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Smoke Trilogy #3
Smoke and Ashes
Tanya Huff’s supernatural fantasy Smoke series, with a gothic twist • Mix of ghostly mystery, paranormal horror, and dark humor • Lamba Award nominated
Fans of the X-Files and Twin Peaks will love acclaimed master of contemporary fantasy Tanya Huff’s twisted version of vampires, wizards, and TV terror.
Tony Foster, fledgling wizard and now trainee assistant director on Darkest Night —the syndicated vampire detective show—is hoping that they only supernatural events he’ll be caught up in are those in the script.
But that isn’t meant to be, for a demonic convergence is about to begin, creating weak spots through which lesser demons may enter the world. To complicate matters, Leah, the incredibly seductive stuntwoman who freelances for the show, is an immortal Demongate. Should Leah die, the Demongate will open and her sensual demon master will wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting human race.
Can Tony—with the help of Leah, Henry, a tabloid reporter, a Mountie, and the cast of Darkest Night —halt a demonic invasion and stave off the end of the world?
Fans of the X-Files and Twin Peaks will love acclaimed master of contemporary fantasy Tanya Huff’s twisted version of vampires, wizards, and TV terror.
Tony Foster, fledgling wizard and now trainee assistant director on Darkest Night —the syndicated vampire detective show—is hoping that they only supernatural events he’ll be caught up in are those in the script.
But that isn’t meant to be, for a demonic convergence is about to begin, creating weak spots through which lesser demons may enter the world. To complicate matters, Leah, the incredibly seductive stuntwoman who freelances for the show, is an immortal Demongate. Should Leah die, the Demongate will open and her sensual demon master will wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting human race.
Can Tony—with the help of Leah, Henry, a tabloid reporter, a Mountie, and the cast of Darkest Night —halt a demonic invasion and stave off the end of the world?
407 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 6, 2006
21 people are currently reading
1039 people want to read
About the author
Tanya Huff
151 books2,446 followersTanya Sue Huff is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
May 10, 2021
This is the concluding volume of the Smoke trilogy, a spin-off from Huff's wildly popular Vicki Nelson Blood series that features Tony Foster, a minor character from the original who really comes into his own in a new setting, and Vicki's former....whatever... Henry. The backdrop of the production of a vampire-themed television series where the fantasy is all quite real is very deftly handled with considerable suspense, humor, and tension. The characters are quite realistic and likable, and it's a real treat for fans of light urban fantasy.
July 24, 2009
Supernatural/Mystery. Aw, Tony makes a new friend. Who has a GATE TO HELL tattooed on her belly. Whoops. Demons invade. Rocks fall. Some people die. Tony gets kind of badass with his magic. It's a good read. Technical stuff first: Huff has absolutely nailed third person limited. This book is nearly flawless in its POV. The plot arc is clear. We know what needs to be done, and the characters move toward it with a steady ramping up of tension. And the bad guy doesn't get to narrate anything, which preserves the surprise of the final battle. YAY.
Now, other stuff: I loved Tony's makeshift magic -- it didn't always work, sometimes it worked in unexpected ways, but he kept trying and fiddling and figuring out what worked for him and if that meant grabbing his zipper to complete a spell, he went for it. There's some really hot Henry/Tony jealousy and possessiveness, from both sides. There's lots of nice hurt/comfort and people taking care of Tony and there continues to be satisfying sexual tension between Tony and Lee. Lots of awesome teamwork as people rallied to fight off the demons, too. My only problem is that I wasn't fond of Leah, the Demongate. I started out liking her, but her utter disregard for mortals turned me off. She got a little better as she spent more time around Tony, but the damage was done.
Four stars. This is a great ending to the series. I only wish we'd gotten a bigger emotional climax with Tony and Lee, or, at the very least, more makeouts! That was, literally, anticlimactic.
Now, other stuff: I loved Tony's makeshift magic -- it didn't always work, sometimes it worked in unexpected ways, but he kept trying and fiddling and figuring out what worked for him and if that meant grabbing his zipper to complete a spell, he went for it. There's some really hot Henry/Tony jealousy and possessiveness, from both sides. There's lots of nice hurt/comfort and people taking care of Tony and there continues to be satisfying sexual tension between Tony and Lee. Lots of awesome teamwork as people rallied to fight off the demons, too. My only problem is that I wasn't fond of Leah, the Demongate. I started out liking her, but her utter disregard for mortals turned me off. She got a little better as she spent more time around Tony, but the damage was done.
