65. Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff (Urban Fantasy) 375 p.
Tony Foster, a street kid rescued by the vampire Henry in Huff’s Vicki Nelson books, stars in this follow-up to the series. Having moved to Vancouver to pursue a career in the city’s film industry, he works as a production assistant for the TV series Darkest Night, about a vampire detective. When the studio’s shadows begin to take on a life of their own and the actress playing the victim-of-the-week is murdered, it’s up to Tony to figure out what’s going on.
I had a good time reading this book, although at the beginning I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did. It started slowly, with too much exposition and some awkward narrative, but once Huff’s writing got up to speed, it became a fast-paced and enjoyable adventure.
One of the things I liked most about Huff’s Keeper’s Chronicles was their Canadian setting, and I felt the same about Smoke and Shadows. I rarely read contemporary fiction set in Canada, and even though I’m not familiar with Vancouver, it was great to read a set in my own culture. I’m eager to read the Vicki Nelson series, set in Toronto.
Smoke and Shadows was also quite funny, and Huff did a brilliant job of melding traditional high fantasy tropes with the contemporary setting, something that takes real skill to do well. She avoids making her supernatural characters, particularly Henry the vampire, too clichéd. She also, thank God, never describes anyone’s appearance unless it’s somehow significant. I’m looking forward to reading the sequels, Smoke and Mirrors and Smoke and Ashes.
Books read: 65/100 (65%)
Pages read: 19,297/25,000 (77%)
CJHill wrote, on July 17th, 2007 at 7:44 am: