Blood Debt

This is the fifth and last book in the series by Tanya Huff about Vicki Nelson, Henry Fitzroy and Mike Celluci. We pick up the tale as Henry finds himself haunted by a tormented ghost and realises he needs the specialist help of Vicki.

It is hard to review this book completely without spoiling the events at the end of Blood Pact, but I shall attempt it!

Although there is a ghost involved, the mystery itself is the most mundane out of the five books - concerning an organisation set up to profit from the harvesting of organs. Since Huff persists in signposting her villains, making identifying them extremely easy, these books are not whodunnits and so Huff has to rely on ramping up the tension from supernatural elements. Here there are just show more human foes - when you have humans one side and vampire the other, you already know who will win (or who should do!), which means the central mystery has no real tension or ambiguity over the resolution.

Instead Huff concentrates on writing tension into the relationships between the three main characters, who have been involved in a love triangle from the second book in the series. I liked the way Huff dealt with Vicki and Henry in this book - it was both heart-breakingly sad and yet hopeful at the same time.

Mike remains a fabulous character. He is by far my favourite character of the series. I love his nobility and his desire to see justice done - but within the parameters of the law. Henry describes Mike best with this:

"Henry had done what he could, but he hadn't been strong enough to finish; he needed more blood. Michael Celluci had offered his, even though he believed that it meant he'd lose everything.

In over four hundred and fifty years of living as an observer in humanity's midst, it had been the most amazing thing Henry Fitzroy had ever seen."

Mike is snarky, clever, exasperated; I love the way he deals with Vicki, alternating between tenderness and arguments - the only thing I wish is that he would get a damn haircut so that Vicki doesn't need to constantly brush that curl of hair back off his face!

Tony comes to the fore here as well. His desire to extricate himself from Henry; his desperation to do the right thing but not hurt others is admirable and written in a realistic way.

I enjoyed the snappy pacing and dialogue-heavy writing. Huff also does a fine job with descriptive passages - bringing places and situations to life with a few efficient words.

I'll make a brief comment on how dated these books sometimes feel - here Tony works in a video store and spends time rewinding the tapes; and one of the characters expresses surprise at the use of a cellphone. Having said that, I shall also say that these books stand up well to the test of thirteen years passing. They still sound fresh and engaging. In a genre now crowded, Huff was one of the first to pair detecting with supernatural forces - and, when reading about Vicki and Henry, you still gain a sense of how exciting and *new* they must have seemed when first released. show less

- Per me tu eri Mistero... - mormorò Vicky, il ricordo che affiorava dalla sua vita mortale.
- Allora sii Mistero per lui.

Eccoci con la conclusione di questa fantastica saga fantasy thriller di Tanya Huff. So per certo che ci sarà un nuovo libro, una raccolta di spinn off di Tony e Herny ma per me, l'avventura con la saga Blood Books finisce qua, e finisce anche splendidamente.

Molti si aspettavano un libro forzato, noioso... insomma un contentino concesso alle fan scocciate dalla separazione definitiva fra Henry e Vicky.
Premetto che già il precedente libro aveva soddisfato abbastanza la mia curiosità su questo trio, il finale risolutivo l'ho apprezzata ed accettato ma, da brava fan di Henry Fizroy non potevo non AMARE questo nuovo show more capitolo.

La trama è decisamente più avvincente degli zombii del 4 libro e Vicky vampira è un personaggio assolutamente riuscito!
Straordinario il suo essere "diversa" da prima seppur testardamente attaccata a ciò che era. Non accetta compromessi e non accetta di essere vincolata dalla sua stessa natura e, tra una batosta e l'altra, alla fine avrà la meglio su secoli di tradizioni. Stupenda!

Henry ha rinunciato a lei quando l'ha trasformata, dopo la rottura genitore-figlio non avrebbero potuto più stare a contatto senza cercare di uccidersi, sono cacciatori solitaria i Vampiri.
Eppure, quando uno strano fantasma assassino-assassinato, inizia a perseguitarlo non può farne a meno: La chiama.

Vichy, da parte sua non impiega più di 5 minuti a decidere di accorrere al suo richiamo e Celluci, che non ha nessuna intenzione di lasciarla andare da sola, si accoda indeciso se godere dall'ainevitabile scontro fra i due nonmorti o temerlo.

