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The Blood Books, Volume II
Omnibus edition containing Blood Lines and Blood Pact

by Tanya Huff



      I have to admit up front that I am not big on vampire stories, so I was pleasantly surprised when I read Blood Lines, and even more so when I completed Blood Pact. Most authors try to string you out and then throw a violent and bloody "Gotcha!" at your head to wrap everything up. Tanya Huff is much more subtle about the roller coaster ride she sends you on. Just when you think you are returning to the station, down the hill you go with your stomach in your mouth.

We can start with the 450-year old vampire, Henry Fitzroy, being one of the good guys. He’s in love with the leading lady, Vicki Nelson, and she returns his affections in a way that only a vampire can appreciate. Vicki’s human lover, Mike Celluci, is on the Toronto (Canada, not California) police force and was also Vicki’s mentor before failing eyesight caused her to leave the force. Henry and Mike know all about each other and have a bitter agreement - Mike gets the day, Henry gets the night, and Vicki is one busy girl!

In Blood Lines, healthy people are dying from no apparent cause; their hearts simply stop beating. Based on their knowledge of the undead, Vicki and Mike become convinced that the killer is a mummy raised from the dead. A 3000-year old Egyptian, Tawfik, wants to resurrect the worship of his dark god right in the middle of downtown Toronto, and soul sucking is the only way for him to gain the strength to persevere!

In Blood Pact, you find just the opposite. Dead people are getting up and walking around. Why have their hearts started beating again? A 20-something graduate student is the culprit here, and where do you think she finds a really fresh corpse to reanimate? The department secretary just happens to have a heart condition and only six months to live. She also just happens to be Vicki’s mother. After Mrs. Nelson’s body disappears from the funeral home, we get to see where Vicki gets her stubborn streak as her un-mother stumbles back to her un-apartment to call her un-daughter in order to finish that one last line on the to-do list.

High on humor and low on terror, I think any fan of fantasy would enjoy these books. The characters are relatively believable and likable, the situations logical given the premise of the undead intruding on our lives, and they make for a ripping good story to read.

The Book

DAW
August 1, 2006
Paperback
075640388X
Fantasy > Contemporary
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
NOTE: Violence

The Reviewer

Beth E. McKenzie
Reviewed 2006
NOTE:
© 2006 MyShelf.com