Ah, to go back and re-live the "sovereign experience", as my son puts it. Tekla was a major downer. I suppose (it's certainly true for me) that many of us enjoy the adventures of Vlad and Co. because we imagine what it would be like to be in his shoes. It's a tough go of it when that puts you into story of heartbreak and loss, out of the blue as it were. I've found that Tekla grows "better" with time. If you've grown attached to the characters then the initial emotional impact tends to overshadow the actual story the first time through. The second time I read Tekla, I had a lot more appreciation for the trap that Vlad found himself in; trapped between his wife and The Organization. However, it was a good five years or more before I picked that book up again. At least your friend has the advantage of having the whole library to draw upon to blunt the trauma just a bit. *heh*