Blood Series

## Genre Information

Urban Fantasy
Vampires

Paranormal Investigations

 (Series Content Ratings Click on Explicit Ratings for details.)

## About the Series

The **Victoria Nelson series**, also called the **Blood Books** or **Blood Ties series** (title for the TV show) is written by Tanya Huff.

* **Genres:** Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal Investigations
* **Theme:** There is a companion sequel series titled the Tony Foster series
* **Narrative style**: Third person narrative from multiple perspectives. Throughout the series the primary narrators are Vicky Nelson, Henry Fitzroy, and Mike Celluci with the odd asides from the secondary character, Tony Foster. In individual books the antagonist(s) also have recurring roles in the narration as do other plot-related characters (usually victims of the week) to a lesser degree.

## Series Description

Features an unusual heroine who is a strong-willed, competent woman with a physical weakness failing eyesight) who is neither a damsel in distress, or a kickass undefeatable chick.The characters all feel very real, very natural–Vicki was very believable, strong and unabashedly a very real person.

Of the many, classic Urban Fantasy books of the 90's, the Vicki Nelson series holds extremely well. This strong source material lends itself well to revival, from the Canadian TV show "Blood Ties" to the recent reissues of the books themselves. Re-reading Victoria Nelson now, every description of Vicki brings to mind the strong jaw and dry sense of humor of her televised incarnation, adding to the experience of the re-read.

This series pairs a detective with a vampire. The first book introduces Victoria "Vicki" Nelson, a former police officer with failing eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa and Henry Fitzroy, a vampire and writer of historical romances—which is natural for him as he was Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, illegitimate son of Henry VIII before he was seduced by a vampire. She is known to her police colleagues as "Victory Nelson" for her successful record of investigations; her mother calls her by her legal given name, "Victoria". Henry's protégé, Tony, is also introduced, as well as Vicki's hard-boiled former partner on the police force, Mike Celluci. Vicki's failing eyesight disqualified her from street work and she resigned rather than take a desk job, and, at the start of the first book, is working as a private detective. Together Vicki and Henry stand against a number of supernatural threats. The series is set in Canada, mainly in Toronto, Ontario, London, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia. It uses familiar landmarks, down to Tony's home on "Neal Avenue" being recognizably Nealon Avenue north of Danforth Avenue.

## Books in Series

1. Blood Price (Blood Series Book 1) (1991)
2. Blood Trail (Blood Series Book 1) (1992)
3. Blood Lines (Blood Series Book 1) (1993)
4. Blood Pact (Blood Series Book 1) (1993)
5. Blood Debt (Blood Series Book 1) (1997)
6. Blood Bank (Blood Series Book 1) (2008) ~ collection of shorts — **Final**

#### Shorts, Anthologies and Guides

* "See Me", Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives (2011) — Tony Foster series (Tony Foster)
* “Blood Wrapped”, Many Bloody Returns (2007) — Henry Fitzroy #8.5 (Henry, Vicki)
* "No Matter Where You Go", Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters — (Vicki Nelson)
* "Songs Sung Red", Wild Side, The (2011) (Vicki, Mike)
* "No Matter Where You Go", Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) — (Vicki Nelson)
* "If Wishes Were", Shadowed Souls (2016) -- (Vicki, Mike)
* **Blood Bank** (2008) — collection of shorts (Vicki, Henry, Mike)
* Blood Shot (2020) - Stories from the Blood 'Verse

### Companion Series or Spinoffs

* Tony Foster series
* Henry Fitzroy series — includes all of the six *Blood Books*, the three *Tony Foster* books, plus books and shorts about Hery Fitzroy, mostly historical tales. (Goodreads)

## World Building

### Setting

* Toronto, Canada
* London, Ontario farm

**Places**:

* Kingston: location of mom's funeral

### Fantasy Elements

Paranormal PI, Vampire, demons, sorcerers, werewolves, **mummies**, Frankenstein-like zombies, mad-scientist, ghosts, werewolf hunters, silver bullets, weird science, wannabe Doctor Frankensteins, grimoire, dark magic, Egyptology

### Protagonists

Victoria “Victory” Nelson
Victory was a police detective—and an extremely good one. Her nickname wasn't just a play on her name, it was an acknowledgement of her extreme skill. She and her partner, Mike Celucci, had a competitive, almost antagonistic but deeply connected relationship as they solved case after case. Then Vicky developed a degenerative eye condition. Her peripheral vision is shrinking and her night vision has reduced to almost nothing–and it will get worse and worse until she is blind. Facing this, Vicky quits her job because she will not accept a lowering of her performance or record and becomes a private investigator. Mike stays on as her contact, her friend, her sex partner – and someone she has marvellous blazing rows with.
As a private detective she stumbles upon the supernatural world–in particular she runs across Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry VIII, romance novel writer–and vampire. The two start investigating increasing supernatural occurrences that threaten Toronto, her with her vast experience and skills as a detective with his age, experience and knowledge of the supernatural world.
Henry Fitzroy
bastard son of Henry VIII, romance novel writer–and vampire. The two start investigating increasing supernatural occurrences that threaten Toronto, her with her vast experience and skills as a detective with his age, experience and knowledge of the supernatural world.
Mike Celucci
Police detective, former partner and ex-lover. Viki gets his aid on the case of a demon menace and she may find herself renewing her stormy relationship him.
## Book Descriptions

