Book Review – Blood Bank

Author: Tanya Huff
Publisher: DAW
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: May 2008

Having never read anything by Tanya Huff before (and no, I do not live in a closet thank you very much) I was very interested to try this group of short stories by her. Blood Bank is a book of short stories that are based on the characters from her popular vampire novels. For a reader who had not been previously introduced to these characters, I must admit that they were well-written enough for me not to feel as if I were a latecomer to the party. I didn’t feel left out by inside jokes or left behind by story lines that followed previous plots. Each tale was self-contained, all that was necessary for comprehension was included – there was no need to have met the characters before or for knowing their background. That those stories were also enjoyable is the next thing you need to know. After that, the fact that this book is being published as a tie-in to a television series based on these characters would be your next tidbit of information. If all of that weren’t enough, the author has included, in this volume, the entire script for one of the series’ episodes.

Vicki Nelson is a cop turned private detective because of a degenerative eye condition that will eventually lead her to blindness. Through her investigations, she elicits the help of her former partner who is still a cop, as well as that of a centuries old vampire named Henry Fitzroy. The book gives us several stories from varying perspectives that bring the characters to life and entice the reader into wanting more. Vicki is bold, impetuous and almost childlike in her discovery of life outside the police force. Henry is introspective, lonely, brave and quiet.

After reading these little snippets on the lives of Vicki Nelson, detective and Henry Fitzroy, vampire, I was intrigued enough by them to seek out information on the television series. According to the cover, it is now a series on Lifetime Television. I found the series, called Blood Ties by searching their webpage. They even have all past episodes from the first two seasons available for viewing online. I was a bit shocked that not only had the series been airing for two seasons already and I had not even heard of it before this book, but also because this book is only coming out now, after the airing of the first two seasons. Had it come out before the series was to air, it could have garnered some interest in the series – bringing in former fans and enticing new fans as well. Unfortunately, it comes out now too late to help the series as I have just discovered that the series has been cancelled and they will not be filming a third season. I’m not sure what the true reasons for the cancellation were, but I did actually watch the available episodes to see how the characters had been treated. The actors were definitely attractive, most at least competent in their skills, but the show seemed a bit repetitive with plots and not as creative as they could have been. The photographer, continuity and costumes were all very well done – but could not make up for the lackluster script. Fortunately for us booklovers, Tanya Huff’s original series that these shorts and the TV series are based upon are available at your local bookstore. And they are currently available with shiny new covers using photos taken from the TV show. Now that I have been intrigued by these characters, I will be searching out the book length stories myself.

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