Four stars. This is a great ending to the series. I only wish we'd gotten a bigger emotional climax with Tony and Lee, or, at the very least, more makeouts! That was, literally, anticlimactic.
July 19, 2007
Tanya Huff's plots are light and crunchable, but this was one was a bit too like that. I do find it hard to wholly accept crazy action plots unless the writer is extremely convincing, and Huff's plotting can sometimes feel like you're in a plot speedboat (you know the ones) skimming along the surface of the story at ridiculous speed.
Okay, I never made a speedboat analogy for plots before but I quite like it.
It's fun and charming, like all her writing, but I do keep wanting more depth in the characters.
Tony's romance with Lee was resolved, but unsatisfyingly. The slashy romantic in me wanted more pages devoted to it at the end, rather than the little bit it was allowed. Still, she knows how to tease the reader and I assume she'll be writing another one. If she does I'll be buying it because - light and crunchy plot!
Oh, and I love the TV production company setting a lot. All those details about the cheesy vampire detective show never fail to make me giggle.
Okay, I never made a speedboat analogy for plots before but I quite like it.
It's fun and charming, like all her writing, but I do keep wanting more depth in the characters.
Tony's romance with Lee was resolved, but unsatisfyingly. The slashy romantic in me wanted more pages devoted to it at the end, rather than the little bit it was allowed. Still, she knows how to tease the reader and I assume she'll be writing another one. If she does I'll be buying it because - light and crunchy plot!
Oh, and I love the TV production company setting a lot. All those details about the cheesy vampire detective show never fail to make me giggle.
November 9, 2025
It's great how good narration makes a good book better. The right voice brings characters to life in the best way.
[ETA 04/13/21] Now I want a short story featuring Kevin Groves and his "curse". LOL (In a way, he works as a Carl Kolchak (aka The Night Stalker) analogue in this story.
[ETA 04/13/21] Now I want a short story featuring Kevin Groves and his "curse". LOL (In a way, he works as a Carl Kolchak (aka The Night Stalker) analogue in this story.
September 24, 2007
Well, I was looking for more of Henry and CB in this third installment of the Smoke series, since their interaction seemed to be building up slowly from the previous volumes. That meant that something really interesting would happen in this one, right? Wrong. CB barely shows up and Henry spends most of his time with a woman stuck between him and his ex lover.
There was a bunch of sex involving magic and demons-- I found these passages yawn worthy. The sexual hinting in her older work 'The Fire Stone' was far sexier to me than the more blatant stuff in this volume. By this point, Tony had worn out his welcome, and I began to think that he really wasn't a strong enough character to carry his own series. CB, who had shown up so little as a side character carried more weight in the few scenes he had than Tony did in three entire volumes. Henry in his almost cameo role carried far more weight.
I'm rather tempted to read his title series to see what happens with him… even if the book covers give me the creeps. Maybe I can cover them up. Heh.
I don't know. I suppose if I had waited longer between reading the books, rather than reading all three within the same month, I would have enjoyed them better individually. In the end, I found that this one really was no different from the previous two volumes-- just that it was without the parts of the stories that I enjoyed best.
There was a bunch of sex involving magic and demons-- I found these passages yawn worthy. The sexual hinting in her older work 'The Fire Stone' was far sexier to me than the more blatant stuff in this volume. By this point, Tony had worn out his welcome, and I began to think that he really wasn't a strong enough character to carry his own series. CB, who had shown up so little as a side character carried more weight in the few scenes he had than Tony did in three entire volumes. Henry in his almost cameo role carried far more weight.
I'm rather tempted to read his title series to see what happens with him… even if the book covers give me the creeps. Maybe I can cover them up. Heh.
I don't know. I suppose if I had waited longer between reading the books, rather than reading all three within the same month, I would have enjoyed them better individually. In the end, I found that this one really was no different from the previous two volumes-- just that it was without the parts of the stories that I enjoyed best.
January 7, 2008
This is the last part of Huff's Smoke trilogy and also the best one. Whereas the first book was "only" interesting and the second one immensely suspenseful, the third one is one amazing ride, from the very first page to the last one.
