Customer Reviews

Smoke and Shadows

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a pretty big fan of Tanya Huff's work, including the Blood series. Tony, however, is not a particularly strong protagonist. He works on a cheesy TV show about vampires -- if you're interested in television production, perhaps you can get some mileage there. I didn't. It was fun watching Tony grow up in the background of the Blood books, but as a main character, he's pretty dull (especially for somebody with a supposedly colorful street-kid police-informant vampire-lover past).

On a bit of a tangent, it's never a good sign when somebody in a vampire novel comments that "Buffy" vampires are less scary than "the real thing." In the previous Blood books, the exact time (and its exact relationship to our reality) has been a little vague, and it worked well that way. The all-too-hip specificity is jarring and feels forced. Besides, Huff has done many intriguing things, but she's never really made scary vampires. Sure, we've been *told* that Vampires are Scary, but we've never been shown them doing anything truly frightening. We're told that when the "civlized mask" slips and "the Hunger" shows, people nearby will lose bladder control in terror -- but we never feel it.

The other emotion that doesn't seem to come through well in Huff's writing is lust, so Tony's crushes (and his relationship with Henry, his vampiric ex) aren't all that compelling either. The plot never had me all that worried about the fate of the earth, or even the fate of Tony. Without the lively characters and complex relationships of Huff's other books, there's not a lot left to enjoy. It's particularly unfortunate that this book is where Huff made the jump to hardcover; this story just is not worth hardcover prices. If the Vicki and Henry Show is over, Celluci would have made a more interesting new protagonist than Tony.

I keep thinking that I should read more of Tanya Huff's other books, but they never appeal to me as much as the original volumes of this series do. I'm referring to the five volumes that tell of Vicki Nelson, a private investigator, and her relationship with Henry Fitzroy, on a prince, and now a vampire romance writer. There Huff demonstrated both finesse as a story-teller and a self-effacing style which kept everything in hand without calling on the hysteria which is often part of vampire fiction.

Well, here it is several years later and we find that Henry, and Tony Foster, who was for several years one of Fitzroy's lovers have shifted to Vancouver, where Tony has begun to find his way as a member of the strange world of broadcast television. His first major job is as production assistant on, of all things, a series about a vampire detective. All seems to be going well until Tony notices that some of the shadows on the set seem to have a will of their own. And then someone dies. And then...

Tony discovers that somehow the studio has been invaded by shadows who are up to no good. These are somehow tied to Arra Pelindrake, the special effects wizard. In fact, Arra is a wizard who does special effects, having fled her own reality as it fell to the Shadowlord. Now the darkness has found her here, and Tony, Arra, and Henry face a hopeless battle to stop this world from falling into darkness as well.

Tony faces several crises, not the least of which is the plight of a gay man trying to establish his independence from a 400 year old vampire. One who has a tendency to see everything as 'his.' While Henry isn't truly overbearing, he has both a possessive streak and a very strong personality. To make matters worse, Tony really does need help saving the world. What makes the novel click is that Huff uses a light but sure touch in working the threads of Tony's sexuality and need for identity into the plot without overwhelming the story.

Although Tony does come over as a bit of a wuss (shadows seem to make him nauseous - very nauseous), he gradually works past his initial wobbliness and develops onto a much stronger character than he was in the previous series. I do think that Huff should have spent more time redeveloping Fitzroy's character. Not every reader will have read the original series and having Henry drop in like a Deus Ex Machina and then step off-stage again doesn't ring true unless you know who Henry Fitzroy actually is.

Even so, Smoke and Shadows turned out to be far better than I initially expected. I would be delighted to read more of Tony's story andI hope that Tony and Henry will star together in a few more volumes before the sun rises again.

Tony Foster from the 'Blood' series is living in Vancouver and working as a Production Assistant on a TV show about a vampire detective. The star of the show, Mason Reed, isn't a very nice person, we know this because he SMOKES, shock horror, and even worse, he smokes INDOORS! (could anyone possibly get more depraved?)Tony has a crush on the show's co-star, the gorgeous Lee Nicholas, but unfortunately Lee likes girls, lots of them. A minor member of the cast dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tony is convinced something weird is going on, and that it has something to do with the show's special effects woman, Arra Pelindrake. It turns out Arra is a refugee wizard from another world, and is being persued by the evil Shadowlord, intent on destroying her and taking over this world as he took over Arra's.Arra is reluctant to fight the Shadowlord because she is convinced she will fail, as she did on her own world. Luckily Tony's old pal vampire novelist Henry Fitzroy is on hand to help out, but can he and Tony do anything to defeat the Shadowlord? Like all Tanya Huff's books, this is an exciting story, but I did not find it as gripping as some of her other books. The trouble is that, although Tony is a nice boy, as a central character he simply does not hold my attention the way Vicki, Henry and Mike did, and I found myself only really gripped when Henry Fitzroy comes on the scene. One of the things I've always liked best about Huff's novels are her memorable strong female characters, not just her great heroines like Crystal, Vicki, Claire and Torin, but supporting characters too. Arra, however, seems a shadowy character (sorry) and I just didn't warm to her.The head of the studio, CB, is a good character, but there isn't enough of him. This is a very good book, but in my personal opinion it is not one of her very best.

This is an excellent series. I'd almost say that it was better than the Blood Books, except that the background laid down there makes me appreciate even more the continuation of the Henry/Tony storyline. I cannot tell y'all what a relief it is to get away from Vicki, and how cool it is to get to hang out with Henry and Tony without Vicki's histrionics, foul temper and all-consuming control-freakiness.

