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Tanya Huff

I love Huff's stuff. (Yes, I did that on purpose.) Her writing runs the gamut - well part of the gamut, from Science Fiction to many different kinds of fantasy. Her writing is strong in all of my favorite things - great characterization, plots that you can both follow and be surprised by, and quite a lot of action, proceeding at a brisk pace.

Her science fiction is "military-ish" but it's not the big space battles and conflict-between-worlds/societies common in that genre. There's some of that, especially in the later books, but the stories themselves mostly follow the trials and tribulations of Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr. Sure, okay, maybe she saves the universe a time or two, but that kinda takes a back seat to introducing new Lieutenants to the joys of delegating - the "what" decisions belong to the Lieutenant, the "how" belongs to the sergeant. (The "why" is above both their pay-grades.) Huff's newest book in this series, AN ANCIENT PEACE just came out in paperback, which is why I picked her for my next "review." It's the start of a "sequel" series, following "Gunny's" exploits after she leaves the military for private missions on the down-low.

I have to admit, this is my favorite series of hers - but that doesn't mean I don't love the others, too. The others are all various forms of fantasies. She has several urban fantasy series, and some more traditional fantasy series as well. I may not have read all of them yet, but I'm picking them up one at a time, currently working on the Keeper series. The "Blood" series is probably my favorite, but the Enchantment Emporium series is a very close second.

And a spin off from the "Blood" books, the Smoke series contains my all time favorite line (yes, I'm a book nerd. I have favorite lines): It's a masterpiece of characterization (quoting from memory here):

"The remote was not in the pizza box under the couch."

I mean, really, think about how much that tells you about the character and his living space! In less than a dozen words!

Huff's books are mostly traditionally published, although a few of her older books (finally) have had the rights released from their original publishers, and are now being republished at more budget-friendly indie prices. But most of her books have been in print since originally published (and she's been writing for nearly 30 years), so the fact that the publisher continues to carry and print them tells you something about their popularity!

Ms. Huff doesn't really have a website, but she has a personal Facebook page and a live-journal. Links to her author pages at major booksellers below.

Amazon  Barnes & Noble   Kobo