Tony, in questo capitolo, risulta essere uno dei personaggi più "con le palle" di tutto il romanzo, a parte Vicky.
E' cresciuto e particolarmente attaccato a Henry ma, a parte ciò, comprende che nel cuore del vampiro c'era e ci sarebbe sempre stata "Vittoria" e che per lui è decisamente ora di iniziare a camminare con le sue gambe e di smetterla di fare "il cane randagio" che elemosina qualche carezza.
Non ho mai sopportarto il rapporto che aveva con Fizroy ma NON per il fatto che erano entrambi maschi ma perchè, come ho già detto, io vedo Herny solo con "Vittori". Mi dispiace per Tony ma ho che si è tolto dalle scatole sono decisamente soddisfatta (infatti NON comprerò la raccolta di spin off, neanche ci penso!)

Celluci inizia a capire realealmente che la donna che ama, per quanto simile alla vecchia Vicky non sarà MAI la vecchia Vittoria Nelson, per quanto lui lo voglia. Lui stesso riconosce che "cosa sono pochi anni di compromessi nella vita immortale di un vampiro?".
Lui sa perfettamente ma non vuole accettarlo e continua a imporre limiti a Vichy che, nel suo assurdo desiderio di non nascondergli nulla, accetta. Come accetta di non uccidere inutilemente lasciandolo fare a Fizroy. Non so quando impiegherà a comprendere che il suo senso della "legge" con Lei non dovrà più esistere, lei ora è una Cacciatrice della Notte. Prima o poi lo capirà, a noi però non è dato saperlo.

La storia è decisamente più avvincente e coinvolgente e gli scontri fra i due vampiri che si stuzzicano continuamente con il rischio di farsi a pezzi tiene il racconto in un continuo stato di tensione che non disturba il lettore ma incuriosisce. La scrittrice è stata veramente brava, nonostante questo libro fosse stato "richiesto" dai Fan e non creare un'opera forzata o noiosa.

Se in futuro la scrittrice deciderà di scrivere qualcosa di nuovo su Vittoria Nelson lo comprerò e lo leggerò sicuramente... Sperando in un Post-Cellucci... Poveraccio, gli sto già contando i giorni! ^^ show less

I love how Tanya Huff writes the perfect mix of humor and seriousness it is the best mix of dark and light. No matter what series of hers I read I find myself thoroughly enjoying it. The main character in this is a kick butt heroine and I love her. I was very sad several years ago that the tv series ended so quickly because Vicki is a great character.

Last in a series of re-reads for me. I had fond memories of this series, having read it years ago, but on this re-read found the main character, Vicki, increasingly annoying in her one dimensional Mrs Angry personality.

In this, she has progressed onto really mindless anger at times, because in the author's universe vampires cannot tolerate each other's physical presence, as intrusions on their hunting territory after the initial year or so when the 'parent' has taught the 'child' enough to pass as human when necessary and survive. That period having passed, Vicki has remained in Toronto with Mike Celluci now in the same relationship to her that she used to have to Henry, and Henry has moved to Vancover with Tony as his sole regular show more blood donor and sexual partner. But Henry requests Vicki's help when his nights are plagued by a spirit visitor who lacks hands and who responds to questions either by disappearing if the answer would be positive or by letting loose a physic wave of despair when the answer is negative - killing old people or babies in the vicinity and causing serious upset in anyone else. The body is found in the harbour but still cannot be identified - but the clue it provides is that one of the kidneys has been removed. And the culprits appear to be organ bootleggers operating for profit from a private clinic.

The relationship between Vicki and Henry established in earlier books is gone: the two spend their time snarling at each other or mindlessly launching attacks. Vicki becomes even more unlikeable than she was when alive as a result, although the two do find a balance finally, albeit precarious. Their friendship retreats again to a phone or email based one, which both can tolerate.

One element which was always a bit 'dodgy' was the dependence of the 17 year old Tony, ex street kid, on Henry, and his role as sexual partner back when Vicki was alive and also in such a relationship with Henry. The author does seem to finally realise this with Tony showing signs of wanting to break away and have a normal life, which he achieves by story's end.

One problem in this story is that the only supernatural element if you discount vampires themselves - in Huff's universe corporal beings with weaknesses and limitations - is the ghost (and the host of others that Henry senses) who keeps appearing to him, requesting vengeance in its indirect way. The villians are all normal humans, albeit criminal, violent or borderline sociopathic - rather like in the previous story, but in that, one of the victims was Vicki's own mother. Here, there isn't really much interest in that side of things, and the tension has to be racked up rather artificially by peril to Mike Celluci, and the constant sparring between the two vampires. The best character in the books, and probably in the whole series, is Mike with his superficial grumpiness hiding a noble nature - one that can't tolerate seeing Vicki cross the line into vigilantism. I had become increasingly irritated by Vicki and in this book find both her and Henry rather a pain frankly. Therefore, only a 2 star 'OK' rating and I won't be bothering with volume six which apparently was added at some point. show less

I kind of wish this was where the Blood books had started, because Vicki is a better vampire than a human. Not that she's a bad human, but watching her apply her supernatural bullheadedness to vampire social mores is just more interesting than watching her bully her cop ex-colleagues.

