Smoke and Shadows

Tanya Huff

Completed 2/11/2017 Reviewed 2/21/2017

4 stars

“Smoke and Shadows” begins a series by Tanya Huff that follows a supporting character from the Blood novels.  Tony, an ex-junkie and hustler, has gotten clean and sober with the help of vampire Henry and is now working as a production assistant on a Canadian TV series about a vampire detective.  Despite all the inaccuracies, considering he was in a relationship with a vampire, he likes his job.  But strange things begin to happen around the studio.  First he notices that the shadows seem to have a mind of their own.  Then there is a death on set.  And suddenly, Tony is in the middle of his own paranormal investigation.  With Henry and a wizard from another dimension at his side, Tony tries to subvert a takeover from the Shadowlord. 

This is another fluff novel from Tanya Huff.  But I have to say it was very entertaining.  First off, I really liked the meta-scenario of a guy who knows about vampires working on a TV series about a vampire.  The show, “Dark Night”, reminded me of the Canadian syndicated series “Forever Knight” from the 90s.  It wasn’t a great show, but it was fun fluff.  Like this novel. 

One of the best things about the book is that it is self-contained even though it’s part of a series.  It seems like I’ve been reading a lot of books lately that are part of a series and are not self-contained.  I don’t mind it as much anymore, and don’t begrudge authors writing trilogies.  After all, my favorite book is LOTR, a trilogy.  But for the most part, these days, I want to read a book that ends.  This one did.  I was so happy at the end of it.  I think that’s part of why I gave it a high rating.

As far as characterization goes, Tony is great.  He’s gay and has a crush on a one of the stars of the series who is apparently straight, but gives off mixed signals.  He also goes on a comical date with the show’s music director, who has a crush on him.  All this, though, creates some conflict because Henry is still in the picture.  Tony is no longer in a relationship with the vampire, but he still helps Tony out throughout the story.  There’s a few interesting instances where we understand why Tony wanted out of the relationship when we learn of Henry’s possessiveness.  It’s not just normal possessiveness, but the kind that a vampire has for his prey, and it’s intense.

I found Arra, the wizard from the dimension of the Shadowlord to be a bit annoying at times.  She has a great setup.  She’s the special effects director for the show.  Of course she uses her powers to create great effects on the show’s low budget.  Unfortunately, she does not want to help our hero subdue the Shadowlord.  It’s understandable that she’s reluctant considering she barely escaped destruction in her own dimension.  However, I would have liked to have seen her have more backbone throughout the story rather than just near the end.

I gave this book four stars because I had a lot of fun with it.  It’s not a great book, but I really enjoyed it.  At some point in the future, I would consider reading the other books in the series, just not now.  Tony’s a great character and I’d like to see him have success in life, amidst all the supernatural urban fantasy that he gets into.  

Ethan of Athos

Lois McMaster Bujold

Completed 1/29/2017 Reviewed 1/30/2017

4 stars

I’ve been hit or miss with Bujold, particularly the Vorkosigan Saga.  The book was a hit.  The plot is a little off the main line of the Saga, more like an offshoot.  It revolves around Ethan of the planet Athos, a world of men.  It turns the meme of a female utopia on its head.  Children are born from uterine replicators, which is not unheard of in this universe.  With a planet of only men, the replicators wear out and new organs are needed.  Ethan, a doctor who works with the replicators, is chosen to go in search of a new supplier after the previous package of ovarian cultures is sabotaged.  It forces him to go out into space and deal with the rest of society for the first time ever, including women.  It leads to some comical moments.  Of course, this being part of one of the more famous space opera series, Ethan ends up in the middle of espionage with the evil Cetagandans.

What’s surprising about this book is that it was written in 1986 but is a mainstream novel that deals with gay issues.  Many of the men on Athos are in M/M relationships, though not all, mostly those who raise children.  Being a planet of only men, all the children are sons.  Now it should be noted that the gay issues are quite tempered.  But there’s a bashing scene that was really traumatic to me.  And just the fact that it exists in this book from such a long time ago is quite stunning to me.

The culture clash between Ethan and the rest of the universe is embodied in Elli Quinn, a female mercenary who is after the same Cetagandans that are after Ethan.  She keeps on popping up on Ethan, causing a lot of cognitive dissonance.  The scenes are humorous even though the circumstances become direr.  It’s fun to watch him slowly back away whenever she approaches him.  You see, the planet of Athos is actually rather misogynistic.  It is incorporated into its religion and morality.  Women are seen as the embodiment of sin.  So whenever Ethan interacts with Elli, he’s concerned that her immorality will rub off on him.  At first the misogyny is disconcerting, but Ethan comes to understand and appreciate Elli, and of course the lessons are learned.  The best part is watching all that develop and unfold for Ethan.

I give this book four stars out of five.  It’s a surprisingly fun, fast-paced space opera romp.  It’s a quick read yet has enough depth to contain messages about tolerance and acceptance.  The book is self-contained in this epic multi-book saga so it can be read without having read any of the other books, which I always find a plus.  

The Devil You Know

KJ Parker

Completed 1/26/2017 Reviewed 1/30/2017

5 stars

It’s been a long time since I awarded a book five stars.  This one did it for me.  It’s about Saloninus from “Blue and Gold”, the philosopher/alchemist who lies a lot, and I mean, a lot.  He’s now in his 70s.  He decides to sell his soul to the devil, in grand Faustian tradition, for another 20 years to finish his life’s work.  But the question is can the king of lies outwit the father of lies?

It just so happens that the demon sent to Saloninus with the contract and to watch over him for those 20 years is a fan of his philosophy.  Saloninus’ arguments prove the lack of existence of God and prove that morality is relative.  But does he really believe his own writings.  The demon comes to realize this as he comes to realize that his brilliant ward probably has a loophole to get out of the contract at the end of the 20 years.   

The book is short; it is just a novella.  The narration switches a lot between the demon and Solaninus, which at first is a little disorienting.  It quickly got the two voices down and had no problem with the switches between scenes versus the switching between narrators, making it and easy read.   As I noted at the top, I gave this book five stars because I was completely caught up in the question of what Solaninus had up his sleeve, and the demon’s attempts to figure it out.