well as considerable luck, are our heroes primary resources in defeating their strongest opponent so far and preventing a supernatural disaster.

"Blood Lines," third in this series carves out some new territory. The series shifts from simply being Vicki's story to making Celluci and Henry equal characters. For the same reason, Henry's powers as a 450 year old vampire are downplayed to increase the part the others play in the final cataclysm. This means good character development and a rich and varied plot. All in all a very enjoyable novel, and the best so far.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can TRUE EVIL ever be removed?, June 9, 2000

By 

"mcmarcy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Lines (Paperback)

Henry (Romance writing Vampire) Victory (ex-cop now Detective) Mike (Cop) all work together to over come a Ancient Evil Priest to a long forgotten god.... Henry thinks he's "losing it" because he has started to dream of The Sun. In his fear that he'll kill himself he calls on Vicki for help, as she strives to keep him safe, Mike starts finding odd events in 2 "Heart-Attack" victims deaths. Soon all three paths are crossing, converging to this power raising super-natural evil. Cleverly written, wonderful blend of all my favorite genre of books; Romance, ScFi, Horror & Mystery... Fun, scary & a wee bit sexy.