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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vicki at Bay, September 18, 2001
One of the most unique things about Tanya Huff's vampire tales is that they are never really vampire tales. Of course, Henry Fitzroy, one of the investigators, is a vampire, but the villains never are. Demons, mummies, and spectacularly deficient humans, but no bad guys with pointy teeth. One has to admire an author who consistently comes up with monsters that make vampires seem tepid."Blood Pact" opens with Vicki Nelson's worst nightmare. Angry with both Henry and Mike (the other member of their 'love' triangle) she ignores several phone calls from her mother. Suddenly the worst happens, Vicki receives a call from Queen's University where her mother worked. Mrs. Nelson has collapsed at her office, dead of a heart defect. Vicki leaves Toronto for Kingston, full of bitter self-recrimination and at her wits end. Fortunately, both Henry and Mike realize Vicki's state and follow her to Kingston, both determined to help her, and equally determined not to get along. For Vicki the real nightmare starts when she discovers that her mother's body has disappeared from the funeral parlor. Not trusting the Kingston police to give this mystery their full attention, Vicki, driven by her guilt, along with Celluci and Fitzroy, begin their investigation. Stymied by a lack of clues and compulsive driven to keep searching, Vicki comes close to a nervous breakdown. Then, one night, she is disturbed by noises at her window. Outside she sees her mother's face, dead, but somehow horribly alive. Thus begins a mind boggling tale which is more of a medical thriller than an occult mystery story. Driven by greed and growing insanity scientists are experimenting with bacteriological resurrection. Mrs. Nelson is the latest in a series of victims. What follows is a grim hunt for the perpetrators, one that tests every bit of strength that Vicki has. In the meantime one of the creatures discovers a fondness for killing people that disturb its peace of mind. This story is more serious than previous tales of Vicki Nelson, and raises some interesting moral and ethical issues in the context of dealing with the would be Frankensteins and their modern zombies. The cast is small, but intensely drawn. Henry and Mike gain extra depth as they put aside their differences in an effort to keep Vicki from total self-destruction. The scientific and psychological counterpoint is quite a change of pace from Huff's previous novels in this series. While not the best book of the series to start out with, it is certainly an enjoyable read for a regular fan.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Touching, Terrifying, Outstanding Tale!, November 24, 2002
"Blood Pact" is the fourth book in Tanya Huff's fantastic "Blood" series and it is stunning in every sense of the word. It's shocking and affecting, it tore at my heart and made me cry, and it horrified and amazed me. I absolutely could not put this book down and stayed up all night to finish it. "Blood Pact" is a book you don't want to miss; it's suspenseful, frightening, thought provoking, and heart-rending. But most importantly it is, quite simply, a highly entertaining, great read!"Blood Pact" begins with Vicki Nelson, ex-cop and now Private Investigator, receiving the news every child, no matter how old, lives in fear of. Her mother, whose phone calls she has been avoiding recently, has died suddenly of a heart defect. Wracked with guilt and already annoyed with the two men in her life, 450-year-old romance-writing vampire Henry Fitzroy and homicide detective Mike Celluci, Vicki leaves Toronto for Kingston to lay her mother to rest. Unfortunately, Vicki's coping skills are failing her, and dealing with her mother's sympathetic co-workers isn't helping. Luckily, Henry and Mike both discover what has happened, and head off to Kingston to support Vicki in the midst of this tragedy. But things just keep getting worse, as Vicki's mother's body is stolen from the funeral home. Convinced that the police will not put much effort into the case, Vicki sets out to find her mother on her own, stubbornly refusing to grieve for her loss or even acknowledge her pain, and heading straight for a nervous breakdown. Henry and Mike are truly frightened about Vicki's mental state, and the two of them decide to put aside their differences and work together, in hopes of preserving Vicki's sanity. But then, one terrible night, the unimaginable occurs. Sitting in her mother's apartment Vicki hears a noise at the window and opens the curtains to reveal her mother on the other side of the glass, unmistakably dead and yet somehow horribly alive. This grim discovery leads Vicki, Henry, and Mike on a disturbing and perilous hunt for a group of scientists experimenting with resurrecting the dead through the use of bacteria. And Huff's portrayal of this group of scientists is genuinely disturbing. Indeed, the real monsters in this book are not the zombies at all, but the humans creating them. Their utter lack of humanity and their clinical indifference to the suffering they cause is appalling, and Vicki's mother is just another experiment to them. Sickened by what she has discovered and all the more determined to bring those who stole her mother to justice, Vicki leads Henry and Mike into very dangerous territory. The story is full of twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, as Vicki, Henry and Mike must deal with a situation that seems more nightmare than reality. "Blood Pact" is an utterly riveting read with a shocking surprise ending. The final chapters are full of thrills and chills and unspeakable horrors, and yet at the same time are a testament to the undiluted beauty and power of love. Huff manages to elicit a diverse range of emotions from her readers, and her moving tale had tears streaming down my cheeks. It is impossible not to become completely wrapped up in the lives of Vicki, Henry, and Mike, and the tension created by their strange love triangle is intense. "Blood Pact" is a brilliant mixture of horror, mystery, fantasy and romance, and it is sure to take you for a ride you won't soon forget!
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the wild card in the series - with a shocking ending, January 18, 2001
Blood Pact is the fourth book about Vicki Nelson, PI, and Henry Fitzroy, romance writer, bastard son of Henry VIII, and vampire, continueing the enjoyable series.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 on 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 Blood Pact, we are introduced to the usual new type of supernatural character - in previous books, it's been demons, werewolves, mummy - this time it's zombies. We also get introduced to a type of character that's not supernatural, but none the less has its stereotype in the genre: the mad scientist. Vicki's mom dies, and Vicki travels to Kingston to see to her burial - only, there isn't a body to bury. We do get some bits of farce, reminiscent of several classic movies, where people lose track of corpses, but there's nothing actually insensitive or offensive about it. Henry follows Vicki; Mike follows Henry, and soon the crew are interfering with the hapless campus police (Vicki's mom worked at a university) and the Kingston police. I can't tell you too much more about this one without giving away the surprise ending, and it is indeed a surprise, one that will change the tone of the series, and of the characters' relationships, profoundly. Suffice it to say that the gigantic fire that wipes out the mad scientists and their lab, and kills all the remaining zombies, is the least of it.
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