To sum it up...
-> Tony's inner monologue is simply hilarious! I laughed so hard that there were tears running down my face!
-> Huff creates the best female characters, strong but not ornery.
-> There were no "empty spaces" where the reader would get bored, there was always something going on.
-> I love the relationship between Tony and Henry. They are ex-lovers but you don't feel bad about them breaking up because they actually didn't. Break up, I mean. Henry is still a huge part of Tony!s life and Tony wouldn't want it any other way.
-> Victory had a small cameo and she still kicked butt!
-> The CB Production's crew is a bunch of hilarious, lovable nutjobs with their own little oddities.
-> And lets not forget the budding relationship between Tony and Lee that progressed at the right pace, considering the mayhem in these three books!
Overall, a must-read and one of the best books that I read in years!
To sum it up...
-> Tony's inner monologue is simply hilarious! I laughed so hard that there were tears running down my face!
-> Huff creates the best female characters, strong but not ornery.
-> There were no "empty spaces" where the reader would get bored, there was always something going on.
-> I love the relationship between Tony and Henry. They are ex-lovers but you don't feel bad about them breaking up because they actually didn't. Break up, I mean. Henry is still a huge part of Tony!s life and Tony wouldn't want it any other way.
-> Victory had a small cameo and she still kicked butt!
-> The CB Production's crew is a bunch of hilarious, lovable nutjobs with their own little oddities.
-> And lets not forget the budding relationship between Tony and Lee that progressed at the right pace, considering the mayhem in these three books!
Overall, a must-read and one of the best books that I read in years!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2020
2.5 rounded up to 3
Made it almost worth it to read the two previous book ? nope their blurb should be sufficient I guess. Here Tony show his mantel in a funny fight against demon with new succubus sidekick, old Henry still around and his bunch of co-workers ready to pinch in.
Made it almost worth it to read the two previous book ? nope their blurb should be sufficient I guess. Here Tony show his mantel in a funny fight against demon with new succubus sidekick, old Henry still around and his bunch of co-workers ready to pinch in.
April 8, 2018
This review is a bit harder to write for me than for the first two books, because while I still think it's great and completely deserving of five stars, I did have two tiny problems with it.
But let's see where we are first: Finally everyone on set knows that Tony is a wizard and it's pretty great. Tony himself got a promotion which takes him one tiny step closer to his dream of becoming a director. It's going pretty well, which obviously means something must happen. And this something is a sex demon. Trust Tanya Huff to come up with that and make it work in a non-erotica book.
To top that, this story also comes with an immortal stunt woman who has magical sex appeal that only 100% gay people (like Tony) can resist, leading to various scenes like this:
Characters: *disagree with Leah (said stunt woman)*
Leah: *turns on sex appeal*
Characters: *basically popping boners on the spot staring at her*
Tony: *rolls eyes*
It's pretty hilarious at first, but I thought it got old really fast. Which was my first problem. Leah is a great character in general, but I thought there was a bit too much of her. Unlike Arra in the first book, Leah drowned out a big chunk of the supporting cast I fell in love with while reading the first and second book. She was more important than Amy, Zev, Jack, CB and even Lee and Henry. That's just wrong.
But she's not the only new character doing that. Aka hello second problem! I mentioned in my review for the second book that I really loved the interactions between Henry and CB. Starting this book I hoped there would be more of it and was pretty disappointed to see CB being mostly replaced by some random reporter who just "knows" things. I have no idea why and thought that it didn't work at all. Leah is at least mostly enjoyable and charming - Kevin Groves is not. Luckily he has less page time than her.
I'll just cling to Henry and CB "dining together" sometimes.
Okay, that out of the way, there were still lots of things that I immensely enjoyed about this book.
For one there is the quite funny back and forth with Lee and Tony. Even after what happened in the haunted house, Tony is still trying to pretend that Lee is totally straight, basically going LALALALA every time someone points out that all evidence points to him actually being bisexual. Plus, he also desperately tries to keep Lee out of his new "saving the world" adventure since the Evil Overlords also, like everyone else, know the obvious: Kidnap Lee and Tony is pretty much helpless. Cause apparently the answer to the question: "Should I save Lee or the world?" is freezing up. Meanwhile Lee tries not to feel insulted by this.
