Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not as good as 2nd Summoning
Review: Most of this story deals with the adventures of the younger sister from the first two "Summon" novels. Diverting, but the dialog is somewhat predictable and shallow, compared to the first two. I think if she writes a 4th "Summon" novel, this will improve.
Rating:
Summary: if you REALLY liked the first two
Review: otherwise a whole lot less. I thought that SUMMON THE KEEPER was one of the funniest, most original books I had ever read, I enjoyed the sequel, THE SECOND SUMMONING, although, like many sequels, it was not quite as good as the first. This third entry into the series has much of the off-the-wall humor of the first two but just isn't as good as the earlier books.The action picks up a few weeks after THE SECOND SUMMONING, Claire and Dean (and Austin) are back at the Elysian Fields Guest House while younger sister Diana is finishing her last few hours of high school. Her first summoning arrives immediately after the last bell rings and takes her to a mall. It sems as though the mundane and magical worlds are overlapping here and need to be separated. Claire also arrives at the mall, the two set out to sort out the mess, meeting King Arthur along the way. Meanwhile back at the guest house Dean and Austin are dealing with their own problems. The action is split among the two sisters and Dean which gives the book a lot of plot to deal with, maybe too much. At times it is difficult to keep the various threads straight, particularly between Claire and Diana. If there is another in the series I hope that it returns to the standards of the first book. It is possible that this is the end of the series, and if so it was fun while it lasted. In any case, if you have read and enjoyed the first books by all means read this one. If the series sounds interesting to you start with SUMMON THE KEEPER. I will be looking for additional books by this author either in this series or one of her others.
Rating:
Summary: if you REALLY liked the first two
Review: otherwise a whole lot less. I thought that SUMMON THE KEEPER was one of the funniest, most original books I had ever read, I enjoyed the sequel, THE SECOND SUMMONING, although, like many sequels, it was not quite as good as the first. This third entry into the series has much of the off-the-wall humor of the first two but just isn't as good as the earlier books. The action picks up a few weeks after THE SECOND SUMMONING, Claire and Dean (and Austin) are back at the Elysian Fields Guest House while younger sister Diana is finishing her last few hours of high school. Her first summoning arrives immediately after the last bell rings and takes her to a mall. It sems as though the mundane and magical worlds are overlapping here and need to be separated. Claire also arrives at the mall, the two set out to sort out the mess, meeting King Arthur along the way. Meanwhile back at the guest house Dean and Austin are dealing with their own problems. The action is split among the two sisters and Dean which gives the book a lot of plot to deal with, maybe too much. At times it is difficult to keep the various threads straight, particularly between Claire and Diana. If there is another in the series I hope that it returns to the standards of the first book. It is possible that this is the end of the series, and if so it was fun while it lasted. In any case, if you have read and enjoyed the first books by all means read this one. If the series sounds interesting to you start with SUMMON THE KEEPER. I will be looking for additional books by this author either in this series or one of her others.
Rating:
Summary: Mall elves, angel-cats, and King Arthur, oh my!
Review: So, what do you do when you're a Keeper who is just graduating High School? You're one of a valiant few who can alter reality and make sure that the various other worlds don't intrude on Earth too much. You keep mystical forces in balance. You have a talking former-angel, now-feline sidekick, and the whole world is opening up for you.
Well, you go save the world, of course. But when you're a young lesbian Keeper and the Otherside has decided to take an entire suburban mall and cram it full of evil, things might get a little out of control. Especially with the forces of good being made up mostly of runaway street teens who are turning into Mall-Elves, and being led by an Archetypal King Arthur (with boy-band looks and a leather ensemble). Definitely bring the cat.
This is the third in the "Keeper" series by Tanya Huff, and it's a blast. Diana, the heroine, just blasts out contemporary sarcasm throughout the tale, and as usual, the humour and punny nature of Evil is just a joy to read. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish you too could find a saucy leather-clad Mall Elf.
'Nathan
Rating: 
Summary: Teenage mall elves????
Review: Teenage mall elves. Minivans as tangible evidence of evil. Scented candles are assault weapons - as are tote bags. This book is slightly more about Diana than about Claire. Diana and Claire have to share Sam, as Austin gets left behind with Dean. There's also a mummy and an absent-minded professor, an over-enthusiastic grad student, an anime-hero reincarnation of King Arthur, and the third-floor elevator that opens onto the beach. (No giant not-a-squids actually show up, however.) Hell is as sarcastic as ever. If you didn't understand the above references, you probably haven't read the first two books in the series. I would recommend buying them and reading them all in order. Some in-jokes will go right by you if you don't. If you prefer your fantasy solemn and serious, and your elves with long unpronounceable names and bows-and-arrows, this may not be your kind of book- the whole series has a sense of humor, as do Huff's other books. While we do have quests to save the world, the characters are not terribly solemn about it all. Keepers have powers that help keep the balance in the world between good and evil; normal people (muggles, I suppose) are Bystanders. In the first book, Claire, a Keeper, meets Dean, a Bystander. By the end of the second book, Claire and Dean have inherited a hotel, and Claire's younger sister, Diana, is revealed to have greater Keeper powers than Claire or either of their parents. So for this third book, Diana and Claire team up on a mission. Sam and Austin are their respective cats. The plot itself is the usual - a gate of some sort between Hell and this world is getting larger and strange things are getting through, to generalize the plots of all three books. In this case, the location is a shopping mall. It's a fun, reasonably fast read, with a few new twists to liven up its universe. So far, Huff is proving that she can handle that generalized plot line over and over again without boring an audience!
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the first two, but still a good read.
Review: The focus shifts in this book to Clare's younger sister Diana. Maybe it's just this shift away from Clare and Dean (DEAN!) but I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two, which I adored. Here's hoping #4 has some fresh ideas and more Clare and Dean!
Rating: 
Summary: The sum is less than the parts...
Review: What does this book have? A collection of story sub-plots that are not carried through to completion, it is almost as if Tanya Huff could not figure out where to take this book and kept throwing things at it hoping something would work... Sub-Plot 1: Ultimate Evil is transforming a Mall into a new Gateway to Conquer Earth... Sorry, they did that in the first book in the series... Sub-Plot 2: This book introduces Diana, the younger sister, as the "up and coming heroine" that the next book(s) will be centered about. If you like teenage angst, and unbridled arrogance -- she is your "gal"... Imagine a teen-ager that has no compunctions whatever about using the Jedi Mind Control Trick on anyone she meets... and this is the "Heroine" !?! Sub-Plot 3: The abandoned children are trapped in a Faery extension of the Mall are being turned into Punk Elves... They need "help" against Ultimate Evil (trademark) so they instinctively summon an analog "King Arthur" -- except this is a young male and very pastel version of the historical/mythic Arthur. Sub-Plot 4: And Diana has to be aggressively "in-your-face" about hitting on a _female_ punk elf. Sub-Plot 5: A lukewarm fight between a female Mummy and... If the book had more focus it would have been a good read. I was scanning it towards the end just to see how the author would finish it... There are better, much better!, books out there: Lois M. Bujold's "Curse of Chalion", Carol Berg's "Song of the Beast", Wen Spencer's "Alien Taste", and Emma Bull's "Battle Of the Oaks".
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