Tanya Huff Cheer Up

I just finished reading Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows and I was reminded of why I keep her books around.  Her sense of humour is incredible.  I usually read her Keeper trilogy when I’m feeling blue.  The Keepers are magicians who can end up inadvertently affecting the world around them if they’re not careful.  One of the most entertaining examples is when the younger sibling begins to think jealously about the older one: “Always did think the sun shone out of her ass.”  Switch scene to older sibling and her boyfriend who is thinking about how beautiful she is and how the light brings out the highlights in her hair and then “Wait a minute, where is that light coming from?”

Wordplay amuses me.

And so does her portrayal of cats as completely sarcastic and self-absorbed.  I’ve lived with cats for over a decade now and I can guarantee there are times you wonder if that is what they’re thinking.  Especially around suppertime.  The little cat-related asides throughout the plot provide a lot of well-timed comedy.

Smoke and Shadows is one of the Henry Fitzroy books, after he moves to Vancouver.  I liked the TV adaptation of Blood Ties but I didn’t enjoy the books as much.  It wasn’t quite the same sense of humour.  This one is closer but still more serious than the Keeper books, which I’m guessing were intended as comedy right off the bat.

I end up watching and reading a lot of dark material because most of the time, that’s what I enjoy.  But sometimes I need to come up for something lighter.    You can’t spend all your time with brooding Princes of Darkness.  The charm wears off after awhile.  Something rom-com-ish with Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts.  Or Tanya Huff.