So they have various scenes of dancing around each other while the reader tries not to scream "JUST KISS!" at them.
Spoilers for the end of the book and the short story "See Me" by Tanya Huff in the anthology "Those Who Hunt Monsters", taking place a few years after the events of "Smoke and Ashes":
Of course the humor that made the first two books so enjoyable is also present in this one (Hello, freaking sex demon?) and the writing overall is still great. I felt like I was part of the shenanigans and had lots of fun. All the characters (except aforementioned one) are charming and feel like real people that could exist.
In the end it, despite everything, it was a satisfying last book of a really entertaining trilogy that also has great re-read value.
Merged review:
My original review of the novel
The Tony Foster trilogy is one of my absolute favorites on my shelf, so I was super thrilled to find out that there are audiobooks. That usually doesn't happen to my older favorites barely anyone talks about anymore.
So of course I loved the story. Brian Sutherland is a competent narrator, too. Still, I substracted a star because while it definitely is enjoyable to listen to this, I thought that there was something... lacking. I've listened to audiobooks where the narrator elevates the story and makes the characters' voices their own. Maybe it's just me, but sometimes they just sounded so flat?
Still, I'll definitely listen to this again.
But let's see where we are first: Finally everyone on set knows that Tony is a wizard and it's pretty great. Tony himself got a promotion which takes him one tiny step closer to his dream of becoming a director. It's going pretty well, which obviously means something must happen. And this something is a sex demon. Trust Tanya Huff to come up with that and make it work in a non-erotica book.
To top that, this story also comes with an immortal stunt woman who has magical sex appeal that only 100% gay people (like Tony) can resist, leading to various scenes like this:
Characters: *disagree with Leah (said stunt woman)*
Leah: *turns on sex appeal*
Characters: *basically popping boners on the spot staring at her*
Tony: *rolls eyes*
It's pretty hilarious at first, but I thought it got old really fast. Which was my first problem. Leah is a great character in general, but I thought there was a bit too much of her. Unlike Arra in the first book, Leah drowned out a big chunk of the supporting cast I fell in love with while reading the first and second book. She was more important than Amy, Zev, Jack, CB and even Lee and Henry. That's just wrong.
But she's not the only new character doing that. Aka hello second problem! I mentioned in my review for the second book that I really loved the interactions between Henry and CB. Starting this book I hoped there would be more of it and was pretty disappointed to see CB being mostly replaced by some random reporter who just "knows" things. I have no idea why and thought that it didn't work at all. Leah is at least mostly enjoyable and charming - Kevin Groves is not. Luckily he has less page time than her.
I'll just cling to Henry and CB "dining together" sometimes.
Okay, that out of the way, there were still lots of things that I immensely enjoyed about this book.
For one there is the quite funny back and forth with Lee and Tony. Even after what happened in the haunted house, Tony is still trying to pretend that Lee is totally straight, basically going LALALALA every time someone points out that all evidence points to him actually being bisexual. Plus, he also desperately tries to keep Lee out of his new "saving the world" adventure since the Evil Overlords also, like everyone else, know the obvious: Kidnap Lee and Tony is pretty much helpless. Cause apparently the answer to the question: "Should I save Lee or the world?" is freezing up. Meanwhile Lee tries not to feel insulted by this.
So they have various scenes of dancing around each other while the reader tries not to scream "JUST KISS!" at them.
Spoilers for the end of the book and the short story "See Me" by Tanya Huff in the anthology "Those Who Hunt Monsters", taking place a few years after the events of "Smoke and Ashes":
Of course the humor that made the first two books so enjoyable is also present in this one (Hello, freaking sex demon?) and the writing overall is still great. I felt like I was part of the shenanigans and had lots of fun. All the characters (except aforementioned one) are charming and feel like real people that could exist.
In the end it, despite everything, it was a satisfying last book of a really entertaining trilogy that also has great re-read value.
Merged review:
My original review of the novel
The Tony Foster trilogy is one of my absolute favorites on my shelf, so I was super thrilled to find out that there are audiobooks. That usually doesn't happen to my older favorites barely anyone talks about anymore.