The actual plot is fine, if not nearly as gripping as the previous one, but the real entertainment is Vampire Vicki in action. Not one to miss, but it's an odd place for the series to take a sharp left into a new main character.

You certainly shouldn't start with this book--it's the fifth and currently the last in a series involving private investigator Vicki Nelson, her friend and lover Toronto cop Mike Celluci and 450-year old vampire Henry Fitzroy--who was born the illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England. Read first Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines and Blood Pact. The various books deal with classic supernatural monsters. The first deals with a demon, the second werewolves, the third an Egyptian mummy and the the fourth zombies--this time it's ghosts. And if you haven't read the prior books, stop now. Don't read this review, which will be packed with spoilers from the prior books.

In the last book, Blood Pact, Henry was forced to turn Vicki into a show more vampire to save her life. But there was a catch. In most respects Henry is along traditional vampiric lines, though he's one of those "good guy" vampires that's very human in his mindset with supernatural powers rather than an evil monster. But in Huff's world vampires are very territorial creatures. A newly-made vampire can stay with their maker for only a year before separating or they'll tear each other apart. So while Vicki remained with Mike in Toronto, Henry left for Vancouver with Tony. But faced with a series of murders and hauntings, Henry asks Vicki and Mike for help.

The thing is was Vicki was always borderline unlikable. I had some sympathy for her in the prior books because she was dealing with going blind--a condition that cost her a career as a police officer and I admired her struggles to remain independent. But she's that stereotypical fictional female in law enforcement who feels she has to be more macho than any male. Now she's a vampire. She's no longer handicapped (other than not being able to tolerate sunlight) and she's added the aggression of a predator--and because of the territorial imperative both she and Henry are struggling not to be at each others' throats.

This is still an enjoyable book, but in the context of the series feels an anticlimax and is my least favorite among the five. show less

Tanya Huff's novel Blood Debt is the final book in the Victoria Nelson series, which began with Blood Price. Unfortunately, it's a much less satisfying ending than the previous book, Blood Pact, would have made. (Please be wary of spoilers ahead, especially if you haven't read Blood Pact.)

The book's first issue is that the plot doesn't really fit with the rest of the series. While the series as a whole focus on supernatural plots - demons, werewolves, ancient Egyptian gods - and the previous novel used a scientific angle to approach the supernatural - researchers creating zombies in the lab - the supernatural element of Blood Debt is very forced. The main plot is based on, of all things, urban legends about black market organs and show more kidney thefts. The supernatural element is that Henry, for little reason other than the plot requiring it, becomes haunted by the victims of an organ selling ring, who are scaring people to death in order to coerce his help. It feels tacked on as an afterthought, as if the organ theft story came from a completely different series.


The next problem is Vicki and Henry. At the end of Blood Pact, Vicki is dying and Henry turns her in order to save her. Then he leaves town, because vampires are instinctively territorial and cannot share hunting grounds. This makes a fitting, if bittersweet, conclusion to the series, whose rules of vampires are designed to avoid the issue of simply bringing across the people you love without any consequences.

In the interim between books, Vicki has gotten used to her new life as a vampire, and Michael Celluci has started filling the role she used to fill for Henry, who has moved to Vancouver with his occasional lover Tony. When Henry enlists her help to get rid of the ghosts, however, they discover that the territorial nature of vampires might not be so instinctual after all, but rather an outdated learned behavior from a time when towns were too small to sustain more than one vampire. While Henry and Vicki no longer relate as they used to, they get along fairly well for people who should supposedly be trying to kill each other.

This sudden change the series's rules of vampirism seems like cheating, a way to make the Henry/Vicki fans happy without actually getting them together for good, and a way to disregard the negative consequences of turning someone into a vampire. This change is a disappointing one, because the solitariness of vampires was one of the more interesting things about the series, preventing it from getting overrun with vampires, and the clear negative effects of the vampire's condition made it seem realistic and not something to be coveted too much, rather than a way to cheat death scot-free.

These two factors combined make Blood Debt mostly unsatisfying. It's a decent book, and Vicki's new status as a vampire prompts some interesting developments in her character, but it's not final enough to make a good last book of the series.

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