Blood Lines

'So, what we're trying to find is the reanimated wizard-priest of a god who may or may not live on the life force of others, who can twist the minds of those near to it, and who can magically kill at a distance.'

Suspension of disbelief is getting harder and harder to maintain with this series - not because of the vampires, demons, werewolves and now Egyptian mummies that Toronto PI Vicki 'Victory' Nelson is called on to investigate, but just how ridiculously arrogant she is! She has two men on the go, an old flame from the police force and the 450-year old undead bastard son of Henry VIII, and it's all treated as a big joke. Oh that Vicki, she's so wonderfully talented/independent/determined/spirited, that Mike Celluci and Henry Fitzroy show more will suffer any amount of polygamous time share just to be near her (Celluci during the day, Henry at night, of course). Henry, like all fictional vampires, is smooth and sophisticated, although his fits of 'I am Vampire' temper are getting a little old already, but I think I'm in Camp Celluci. The poor man keeps hanging on, even though Vicki constantly rubs his face in her passionate attachment to Henry, and I can't help but feel incredibly sorry for him. Why would anybody put up with that 'no strings' bullshit? Henry I can understand, because even though he loves Vicki (of course he does, it's in his contract), he is also the son of Henry the Eighth, and has already lived through four centuries on his own. But Celluci is a normal man who wants to settle down - dump her and leave town, Mike, before it's too late!

Anyway, aside from my issues with Vicki 'Free Love' Nelson, I also struggled to get through the story. Huff's writing is fast paced and witty as always, taking on Egyptian legends with a smirk and a wink, but starting the mystery with secondary characters/plot devices, burdening the sceptical detective with a lot of unconvincing exposition, and then forcing the ending made this a less than inspiring instalment. The dialogue was also crammed with too many cliches, however knowingly quoted - when Vicki thought to herself, 'You can fall down when this is over, not before', I think I groaned out loud. Also, can Vicki please get some glasses that fit her face, and Mike Celluci cut off that pesky curl that he keeps having to sweep off his forehead, please?

A weak link in the series, but I'm hoping that the next sequel will force Vicki into making a choice, or Celluci to man up and move on. Failing that, less Hammer horror, more supernatural investigation. show less

Una mummia millenaria che scatena l'inferno.

Sembra il pessimo inizio del classico libro dell'orrore che imperversa nelle nostre librerie.

Ed invece come sempre Tanya Huff ha saputo far volgere quello che potrebbe apparire come scontato e/o noioso a suo favore.



Abbiamo una mummia che vuole restaurare il suo Dio nel XXI secolo e che per far ciò, come ogni buon rivoluzionario che si rispetti, comincia a sottomettere le forze armate.



Abbiamo un vampiro sempre più umano, che sbaglia, si spaventa e si apre nei confronti della donna che ama.



Abbiamo una Vicki sempre più dura e ferrea ma che ha una crisi di nervi quando Henry non torna. Si accorge di amarlo. Ma allo stesso tempo si rende conto che per quanto dura possa essere è già da tempo show more che gioca con chi è in grado di spezzarla con un niente. E questo la fa incazzare ancora di più.



Abbiamo un Celucci che apre gli occhi e si accorge che non è più l'unico a gareggiare per prendersi il cuore di Vick e che forse è già troppo tardi.



Abbiamo un buon libro, scorrevole e coinvolgente condito con il solito stile leggermente più freddo ma pur sempre sarcastico della Huff che mi affascina e mi cattura ogni volta di più.



(serve questa maledetta quista stellina =_=) show less

This 3rd volume in the Vicki Nelson series was again a re-read, but I found I enjoyed this one more than the first two, having found them a little disappointing this time around. The villain in this story, a weak point in the other volumes, was far more convincing: it isn't a spoiler to say he was a pre dynastic Egyptian sorceror, sealed with spells into a sarcophagus which has been in the private collection of a aristocratic British family for the last couple of centuries but is now sold to the Museum in Toronto. Before his arrival, the disturbance to his sarcophagus gives him increasing freedom to send forth his ka - the Egyptian life force/personality - to influence the museum curator who has bought the sarcophagus for the museum in show more the (correct) belief that it is unsealed and therefore contains a mummy. And before long, he is feeding on the life forces of modern day people and beginning to establish a power base, in the service of his god but also ultimately to try to gain sufficient power to become godlike himself.

I enjoyed the Egyptology background and the idea that, in contrast to ancient Egypt where sorcery was believed in and the gods were real and most people were dedicated to a god from birth and had protections which kept them safe from the villain's machinations, the modern world has such a lack of religious belief that he is able to overpower and recruit without opposition.

I also liked the fact that Henry played a much bigger role in this story than the predeceding one and that he and Mike, Vicki's other lover in their love triangle, have to start to work together and to develop some mutual respect. Although it was never spelled out to him, since the events of the previous book which occurred a few months previously, Mike seems to have accepted the notion that Henry is a vampire. Possibly though, Vicki has a bit too much baggage in this novel and going forward in the series: not only is she suffering from the progressive eye disease which may render her blind and is the reason she had to leave the police force and is now a private investigator, it seems that her inability to commit to either man - or any man - is because her dad abandoned her and her mother when she was a child.

One continuing oddity is the way Vicki seems quite happy to share Henry with Tony, the young man who grew up on the streets but now has a steady job etc thanks to Henry. As Tony's former mentor who tried to look out for him, it is a bit strange that she thinks it OK for them both to have a sexual relationship with Henry (entailed in the blood drinking for a vampire, if a regular relationship is in place as opposed to hunting strangers). Henry isn't exactly exploiting Tony, but he is obviously a mature character at 450 years old whereas Tony is just around 17. The whole issue is dealt with very much as a casual side mention and Vicki seems to feel that open relationships are great all round: not an attitude most people can handle in practice even if they subscribe to it in theory.