So of course I loved the story. Brian Sutherland is a competent narrator, too. Still, I substracted a star because while it definitely is enjoyable to listen to this, I thought that there was something... lacking. I've listened to audiobooks where the narrator elevates the story and makes the characters' voices their own. Maybe it's just me, but sometimes they just sounded so flat?
Still, I'll definitely listen to this again.
August 1, 2009
Oh, yes! Such a ridiculous amount of fun, with more of everything and everyone I wanted from the first two books -- though I do have to wonder if the in-jokes were distracting to any non-in readers, if that makes sense? No matter; I got the jokes and I loved Tony and Lee, not to mention HENRY, and if, sadly, this really is the last one in the series, at least the ending was completely satisfying. Yes, yes, yes.
June 12, 2023
I love this and I love, love, love, love Tony and am so, so, so, so sad that there are not more books with Tony.
I like the story. I love that the crew of "The Darkest Night" starts to feel like family. That they care about Tony and help him defeat the demons. I love that Henry realizes that Tony is a power of his own.
I love it.
I like the story. I love that the crew of "The Darkest Night" starts to feel like family. That they care about Tony and help him defeat the demons. I love that Henry realizes that Tony is a power of his own.
I love it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2022
god i love that little wizard freak
June 4, 2007
The third in Tanya Huff's Smoke series, which is in turn a spin-off of her Blood series. You don't really need to have read that, though; I've only read the first of the Blood books, and I'm following these just fine. More than fine—I adore these books. The first ( Smoke and Shadows) was a little slow getting going, but they just keep getting better. And if you like humorous, meta, slashy sci-fi/fantasy adventures, then these books are tailor-made for you, man. The main character, Tony, is a PA on a Vancouver-produced vampire detective TV show, but what he knows and the rest of the people in the production don't is that all that supernatural stuff is real, and he has the somewhat awkward relationship with his vamp ex-lover to prove it. What I'm really loving about this series is that as supernatural things keep happening to Tony, his friends and co-workers don't stay oblivious, but become more and more involved; there's a great sense of community and family with this wacky little production company, and it's just terrific. Plus, the characters are hilarious, there's tons of meta-humor, and the slow build in the relationship between Tony and Lee, one of the stars of the show, is fantastic. Okay, and if that doesn't sell you: this third volume includes a threesome in the solution to save the world. World-saving threesomes: how can you not be all over that? *g*
June 16, 2008
This book was amazing and a good close to the lovely spin-off Smoke trilogy. I adore Tony almost as much as I love Henry and Vicki in the Blood Books. *(definately Tony is above Mike in my favorites list for this series)*. Anyway If you like the blood books I highly recommend reading this. Even the lovely Vicki makes an indirect small appearance in the book.
November 3, 2021
1st read - 4
2nd read - 4.5
I enjoyed it even more than the 1st time but book 2 will always be my favourite
2nd read - 4.5
I enjoyed it even more than the 1st time but book 2 will always be my favourite
March 5, 2018
I really enjoyed this series...more than I enjoyed the prequel series with Vicki and Henry. I don;t know whether it was the author's change in writing style for Tony's POV, or just the fact that Tony was a much more enjoyable character than Vicki. His internal monologues and snarky attitude balance out his vulnerability from his harsh past and his desire to fit in and have a normal life doing what he loves. This is a kid who never thought he would go anywhere beyond a life on the streets, but then he had a chance to go to school and develop a love of cinema and movies and film...yet his life on the streets and how he escaped it doesn't really want to let him go.
Ms. Huff writes this very well, in Tony's struggle to distance himself from Henry, despite the fact that he knows the vampire will always be a huge part of his life. She also peppers the books with little reminders of Tony's not-so-savory past; lines that jolt the reader with how much Tony suffered to survive and remind us that there is a darkness beneath that joking exterior.
Ms. Huff writes this very well, in Tony's struggle to distance himself from Henry, despite the fact that he knows the vampire will always be a huge part of his life. She also peppers the books with little reminders of Tony's not-so-savory past; lines that jolt the reader with how much Tony suffered to survive and remind us that there is a darkness beneath that joking exterior.
April 8, 2018
Die Übersetzung einer meiner absoluten Lieblings-Trilogien.
Mein Original Review auf Englisch findet ihr hier.
