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Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. It started on the last day of high school, a day Diana Hansen had been anticipating for the last twelve years. Now, her real life could begin. For Diana, like her sister Claire, was a Keeper-gifted with the ability to reweave the possibilities of time and space to maintain the balance between Light and Darkness. What neither Diana nor Sam-formerly an angel, now a cat-could have anticipated was that her first Summons as an active Keeper would be to a shopping show more mall! But a quick trip to the Erlking's Emporium, a gift shop in a Kingston mall, confirmed Diana's worst suspicions. Not only was Darknesss trying to stage a takeover from the Otherside, but if Diana didn't bring in reinforcements, her first Summons might well be her last. Claire and Austin-who'd always been a cat and had little tolerance for cat wannabes like Sam-were only too ready to take on their "older and wiser" roles. But neither the Keepers nor their cats were prepared for what they found when they tried to cross from their world to the Otherside mall . . . show lessTags
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Claire, Diana and Sam are off to save the world from a mall turning evil while Dean and Austin keep things running smoothly at the Guest House in Long Hot Summoning, the final book in the Keeper's Chronicles trilogy by Tanya Huff.
This was so much fun! The story features more Canadian jokes, mall elves, King Arthur, a mummy, multiple Othersides, a fanatical research student, a former angel and, everyone's favorite cat, Austin. Plus Hell still likes to argue with itself which I find hilarious. I greatly enjoyed how the story went back and forth between events at the mall and keeping us up to date on how Dean and Austin were doing. Sam learning how to cat was too precious. This was a satisfying ending to the trilogy.
This was so much fun! The story features more Canadian jokes, mall elves, King Arthur, a mummy, multiple Othersides, a fanatical research student, a former angel and, everyone's favorite cat, Austin. Plus Hell still likes to argue with itself which I find hilarious. I greatly enjoyed how the story went back and forth between events at the mall and keeping us up to date on how Dean and Austin were doing. Sam learning how to cat was too precious. This was a satisfying ending to the trilogy.
I'd been looking forward to this book--Diana grew on me during the second book. She's a pesky little sister, I have a pesky little sister, it was nice. I identify with Claire but I enjoy Diana enough that I thought the third book would be fun, and different enough from Claire's adventures that I wouldn't miss Claire and Dean. (Oh, Dean, hearts.) I thought it was nowhere near as enjoyable as the first two books in the series. It felt like Huff was trying to squish too much into this one book and in doing so the focus of the book got lost.
This book felt rushed. It felt as if it should have been two books but they were combined so as to not abruptly lose Claire and have another main character step in and take over the series. I don't think show more that was necessary, because the second book managed to have both Claire and Diana working together, so it would have served as a transition. Also, the banter between Claire and Diana seemed to go too fast, and without Austin around to explain it to Dean a lot of it got lost on me, too. Like the minivan thing. Minivans are from HELL, okay, I get that, it works out in the end, but so little is done with that aside from mentioning it that it seems pointless. And considering Huff uses the Chekov joke all the time in her books I know she knows that, too, so I was expecting a way bigger payoff from that minivan she hung on the wall. I wish more had been done with the janitor because he was one creepy-ass geezer and I think there was the makings of a story in him alone.
Here's the thing: I adore Tanya Huff's writing and her worlds. I find her repetitious use of "she is the cat's mother" to be way less annoying than, say, "he is the compass by which I steer my heart" and I've got no problem with the Chekov joke because I've made it too. That's why I like her characters so much, I think, because I'm like them, I hang out with them, I watched Buffy, too. So whoever made her do this needs to be stopped, because this book did not need all those plots. Sure, I would have missed Dean and Claire, but I would have been okay if that meant I got a good story about Diana. show less
This book felt rushed. It felt as if it should have been two books but they were combined so as to not abruptly lose Claire and have another main character step in and take over the series. I don't think show more that was necessary, because the second book managed to have both Claire and Diana working together, so it would have served as a transition. Also, the banter between Claire and Diana seemed to go too fast, and without Austin around to explain it to Dean a lot of it got lost on me, too. Like the minivan thing. Minivans are from HELL, okay, I get that, it works out in the end, but so little is done with that aside from mentioning it that it seems pointless. And considering Huff uses the Chekov joke all the time in her books I know she knows that, too, so I was expecting a way bigger payoff from that minivan she hung on the wall. I wish more had been done with the janitor because he was one creepy-ass geezer and I think there was the makings of a story in him alone.