The end of the story implies that there might at some point be more trouble with the god who lay behind the mummy's predations, but I don't know if that was ever followed through in a later volume.

As I enjoyed this one more than the two preceding volumes, it rates 4 stars. show less

Blood Lines is the third book in Tanya Huff's Blood Books series featuring private investigator Vicki Nelson. In the first book, Blood Price, Huff introduces Vicki, a former police detective who is losing her vision, along with Mike Celluci, her former partner and lover, Henry Fitzroy, a four hundred-year-old vampire, and Tony, a street kid whom Vicki was trying to save. In the second, Blood Trail, Vicki and Henry become lovers and Mike, suspicious and protective of Vicki, investigates Henry and eventually discovers Henry's true nature.



The plot of Blood Lines falls a bit flat compared to the first two books of the series. It revolves around an ancient mummy who has come to life and is attempting to take power, killing people and eating show more their souls along its way. Henry, who hasn't dreamed since he was human, begins dreaming of the sunlight and wondering if it is his time to die. It might have been an adequate plot except for the feeling of disconnection from the main characters. Henry is involved because of his seemingly prophetic dreams, and Tony starts developing a bigger role when he accidentally witnesses the mummy kill a child. But when the mummy starts to take over the police force, Vicki is taken completely out of commission, imprisoned and drugged until after the mummy's death. It's a terribly unsatisfying resolution for a story in a series with such a strong main female character.

Another problem with the book is not the author's fault, but the fault of the people who shelve and categorize it. It often winds up called a "paranormal romance," but readers looking for romance will be disappointed. Vicki's relationship with Henry is complicated; they are friends who care deeply about each other, maybe even love each other, but aren't ready or willing to commit to exclusivity. Henry still sleeps with Tony, which Vicki has no problem with. Vicki still has her strange and complicated relationship with Mike. To have her choose one or the other to form an exclusive pairing would be out of character. But the romance - or, at the very least, sexual attraction - is far from the main focus of the story, and so even readers who aren't satisfied with such casual relationships shouldn't feel terribly distracted.

Blood Lines is a good book, and fans of the series should enjoy the revisit to the world of Vicki Nelson and Henry Fitzroy. It does not measure up, however, to the high standards established by the previous Blood Books.

http://www.helium.com/items/1553040-blood-lines-tanya-huff-review show less

Vicki takes on the Mummy! But the best thng about this book is the development in the relationships, and the sexual tension, between Vicki, Mike and Henry. This is a tense but funny read.

I feel a bit mixed on this one, the third novel in the Blood series featuring private detective Vicki Nelson. These ostensibly are "vampire books" since the one regular supernatural character Henry Fitzroy qualifies as one. He's not a very original or charismatic literary creation however. He's in the good guy vein, in fact has a lot less darkness in his soul than most of the type compared to say Joss Whedon's Angel or Chelsea Yarbro's St Germaine or LK Hamilton's Jean Claude. He's along typical vampire lines; he's stronger and faster than any mortal and has aged only a few years over more than four centuries, and he can't stand the sun. Though for a child of Henry VIII (there was a historical Henry Fitzroy) he seems a very modern man. show more

But the fun of this series so far is more in the supernatural mystery and milieu with which Vicki and Henry become involved. In the first one it was demons, the second it was werewolves. And now in the third here's what's possibly my favorite creature of fantasy and horror--the mummy! An unsealed sarcophagus is brought into Toronto and inside is a pre-dynastic Egyptian mummy--a man cursed and bound for good reason and about to be let loose on Toronto--and in this particular book the stakes are high for both the city and Henry as it seeks to suck in enough soul energy--particularly from Henry--to raise himself to near godhood.

On the other hand, I'm finding myself less and less enamored of Vicki. I did find it refreshing that unlike other urban fantasy heroines such as Anita Blake or Sookie Stackhouse Vicki not only doesn't have superpowers, she's dealing with a handicap that forced her to retire as a police officer--she's going blind. And I do like the grit with which she struggles to stay functioning and independent. However, I have a friend who hated Vicki as idiotic and arrogant from the very first scene of the very first book, and I'm beginning to come around to her point of view. Vicki is stubborn and arrogant to the point of folly, and I rather hate how she does the sex-doesn't-mean-a-thing dance with both Henry and her old partner and lover, Michael Celluci. If you think guys have commitment issues... I'm also tired of the bitch stereotype in fictional female law enforcement. Apparently, if popular thrillers and mysteries are to be believed, all women cops and PIs all have mile-high chips on their shoulders. Just once, I'd like to read one with some diplomacy and social grace who doesn't feel she has to out-macho the men.

But was this still fun? You betcha. There's something a bit tongue in cheek in the way Huff plays with the supernatural motifs, and her dialogue is witty and it's often fun watching Vicki and Celluci especially interact. Celluci gets more of a role than in the two previous books, and that's one of the more welcome developments here. show less

This is my favorite of the Vicky Nelson books so far. I really like the way it plays out.

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2020 UPDATE: This book was harder to read this time around than it was the first time I read it. There's an example of police brutality in here. It's not for very many pages, and it's the bad guys doing it (and there are example of good cops to balance it out) but with everything going on in the news that was NOT an easy section of the book to read. I still enjoyed the main plot and most of the characters, but it wasn't "purely fantasy" the way I had seen it when I originally read it.