Ich würde sagen dies ist eine recht gute Übersetzung, die man problemlos und flüssig lesen kann, auch wenn manche Witze holpriger rüberkommen und einige Szenen flacher fallen, als im Original (weswegen ich hier auch einen Stern weniger gegeben habe).
Tanya Huff hat es in den beiden vorigen Bänden geschafft eine Welt voller Charaktere zu schaffen, die der Leser lieben lernen konnte. Leider müssen hier die meisten ein wenig zurück stecken. Ein neuer Charakter betritt die Bühne und reißt das Rampenlicht an sich. Zum Glück ist Leah kein furchtbarer Charakter, also wollte ich sie nicht zur Hölle schicken oder ähnliches, aber ich hätte mir einfach gewünscht zumindest mehr von Lee zu sehen - vor allem nach den Geschehnissen des letzten Buches.
Trotzdem immer noch ein sehr unterhaltsames Buch welches ich nicht missen möchte.
Mein Original Review auf Englisch findet ihr hier.
Ich würde sagen dies ist eine recht gute Übersetzung, die man problemlos und flüssig lesen kann, auch wenn manche Witze holpriger rüberkommen und einige Szenen flacher fallen, als im Original (weswegen ich hier auch einen Stern weniger gegeben habe).
Tanya Huff hat es in den beiden vorigen Bänden geschafft eine Welt voller Charaktere zu schaffen, die der Leser lieben lernen konnte. Leider müssen hier die meisten ein wenig zurück stecken. Ein neuer Charakter betritt die Bühne und reißt das Rampenlicht an sich. Zum Glück ist Leah kein furchtbarer Charakter, also wollte ich sie nicht zur Hölle schicken oder ähnliches, aber ich hätte mir einfach gewünscht zumindest mehr von Lee zu sehen - vor allem nach den Geschehnissen des letzten Buches.
Trotzdem immer noch ein sehr unterhaltsames Buch welches ich nicht missen möchte.
July 19, 2024
It felt very much like a redone version of the first book, but I really liked the first book so I don’t mind as much as I might have. Honestly it’s enough good things that I won’t go into them individually, but there were a couple things that brought the five to a four.
Henry. I love Henry’s character and the dynamic that he and Tony have going on is pretty consistent but when it isn’t it throws off a lot about their characters and stances on each other. Also he was so barely included that I feel like he shouldn’t really be mentioned on the back cover.
The stuff with CB’s daughter. It was really harped on in the first half of the book but then kind of just sputtered out as it went on, and personally I think it would’ve been better to not include it.
Overall though the book was great and I felt like it was a decent end to the series, despite my issues with them. Favorite new series I’ve read in a while.
Henry. I love Henry’s character and the dynamic that he and Tony have going on is pretty consistent but when it isn’t it throws off a lot about their characters and stances on each other. Also he was so barely included that I feel like he shouldn’t really be mentioned on the back cover.
The stuff with CB’s daughter. It was really harped on in the first half of the book but then kind of just sputtered out as it went on, and personally I think it would’ve been better to not include it.
Overall though the book was great and I felt like it was a decent end to the series, despite my issues with them. Favorite new series I’ve read in a while.
May 13, 2019
I do wish I had read these books years ago when I bought them, but I am happy to have read them now and sad that they are done. I forgot how much I loved Tanya Huffs writing style and all the real world touch stones she put into the Blood Books and these ones. I suppose to some they might date them but to me they are a great way to ground the character. I continued to enjoy the characters and I was really happy to see that like Vicki, Tony was able to move beyond Henry and did it in a much nicer way. I was also excited that Lee finally figured out that Tony was worth crossing the line for. These books really did a great job of having a wonderful lead who was so engaging that you didn't care about orientation you just wanted what was best for him and I think that it the kind of characters we need. The more any love is normal (without a fixation on a message) the better!
January 4, 2023
A really solid end to the Smoke series, I think this one met the expectations I brought with me from Book 2, probably even exceeded them. I was afraid Huff would slip in this last book- she did not!
The tension is just as well-crafted as in Mirrors, and Tony's character development is well-rounded and satisfying.
The magic system solidifies in this final novel as Tony gets to grips with his ability, and Huff's interpretation of wizardry is innovative and fascinating- there's some details she includes that I haven't ever seen before, and I loved it.