Here's the thing: I adore Tanya Huff's writing and her worlds. I find her repetitious use of "she is the cat's mother" to be way less annoying than, say, "he is the compass by which I steer my heart" and I've got no problem with the Chekov joke because I've made it too. That's why I like her characters so much, I think, because I'm like them, I hang out with them, I watched Buffy, too. So whoever made her do this needs to be stopped, because this book did not need all those plots. Sure, I would have missed Dean and Claire, but I would have been okay if that meant I got a good story about Diana. show less
It still reminds me of Good Omens - especially the Rules - but a rather different setting. Same old villain, eventually - though I guess it always is, one way or another. The mall, the mall-elves, Arthur (and I'm as relieved as he is that he seems to have shed Lancelot and Guenevere) make for some interesting sequences. The whole teenage thing makes another appearance, rather nicely done - expectations carry a lot of power on the Otherside, and it's fun watching them use and evade that. Purple hippopotami. And the dual, unrelated threat is rather neat. So what is the thing with minivans? Hmmm...and if Diana had gone in, as part of solving the problem, would she have gotten out too? Willing sacrifice has interesting implications, with show more that. Or does it only work with Bystanders? Questions, none of which are likely to get answered - even if there's another book. Again, fun to read. show less
Tanya Huff The Keeper series
Summon the Keeper
The Second Summoning
Long Hot Summoning
An urban fantasy series of which there will sadly be no more. Huff's cats (who featured in the series) both died and she didn't have the heart to write any more.
Somewhat similar in premise to the Enchantment Emporium series, Claire Hansen is a powerful Keeper, a repairer of rifts to other worlds - which include Heaven and Hell. Keeper powers tend to run in families, and weak Keepers are known as Cousins. Claire and her sister Diana (who is even more powerful but is still at school) are the children of two Cousins.
In Summon the Keeper, Claire gets a summons to The Elysian Fields Guest House. Here she finds she has been gifted the property by the current show more owner, Augustus Smythe, a Cousin, who has disappeared leaving no forwarding address. There's a rift to Hell in the basement (which saves thousands on the heating bill every winter), a rogue Keeper in suspended animation in one of the bedrooms, a hellhound next door, a ghost in the attic, a mystic elevator which does not open onto the next floor, and one of the most grounded young men Claire has ever met. He is a wonderful cook and housekeeper. Claire has to figure out just why she's been stiffed with the hotel, close the rift before Hell crawls out, deal with the rogue Keeper, and try not to crawl into bed with either the ghost or Dean. Oh, and deal with the snarky commentary from Austin, her cat.
Yes, he talks. Mostly to her.
The Second Summoning has Claire and Dean on the road. Claire is having second thoughts about involving Dean in her life; he's a completely non-magical Bystander. Called to a rift in a country park, she manages to shake Dean off and sends him back to Canada. However, there's been a problem - in the bleed off by Claire and Dean getting back together - and getting it on, another rift has opened enough to let a piece of Hell out, and in balance, a piece of Heaven has come out as well. Claire, Diana and Dean have to deal with the two opposing powers, without letting them meet...
Long Hot Summoning has Claire and Dean back at The Elysian Fields. The normally peripatetic Keeper lifestyle is now longer necessary with modern transportation methods, so they can settle down with each other. Diana has finally finished school and has her first Summoning - to a shopping mall. Teens have been vanishing, and they've turned into mall elves - and they are ruled by an avatar of King Arthur. There's a rift open to the possibilities - and Hell is keen to make a come-back. Diana has to close the rift without ripping it wide open.
I re-read this every so often; I do love these. They're very tongue-in-cheek, and hang together very well. Not as demanding as the Enchantment Emporium series, they are a fun read and lighten the mood very well.
Recommended. show less
Summon the Keeper
The Second Summoning
Long Hot Summoning
An urban fantasy series of which there will sadly be no more. Huff's cats (who featured in the series) both died and she didn't have the heart to write any more.
Somewhat similar in premise to the Enchantment Emporium series, Claire Hansen is a powerful Keeper, a repairer of rifts to other worlds - which include Heaven and Hell. Keeper powers tend to run in families, and weak Keepers are known as Cousins. Claire and her sister Diana (who is even more powerful but is still at school) are the children of two Cousins.
In Summon the Keeper, Claire gets a summons to The Elysian Fields Guest House. Here she finds she has been gifted the property by the current show more owner, Augustus Smythe, a Cousin, who has disappeared leaving no forwarding address. There's a rift to Hell in the basement (which saves thousands on the heating bill every winter), a rogue Keeper in suspended animation in one of the bedrooms, a hellhound next door, a ghost in the attic, a mystic elevator which does not open onto the next floor, and one of the most grounded young men Claire has ever met. He is a wonderful cook and housekeeper. Claire has to figure out just why she's been stiffed with the hotel, close the rift before Hell crawls out, deal with the rogue Keeper, and try not to crawl into bed with either the ghost or Dean. Oh, and deal with the snarky commentary from Austin, her cat.
