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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Lights, camera and action take a backseat to slippery shadows, snappy dialogue and an overwrought hybrid fantasy/SF plot in Canadian author Huff's alternately clever and annoying blend of farce, mystery and magic, the first in a trilogy. In this spinoff from the author's five-volume series (Blood Price, etc.) featuring vampire Henry Fitzroy, Fitzroy's streetwise ex-lover, Tony Foster, has moved with Fitzroy to Vancouver to study film. Now the set production assistant on CB Production's Darkest Night (think Angel), Foster pines for one of the hunky (alas, heterosexual) co-stars and dreams of being a director. When an actress is murdered under very "shadowy" circumstances, it turns out to have been done by a minion of a Shadowlord who slipped through a "gate" near the show's soundstage originally opened by Arra Pelindrake, a special effects wizard who also happens to be, well, a different sort of wizard on another world. Foster, Pelindrake and Fitzroy join forces to kill other minions sent to take over Earth and destroy Pelindrake, the Shadowlord's archenemy. The proceedings are enlivened with campy comments ("a world where Joss Whedon got canceled was exactly the kind of world where the Shadowlord could win"), but it's not enough to save an overextended plot light on substance and heavy with fang-in-cheek fun.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Four-hundred-fifty-year-old vampire Henry Fitzroy is trying to maintain a friendship with Tony Foster, a young man he rescued from the streets and used to drink blood from. Tony is now a production assistant for the syndicated show Darkest Night, where he has just discovered the dead body of the guest star. Tony fears it has something to do with the strange shadows he has seen around the studio, and his suspicions are confirmed when one shadow takes over the body of one of the show's stars. Tony turns to special-effects wizard Arra Pelindrake, who turns out to be a real wizard. She knows what the shadows are but is reluctant to help him, so Tony calls on Henry. Together, they persuade Arra to cooperate but can't get her to face down the shadows, with whom Tony and Henry are already being drawn into battle, for the shadows are intent on gaining a foothold in this world. An exciting, creepy adventure from a popular author. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This series just gets better with every book,
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This review is from: Smoke And Shadows (Mass Market Paperback)
I wasn't certain I would enjoy Tony Foster as a primary character. But Tanya Huff gets her teeth into him and this "Smoke" series is at least as good as its predecessor, the "Blood" series. Tony grows into his role and Henry Fitzroy is as compelling in these books as the previous "Blood" trilogy. In fact he becomes both scarier and more human. And Tanya Huff, who must have inside knowledge of the Vancouver TV industry, has great fun creating a new set of characters and situations which are very, very funny even when demons and monsters and things that do bump and gulp in the night are bedeviling Tony, who just wants to direct.In this second book in the Smoke series Tony tries out his wizard skills. As he becomes more familiar with his magic he also is revealed as a thoroughly decent, frustrated and lovable character with more courage than he expected from himself. His mixed relationship with Henry is further revealed. The producer, CB, continues to become more unpredictable and fascinating. Best to read these books in order since they do build on each other.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable light read,
By booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Smoke And Shadows (Hardcover)
Production Assistant Tony Foster has noticed the shadows--the ones that don't seem to quite reflect the movement of the solid objects around them. Because he's ex-lover and still friend of a vampire, Tony doesn't automatically dismiss the idea that there's somethings seriously wrong going on. Still, an invasion by a 'shadowlord' who has already destroyed one world and is intent on our own, seems a bit over the top. The sole survivor of that conquered world, a wizard in the guise of a middle-aged special effects guru, refuses to involve herself in the losing battle to defend earth against the shadowlord's new invasion. Which leaves Tony and his vampire-friend Henry to face the shadows themselves. Both Tony and, while it's dark out, at least, Henry can be persuasive and they manage to get some help from the reluctant solitaire-playing wizard, but the shadowlord is gathering power with each opening of the gate between their worlds, learning more about the people who live here and our ability to defend against his power--and about the ability of our technology to shed shadows in places even the shadowlord had never considered. Tony's attempt to prevent any shadows from returning to the shadowlord seems like a long-shot, but even the wizard doesn't guess the shadowlord's response. Setting an occult mystery on the set of a vampire-detective television show is a cute concept and Tony's clever use of light, pattern and darkness in his battle against the shadows adds a nice touch to this contemporary fantasy. Author Tanya Huff's craftman-like writing kept the story moving forward as Tony, with occasional assistance from the wizard and the vampire, tried to stay ahead of the shadows. Still, I found myself waiting for the twist--the ah-ha moment when Huff turned around the story and surprised me with something new. Instead, she seemed to settle for cute. SMOKE AND SHADOWS is an enjoyable light story. If you're a fan of vampires, gay fiction, and humor, the book makes a pleasant read.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tanya Huff, a Vampire, Otherworld Demons, & a Wizard,
By Booked4Life "booked4life" (middle america) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Smoke And Shadows (Hardcover)
I was hyped to see that a new Tanya Huff vampire mystery was out, and disappointed to find no Victoria Nelson. The protagonist this time around is Henry Fitzroy's young "ward" Tony. Tony has become a production assistant on a cheaply-made television series about a vampire. He soon notices that the special effects lady is more special than usual, and that strange and sinister deaths are taking place on the set of the show. With a little help from Fitzroy and the special effects "Wizard", Tony sets out to save the world. This book is enjoyable and well-plotted, but lacks the zing of the "Blood" series.
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