Henry Fitzroy is the most compelling character in vampire fiction today, and Tony was always my second-favorite character from the Blood Books. The series starts off well, and gets better with each volume. Tony's emergence as a wizard puts him on a more level field with Henry - metaphysically, at least. Happily, they are still the same people inside, and their friendship/relationship tensions are poignant and endearing. Oh, right - and they're saving the world. Watching each of them evolve is a great deal of fun. From Tony's POV of everyday magic for the real world to Henry's struggle to bridge the supernatural and the ordinary worlds, I loved every minute of it. I hope Huff has more in the works for these two, cause I'm addicted.

_Smoke and Shadows_ is a spin-off of an established paranormal mystery series based around the adventures encountered by nearly-blind private eye (metaphor?) Vickie Nelson after she meets vampire Henry Fitzroy. Those who like to mix a little television with their reading might recognize these as the inspiration of new Lifetime series, _Blood Ties_. Those who like to mix a little television with their reading might _also_ very much appreciate the direction that Huff has gone with her new books. Protagonist Tony Foster, a former street kid, is now a television production assistant on a vampire detective series, and his job feeds into much of this book's humor and interest. Not that reading about Vickie wasn't fun, but Tony breathes new life into this increasingly popular genre. Drawn into the mysteries rather than seeking them out, he reads like a very real, natural person in very unnatural situations. The occasional interaction with Henry adds nice nostalgia, as well as a few new layers, but, truly, Tony is the star of this show. The book has a light touch and a tongue-in-cheek approach that doesn't soften the edges of its brief episodes of true horror.

Oh, and some readers may need to be warned: Tony is gay, actively gay, and Tanya Huff treats his romance life as naturally as she would any straight character's. If for some reason the idea of two men being attracted to one another is offensive to you, you'd better settle down with a different book. Quite rightly, in my opinion, this one doesn't flinch.

Please start with the Victory Nelson series: Blood Price, etc. IMHO, this is series is Huff's best work.

Tony Foster, the Point of View character from this series, has broken his ties with his vampire lover, Henry Fitzroy, and has gone to Vancouver to study film. He's landed a plum job as production assistant on an "Angel-like" televsion show.

When one of the actresses ends up dead, Tony discovers his crew is in deep trouble. A ShadowLord has passed through a gate near the set and he's got to stop them---while he's keeping his job in showbiz.

I probably would have rated this book higher if it was a new author and a new series, but this one's Tanya Huff and she's gotten off to something of a slow start here. "Smoke and Mirrors" the sequel, is coming out in June and I have a lot of hope it will be an improvement. Still, not a bad read. Just start with the books this one was spun off from first.

This book is just poor.. the writing is tedious and pedestrian and the storyline is not even B-movie material. There's so many mentions of shadows that you want to just smash the book before its over with. I was looking for a fun light read but this was so light it nearly put me to sleep with boredom. Also the story doesn't really go anywhere for the longest time. No flair at all and it seems like she was just moving through the motions on this one.

Stick with the Keeper books and Wizard of the Grove, these are much better.

I love Tanya Huff's urban fantasy books. They're cleverly plotted, humorous, occasionally chilling (that mummy wizard still gives me the creeps), and full of Canadian in-jokes. This latest book is no exception. I've always liked Tony Foster, so I was thrilled when I learned that Huff was branching off from her Blood series to give him a leading role in a new series. And I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although a few of the plot developments were a bit eyeroll inducing. Unlike one of the previous reviewers, I love gay romance, but even I had to groan at the Shadowlord succumbing to Tony's "charms".

Vampire Henry Fitzroy has always fascinated me, and I'm intrigued by the power he still holds over Tony, and the understanding that they've come to about Tony's independence, which is, essentially, that Tony remains independent entirely at Henry's sufferance. I thought that was the most powerful part of the book...Tony's resistance to his deeply-held desire to submit to Henry and subsume himself in the role of being owned, and Henry's often fond, but occasionally reluctant indulgence of Tony's need to break away.

The most amusing part of the book centers around Huff's knowing send-up of the Canadian television industry. "Darkest Night" is obviously a spoof on the campy vampire police detective drama "Forever Knight", the two RCMP detectives are a sly Canadian nod to Special Agents Mulder and Scully, and the character of underrated Canadian actor and total hottie, Lee Nicholas, is a fond and flattering paean to underrated Canadian actor and total hottie, Nicholas Lea, right down to the dark hair, green eyes, and nice ass.

I took this book on vacation, and it was a perfect beach read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary urban fantasy.

Those of us who read and enjoyed the "Blood" books involving Vickie Nelson. are going to be pleased to meet up again with Henry Fitzroy and Tony Foster. On one hand while I think this book stands on its own, on the other it would help to have read the prior series.

Also those of us who have watched the syndicated television show about the vampire police detective, Forever Knight-- shot in Canada and quite possibly the most popular syndicated vampire detective show in North America-- will get a chuckle out of some of the trappings of the story including the reference to flashbacks in the show.

In this opening salvo of Tanya Huff's new series, Tony becomes involved in a web of unfamiliar magics as he starts to come of age as a hero while still being drawn to the comfort of his old relationship with Henry but stepping out into the world beyond Henry's total control.

This book is likely to have an appeal to younger readers. In the way of a lot of North American books the sex is not explicit, but the violence is.

I'm glad Tanya Huff chose to switch to a different main character and I think Tony is a good choice. I loved the Blood series but it's nice to move on to something different. It's also refreshing to have a hero that's a little less super-human than the usual vampire novel fare.

Tony emerges from a history of powerlessness to play the hero and take on a powerful wizard. He's no longer Henry Fitzroy's "ward" and can stand on his own. That's not to say that Henry Fitzroy didn't play a significant role in this novel but his role was definitely secondary.

While I enjoyed the overall plot arch and especially enjoyed the characters in this novel, I thought the climax was a trite. Still, I'll give it a 4/5 and will buy the next book in hardback.