Yes, he talks. Mostly to her.
The Second Summoning has Claire and Dean on the road. Claire is having second thoughts about involving Dean in her life; he's a completely non-magical Bystander. Called to a rift in a country park, she manages to shake Dean off and sends him back to Canada. However, there's been a problem - in the bleed off by Claire and Dean getting back together - and getting it on, another rift has opened enough to let a piece of Hell out, and in balance, a piece of Heaven has come out as well. Claire, Diana and Dean have to deal with the two opposing powers, without letting them meet...
Long Hot Summoning has Claire and Dean back at The Elysian Fields. The normally peripatetic Keeper lifestyle is now longer necessary with modern transportation methods, so they can settle down with each other. Diana has finally finished school and has her first Summoning - to a shopping mall. Teens have been vanishing, and they've turned into mall elves - and they are ruled by an avatar of King Arthur. There's a rift open to the possibilities - and Hell is keen to make a come-back. Diana has to close the rift without ripping it wide open.
I re-read this every so often; I do love these. They're very tongue-in-cheek, and hang together very well. Not as demanding as the Enchantment Emporium series, they are a fun read and lighten the mood very well.
Recommended. show less
Embarrassingly, I've read it before, but didn't realize until we hit the mall. Still, a good book, Huff is great with characters, and brings them to life well, whether a teenage girl, a cat or a mummy. I like the consistency and moral code of her characters; Huff doesn't make them act inconsistently to move the plot along. I enjoyed the part about Dean and Austin's hotel adventures a great deal, and would have enjoyed learning more about the situation. Unfortunately, I'm pretty certain I never read the first two books, and I'm not sure it's meant to be completely stand-alone. I made a number of assumptions about the "Keepers," but the magic system isn't well explained, dealing partly in "probabilities." Eventually, Claire meets up with show more another teenage girl in the Otherlands, so some things are explained through Claire explaining to her. The story never conveys a real sense of menace, probably partly because that probability hasn't fully actualized yet. Confused? Me too. Still, it's an enjoyable light read. show less
I love how Tanya Huff writes the perfect mix of sci-fi/fantasy that has both humor and a serious twist. No matter what series of hers I read I find myself thoroughly enjoying it. The main character in this is a kick butt heroine but not in the traditional sense and I love all of the secondary characters so very much, especially her cat.
This is one of the few (although by no means only) books on my shelves with the "mall elves" tag that actually has mall elves in it. I have no idea where that trope came from, but growing up a quarter mile from a huge indoor mall, I always find it strangely comforting.
A little less light-hearted than its predecessor, I believe the gravity counterbalances the puns nicely. And the increasingly smokin' hot romance between two characters (girls! Actual lesbian relationships! OMG!) made me happy, particularly because (spoiler!) neither of them end up dead or with a man at the end. I'll have to add it to my depressingly short list.
A little less light-hearted than its predecessor, I believe the gravity counterbalances the puns nicely. And the increasingly smokin' hot romance between two characters (girls! Actual lesbian relationships! OMG!) made me happy, particularly because (spoiler!) neither of them end up dead or with a man at the end. I'll have to add it to my depressingly short list.
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96+ Works 32,129 Members
Tanya Huff was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. After graduating high school, she served in the Canadian Naval Reserve as a cook from 1975 to 1979. She received a B.A.A. in radio and television arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. After graduating college, she worked at Bakka, Canada's oldest SF and fantasy book store, from 1985 to show more 1992. She is the author of more than 20 books including Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Pact, and Blood Debt. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Long Hot Summoning
- Original publication date
- 2003-05
- People/Characters
- Claire Hansen; Diana Hansen; Dean McIssac; Austin (cat)
- Important places
- Erlking's Emporium; Otherside Mall; Otherside; Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Dedication
- Back in the summer of 2001, I attended a convention in Toronto called TT15. Or possibly TT2001... it used to be called Toronto Trek and that's how I remember it. Anyway, after my reading, during the question and answer sessio... (show all)n, I talked about this book which I'd just started writing. I gave a brief synopsis of what it was about and mentioned that it didn't, as yet, have a title. A woman in the back of the room called out, "What about LONG HOT SUMMONING?" The perfect title. I don't know who you are, but if you're reading this, this one's for you!
- First words
- Throwing her backpack over one shoulder, Diana raced out the front door and rocked to a halt at the sight of the orange tabby crossing the front lawn.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And for the first time in days, a cool breeze blew in off the lake.
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