![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Huffing and Puffing...
Jan. 2nd, 2006 05:24 pm14. Smoke and Shadows
This book is plugged on the back cover (by Library Journal) as part of the Henry Fitzroy series. Strangely enough, until this, the series was the Victoria Nelson series. Henry is even less of a main character in this book than he was in the previous books, but I guess "now spinning off Tony Foster!" just didn't have the same cachet? Henry is only a moderate part of the action, being more of a plot device than a participant. He's very much unchanged, however.
Tony, on the other hand, has changed dramatically, due directly to the events in the previous books. While it is much for the better, I had a harder time than usual identifying with him. Generally Huff's characters drag me right in, but this time I felt like I was watching the action more than living vicariously in it. For reasons I can't quite pin down, I felt a step further removed from the action than I prefer to be.
I think a large part of it was the introduction of a wizard into the series. I don't feel that they fit into the milieu appropriately. Don't ask me why a mummy-priest feels fine and a wizard doesn't. Maybe it would have been better for me if the only wizard was the bad guy, rather than one coming in on the 'goodguy' side of things?
It was, however, strong enough that I'm still looking forward to getting the sequel (Smoke and Mirrors) when it reaches paperback.
I will note that I own and highly recommend ALL of the Victoria Nelson books, which begin with Blood Price.
This book is plugged on the back cover (by Library Journal) as part of the Henry Fitzroy series. Strangely enough, until this, the series was the Victoria Nelson series. Henry is even less of a main character in this book than he was in the previous books, but I guess "now spinning off Tony Foster!" just didn't have the same cachet? Henry is only a moderate part of the action, being more of a plot device than a participant. He's very much unchanged, however.
Tony, on the other hand, has changed dramatically, due directly to the events in the previous books. While it is much for the better, I had a harder time than usual identifying with him. Generally Huff's characters drag me right in, but this time I felt like I was watching the action more than living vicariously in it. For reasons I can't quite pin down, I felt a step further removed from the action than I prefer to be.
I think a large part of it was the introduction of a wizard into the series. I don't feel that they fit into the milieu appropriately. Don't ask me why a mummy-priest feels fine and a wizard doesn't. Maybe it would have been better for me if the only wizard was the bad guy, rather than one coming in on the 'goodguy' side of things?
It was, however, strong enough that I'm still looking forward to getting the sequel (Smoke and Mirrors
) when it reaches paperback.I will note that I own and highly recommend ALL of the Victoria Nelson books, which begin with Blood Price
.
