Tanya Huff's Keeper Chronicles - a quick introduction

I've been asked several times (paraphrased):

I'm not familiar with the "Keeper Chronicles" so parts of Part/Chapter 4 of your fic doesn't make much sense.  Where can I get a quick introduction to the series?

If you are unable to read the books:

The Keeper's Chronicles by Tanya Huff

(1) Summon the Keeper	ISBN:	0-88677-784-4
(2) The Second Summoning	ISBN:	0-88677-975-8
(3) Long Hot Summoning	ISBN:	0-75640-136-4

I'm not aware of a definitive overview or "Cliff Notes" for the series.

For web related resources:

There used to be a Tanya Huff fan website with a quick summary of the books but it seems to have gone missing since I last looked. Bit-rot seems to affect too many fan sites.

A Yahoo group exists though it hasn't been very active recently: Nine Above!

Tanya Huff also has a current LiveJournal.

Basically... (spoilers for the "Keeper Chronicles" ahead)

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The world in the "Keeper Chronicles

Assorted beings and creatures

• Keepers

  Keepers are powerful beings (Descended from the Biblical Lilith) given the task of maintaining the balance between Good and Evil - usually by preventing Evil from manifesting or influencing the world. Or fixing "magical accident sites" that affect the balance. They call the magic they do "manipulating possibilities" (Or something like that.). Most Keepers are 'traveling troubleshooters'. (Oddly enough, they can't drive - they get too distracted by things (magical) that they see.).At least one of a Keeper's parents is a Cousin (Or possibly a Keeper? That isn't addressed in any of the books)

  Keepers are "summoned" to an 'accident site' to fix it. The mechanism isn't really explained - other than most summons are directed at a single Keeper, depending on the site.

• Cousins

  Cousins (also descended from Lilith) are less powerful than Keepers. They stick in a single place. They monitor accident sites, among other things.

• cats

  Cats are... just cats. However, they seem to be sentient in this series. With the ability to talk.

• Bystanders

  The Keeper name for normal people.

• Gods

  The Greek and Roman gods are real, though most of them have retired. They visit the Guest House in the first book. Claire runs into several Egyptian gods in the third book.

• Good and Evil

  Good and Evil are sort of "outside" of this world. Evil is always trying to intrude and influence the world (often creating holes in reality to do it). I'm not sure how to characterize 'Good' (The second Book is about what happens when the concepts of Good and Evil are manifested as living creatures (An Angel and a Demon (not in the Buffyverse sense but in the traditional Biblical/Lucifer sense))

• Magical creatures

  Creatures of fairytale like goblins and trolls. Bystanders are unable to see them. Keepers don't drive - they are distracted by these creatures.

• Ghosts, Vampires, and Werewolves

  All regular visitors to the Elysian Fields Guest House. None of them are inherently evil. They aren't the same as Buffyverse vampires and werewolves (Tanya Huff has a series with vampires and werewolves in it - these seem to be the same kinds of creatures but I'm not sure that there is any connection between those stories and these.)

The characters

• Claire Hansen

  She's the main character in the series, a Keeper in her late 20's (27/28). She has a cat companion, Austin, who is 17/18 and travels with her. Almost like a familiar but not quite. He talks.

  Her parents are both Cousins. Apparently a rare occurrence.

• Diane Hansen

  Claire's younger sister (by 10 years), who is also a Keeper (supposedly the first time that has ever happened.) She's in training in the first two books, officially a Keeper in the third book after she graduates from High School. She's more powerful than her sister and more willing to use magic for non-critical things. She picks up a cat (Samuel) in the second book (He used to be an angel). She picks up an elf girlfriend in the third book.

• Dean McIssac

  A Bystander - sometime Keeper boy toy. 20/21 years old. Claire runs into him after being summoned to the "Elysian Fields Guest House" (It had a literal "Hole to Hell" in the basement - but not like a Buffyverse Hellmouth) in Kingston. He helps her out even though she isn't happy about it. By the second book they are a couple. The Guest House becomes her 'base of operations' and Dean manages it for her.

Magic

Magic seems to be mostly of the "be careful what you say/wish for" kind in this series. Intent is very important. Magic is done by influencing 'reality' and manipulating the 'possibilities'. (Not sure that accurately describes it) Keepers are very powerful and "Evil" and evil Keepers seem to be the only beings willing to mess with them... unless they don't know better.

Places

• The Elysian Fields Guest House

  An important point - the Guest House has an elevator... that seems to have the ability to open up on different realities. Probably something to do with doors (A Keeper can use any sort of door to travel places, including other realities). We see this in action in the first book.

• Story locations

  Most of the series seems to take place in Ontario, Canada (The Guest House is in Kingston, as is the Mall that the third story centers around. ). They occasionally travel across the border to the US.

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