If I've got one complaint, it's that the resolution for all the (very Queer!) sexual tension was a bit quick. Then again, it's made up for by how much of that there was!
A really great end to a series I enjoyed immensely, this book wrapped it up nicely and I'm glad.
The tension is just as well-crafted as in Mirrors, and Tony's character development is well-rounded and satisfying.
The magic system solidifies in this final novel as Tony gets to grips with his ability, and Huff's interpretation of wizardry is innovative and fascinating- there's some details she includes that I haven't ever seen before, and I loved it.
If I've got one complaint, it's that the resolution for all the (very Queer!) sexual tension was a bit quick. Then again, it's made up for by how much of that there was!
A really great end to a series I enjoyed immensely, this book wrapped it up nicely and I'm glad.
May 30, 2022
Still a fun read, but it plot-wise it was pretty much a (improved) reworking of the first book. There wasn’t anything in the way of a overarching series plot either, just the same characters and the resolution of the background will they/won’t they thing Tony has going with Lee.
Overall (coming in as someone who didn’t read the original series), I’d say the series is not anything amazing but is enjoyable and incredibly easy to read. It’s very plot driven and pretty light on the characters - there’s a fascinating cast of supporting characters, but the author doesn’t seem to know what to do with them.
Overall (coming in as someone who didn’t read the original series), I’d say the series is not anything amazing but is enjoyable and incredibly easy to read. It’s very plot driven and pretty light on the characters - there’s a fascinating cast of supporting characters, but the author doesn’t seem to know what to do with them.
July 26, 2017
"Heroes rise when we need them."
The finale to the Tony Foster trilogy brings us back to demons, after the weird interlude of Smoke and Mirrors that was about ghosts.
Leah has the potential to be a big ole Mary Sue here: sexy, immortal, powerful; but she comes off as feisty and down-to-earth. We get some really ancient demon magic, as well as Tony learning more of how to be a wizard.
The plot itself is face-paced, but interspersed with a lot of introspective scenes about character development and unrequited crushes, which kind of kill the pace a little.
The finale to the Tony Foster trilogy brings us back to demons, after the weird interlude of Smoke and Mirrors that was about ghosts.
Leah has the potential to be a big ole Mary Sue here: sexy, immortal, powerful; but she comes off as feisty and down-to-earth. We get some really ancient demon magic, as well as Tony learning more of how to be a wizard.
The plot itself is face-paced, but interspersed with a lot of introspective scenes about character development and unrequited crushes, which kind of kill the pace a little.
August 16, 2020
SO...I finished the Tony Foster trilogy last night. I have to admit, book #1 dragged a bit for me, but the second and third volumes were SO MUCH FUN! It kinda reminded me of a guy I dated a long, long time ago. I thought that the first date would NEVER end, but...I gave it a second chance, which went MUCH better, and by the third, I was having a blast! Sadly, I've broken up with Tony after just three "dates." I'm going to miss him! And what better can you say about a protagonist in a book?
March 26, 2023
Book 3 and the final one of the Tony Foster Smoke series. I really enjoyed this book. Tony and very funny and you have to love the gang of misfit movie people he works with. In this book, Tony's wizarding skills are growing stronger and his dependence on Henry is lessening.
Tony meets a stuntwoman with a strange story and of course, crazy and dangerous things start happening. As usual, plenty of action, humor and Tony mooning over Lee.
I'll no doubt reread these books again but I hate that they're over.
Tony meets a stuntwoman with a strange story and of course, crazy and dangerous things start happening. As usual, plenty of action, humor and Tony mooning over Lee.
I'll no doubt reread these books again but I hate that they're over.
June 11, 2020
What an eminently satisfying conclusion to the Tony Foster character development arc. I love that he finally comes into his own and gets comfortable in his skin. I adore the resolution with Henry and the potential for a future with
May 6, 2017
A satisfying conclusion to the Tony Foster series.
January 9, 2018
I thought this was the best in the Tony Foster series.
March 12, 2018
i wish the romance subplots had been tied up better.
August 1, 2018
I still wish there were an actual gay romance involved. Otherwise a solid fantasy romp, I have grown rather fond of the characters over the last books.
October 27, 2018
A fun, fabulous re-read. I truly loved this "graduation to adulthood" novel. And, it has held up well over time.
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January 16, 2020(Not for the first time.)
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