 | EUROPE'S MOST VISITED SF/F WEB SITE |
| Blood
Price by Tania Huff check out website: www.OrbitBooks.co.uk
The reason? Well, this isn't the strongest
book Huff has ever written - her 'Keeper Chronicles' are funnier and perhaps more
cohesive - and certainly not as strong as 'Guilty Pleasures', the first 'Anita
Blake'. But that's looking at it from the perspective of a long way down the line
and for what it is, it works just fine. Huff's vampire, Henry Fitzroy, is a nicely modern kind of guy for all that, he's the 500-year-old bastard son of Henry VIII. No posturing, no dressing up in silly clothes, no pretentious accents. Refreshing change, no? He does write fairly bad bodice-ripping historical romances, but please don't hold that against him. Her main character, ex-homicide detective Vicki Nelson, is certainly not the invincible vampire slayer of similar genre books. For one thing, Henry is the only vamp around and he's helping her find the maniac who's slaughtering people at random in Toronto and draining them completely of blood. The reason Vicki had to resign from the force is the big difference. She has progressive macular degeneration which is slowly making her blind and a little hamstrung should she lose her glasses. There's still the same sardonic humour which propels Hamilton's books along so well, a fair dollop of gore and guts and Vicki's on/off relationship with homicide detective Mike Celluci to keep the romance side interesting. No prizes for guessing where any romantic triangles will be developing in future instalments then... Vicki stumbles onto the first murder, feels a little involved after having to cover the corpse with her coat and is promptly hired by the victim's ex-girlfriend to find the culprit. Which isn't nearly as easy as it seems, considering that half the police don't want her interfering and the murderer isn't all that they seem. Fortunately, there happens to be a vampire waiting in the wings to help, very concerned that his secret doesn't make it out into the open. This is a short, snappy little
murder mystery more than it is a 'vampire' book, with the focus very much on the
crime and detective work (and the obnoxious criminal) than on Henry's past - though
we do get the obligatory flashbacks to Tudor England, of course. While it does
slip up a little in the caricatured villain, it's all forgivable and so rare to
find anything that doesn't outstay its welcome. The characters are sympathetic
and vulnerable and the action moves along nicely. Recommended - roll on the next
four instalments... Jennifer Howell
|
OTHER REVIEWS - November 2004
| ||||||||
It's
nice to see someone in the UK finally picking up Tanya Huff after a long, long
time of having to buy her books on import and it's even nicer that Orbit have
gone all out with these neatly effective editions. Methinks they see another Laurell
K Hamilton in the making, but a glance at the title page should prove that 'Blood
Price' was first published in 1991, a whopping 13 years ago. The first 'Anita
Blake' book was only published in 1993, so this predates most of the 90s fashion
for vamps, let alone Buffy and co.
 | |
| nest home | search engine | site directory | library | tools | about us | | |
| |
... www.sfcrowsnest.com © 2004 CWant a ? Then send an e-mail to: hologramtales-subscribe@topica.com