1. Blood Trail (1991)
Vicky Nelson is a private investigator. She used to be one heck of a murder detective for the Toronto police, but deteriorating eyesight and her stubborn-ness led her to leave her true calling. A killer is stalking Toronto and the first victim's girlfriend hired Vicky to find the killer, since she doesn't believe the police are looking in the right places. Vicky's ex-partner (and ex-lover) Mike Celluci is in charge of the investigation and does not appreciate her "help". A chance encounter pairs Vicky with Henry FitzRoy--Romance Writer, Vampire and bastard son of Henry VIII as they hunt what appears, despite the impossibility, to be a demon.
Vicki Nelson PI, former Toronto homicide cop, witnesses the first of many vicious attacks. She renews her tempestuous relationship with police partner Mike Celluci, who does not get along with another ally. Henry Fitzroy is the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII, a vampire on the side of good. Also TV Blood Ties tie-ins.
2. Blood Trail (1992)
The unique investigative duo from Blood Price--P.I. Vicki Nelson and 450-year-old vampire Henry Fitzroy--once again join forces to solve a crime of supernatural proportions in modern-day Canada. As silver bullets take their toll, Vicki and Henry fear they won't be able to stop a crazed killer.
For centuries, the werewolves of Toronto have managed to live in peace and tranquility, hidden quietly away on their London, Ontario farm. But now, someone has learned their secret—and is systematically massacring this ancient race.
The only one they can turn to is Henry Fitzroy, Toronto-based vampire and writer of bodice rippers. Forced to hide from the light of day, Henry can’t hunt the killer alone, so he turns to Vicki Nelson for help. As they race against time to stop the murderer, they begin to fear that their combined talents may not be enough to prevent him from completing his deadly plan.
3. Blood Lines (1993)
Sealed away through unending centuries in a sarcophagus never meant to be opened, he had patiently waited for the opportunity to live again, for the chance to feed on the unwary and grow strong. Now, at last, the waiting had come to an end. Brought to the Egyptology Department of Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, the seals and spells that imprisoned him chipped away by his discoverers, he reached forth to claim the minds and souls of the unsuspecting city dwellers, to begin building an empire for himself and his god. And only three people had even a hint that anything was wrong.
For Henry Fitzroy, 450-year-old vampire, it began with a haunting, inescapable image of the sun, a terrifying symbol of death to one such as he. Fearing for his sanity, he called upon his sometime-lover and comrade in supernatural investigations, ex-cop Vicki Nelson, for help. And even as the two struggled to cope with Henry's obsession, Vicki's closest friend and former partner, Police Detective Mike Celluci was following up on two mysterious deaths at the museum, certain he was looking at murders not accidents - and equally convinced that the killer was a mummy brought back from the dead!
4. Blood Pact (1993)
It began with the call no daughter ever wants to get, the call that told private investigator Vicki Nelson her mother had died. Mrs. Nelson's coworker at the Queen's University Life Science Department told Vicki that the cause of death was a heart attack, and that they'd be waiting for her to arrive in Kingston to make the funeral arrangements. But what started as an all too normal personal tragedy soon became the most terrifying case of Vicki's career. For when Marjory Nelson's body mysteriously disappeared from the funeral home, Vicki, her sometime lover and fellow investigator, vampire Henry Fitzroy, and her former homicide squad partner, Detective-Sergeant Mike Celluci, realized that there was something unnatural about her mother's demise. Vicki swore she'd find the culprit, and see that her mother was properly laid to rest. But what she hadn't counted on was that someone at Queen's University seemed determined to keep Mrs. Nelson on the job—alive or dead!
5. Blood Debt (1997)
Henry Fitzroy, vampire, writer, and bastard son of Henry VIII, had survived for centuries by obeying the vampire's code. He did not slaughter needlessly, did not draw attention to himself, and never invaded another vampire's territory. But now Henry was about to do the unthinkable. He was going to break the code. — It began when Henry woke to the twilight—and the discovery that a ghost had invaded his inner sanctum. This was the start of a dangerous nightly game. Henry was allowed to ask one question of his mysterious visitor. If the answer was no, someone—innocent and unsuspecting—would die. It soon became clear that what this wraith—and the others who eventually joined it—wanted was revenge on those responsible for killing them.
Henry could not find the source of these murders on his own, nor could he ignore his unwanted guests. He had only one choice—to call private investigator Vicki Nelson and ask for help. Henry only hoped that he and Vicki would both survive the experience...
6. Blood Bank (2008) Collection
The Blood books center around three main characters: Vicki Nelson, a homicide cop turned private detective, her former partner Mike Celluci, who is still on the force, and vampire Henry Fitzroy, who is the illegitimate son of Henry VIII and makes his living as a writer of bodice rippers. Not only are the three of them caught in a love triangle, but they are, time and again, involved in mysteries with a supernatural slant—from demons, to werewolves, to mummies—and inevitably must join forces to solve crimes and defeat supernatural enemies. Now all of Tanya Huff's short stories about Henry, Vicki, and Mike are being released in this collection entitled Blood Bank. As an added bonus for fans of the TV series, Blood Bank includes the actual screenplay for "Stone Cold," the episode Tanya herself wrote for the Blood Ties series along with a special introduction by Tanya, detailing her own experiences with the show.
## References

1. ↑ All Things Urban Fantasy
2. ↑ Wikipedia | Tanya Huff - Blood Books
3. ↑ Fangs For the Fantasy
4. ↑ Fangs For the Fantasy