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fruitkate's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
wombat_88's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
birdkeeperklink's review
2.0
I really should know better, you know? Movie adaptations and TV show tie-in books are rarely any good. They generally fall solidly in the realm of 'okay,' and this one is no exception. It's really trying, really hard, to be an episode of the TV show, but sometimes it's trying too hard and sometimes it's failing badly. The trying too hard tended to manifest as trying to include every single aspect of every character, which is not possible in a single episode or book, and sometimes it manifested as writing out a character's stutter.... (Giles says 'ah,' 'er' and 'uh' a lot in this book. Also 'well.') The failures were plot threads that wandered around and then exited stage left without having done anything, and the book taking too damn long to get to the point. This could probably have been solved in five minutes--it basically took as long as it did because the creature didn't want to come out and play.
The plot threads that do nothing part was the most annoying of all, and very nearly dropped this book down to one star. The student teachers show up, are annoying, and then disappear. Sheila, one of the student teachers, shows up, is pretty much pinpointed as the reason the creature turned up in Sunnydale, and then disappears. A Council guy shows up, is threatening and annoys Giles (and therefore the reader, because leave Giles alone!!!), and then is like 'hehehe, good job, just kidding,' and then disappears. Ethan Rayne shows up (woohoo! Always a good time, right? Right? ...Right? ... Wrong), teases Giles a bit, and then--you guessed it, he disappears. Why are you here if you aren't going to do anything??? But at least the creature tries to kill Xander and Cordelia, so it was at least trying to do something before it left.
Oh, and Angel appeared for about a page and a half, and he's a constant source of irritation, but then he disappeared without doing anything, too, so that was okay.
There was a saving grace, though. There were some quality Buffy and Giles moments, some real friendship for all of them, and the banter, particularly Buffy/Giles banter, was well-written and actually managed to make me smile a couple of times. So that gave it the second star, because I did get some enjoyment from it.
So do I recommend this? If you're not a fan of the show, then...no, of course not? If you are a fan of the show, then it depends on your tolerance level. If you want to read only awesome books, no, don't bother, but if you don't mind reading something that's just okay, then yep, go for it. It can't hurt you.
The plot threads that do nothing part was the most annoying of all, and very nearly dropped this book down to one star. The student teachers show up, are annoying, and then disappear. Sheila, one of the student teachers, shows up, is pretty much pinpointed as the reason the creature turned up in Sunnydale, and then disappears. A Council guy shows up, is threatening and annoys Giles (and therefore the reader, because leave Giles alone!!!), and then is like 'hehehe, good job, just kidding,' and then disappears. Ethan Rayne shows up (woohoo! Always a good time, right? Right? ...Right? ... Wrong), teases Giles a bit, and then--you guessed it, he disappears. Why are you here if you aren't going to do anything??? But at least the creature tries to kill Xander and Cordelia, so it was at least trying to do something before it left.
Oh, and Angel appeared for about a page and a half, and he's a constant source of irritation, but then he disappeared without doing anything, too, so that was okay.
There was a saving grace, though. There were some quality Buffy and Giles moments, some real friendship for all of them, and the banter, particularly Buffy/Giles banter, was well-written and actually managed to make me smile a couple of times. So that gave it the second star, because I did get some enjoyment from it.
So do I recommend this? If you're not a fan of the show, then...no, of course not? If you are a fan of the show, then it depends on your tolerance level. If you want to read only awesome books, no, don't bother, but if you don't mind reading something that's just okay, then yep, go for it. It can't hurt you.
alexampersand's review
2.0
I think this might be the most disappointing of the Buffy books I've read so far. The plot itself feels very thin - as probably evidenced by the fact there are several extra elements thrown together that end up not really having any bearing on the plot at all (student teachers? Watchers Council? Ethan Rayne?)
I could forgive a little bit of a weak plot if the characterisation and dialogue was there, but unfortunately this felt a lot like someone had put the Buffy episodes into a random dialogue generator. Everything felt quite two-dimensional and juvenile - Cordelia has some very lame retorts against Buffy, Willow spends a lot of time 'translating' what Giles has to say. It all felt very much like the authors had watched a few episodes, gotten to know the archetypes, and were just going based on that. It was missing a lot of the genuine depth and chemistry of the characters.
(And I know it's hard to write a book about an ongoing show, but it's kind of funny that in this book a representative of the Council arrives to 'observe' the Slayer, sees that they're doing a great job, and then later in Season 3 we have the episode 'Helpless' that really has quite the opposite effect. I won't hold it against the authors, but it is jarring!)
I could forgive a little bit of a weak plot if the characterisation and dialogue was there, but unfortunately this felt a lot like someone had put the Buffy episodes into a random dialogue generator. Everything felt quite two-dimensional and juvenile - Cordelia has some very lame retorts against Buffy, Willow spends a lot of time 'translating' what Giles has to say. It all felt very much like the authors had watched a few episodes, gotten to know the archetypes, and were just going based on that. It was missing a lot of the genuine depth and chemistry of the characters.
(And I know it's hard to write a book about an ongoing show, but it's kind of funny that in this book a representative of the Council arrives to 'observe' the Slayer, sees that they're doing a great job, and then later in Season 3 we have the episode 'Helpless' that really has quite the opposite effect. I won't hold it against the authors, but it is jarring!)
innae's review
1.0
UG! this book tried to do too much. there were student teachers, and Ethan Rayne, and an earth monster, and a Watcher's Watcher, and and and. For being such a short book 163 pgs, I thought I would have it done in a day, maybe two...it took over a week!! I just couldn't get myself to care about this one. although it is amusing to think...the earth monster made his victim's dance and he took their life force ---- HMMMMMM, does that sound vaguely like Sweet from OMWF?? and this book was before OMWF...did Joss steal it?? hmmmmmmm.
rachael_amber's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
shirleycuypers's review
Most of the time I finish my books, but I just couldn't finish this one. I didn't even get far, it was so slow and it took so much to keep reading. I just had to stop. Maybe that I can finish it later, but now I just can't.
kimberlyhirsh's review
3.0
As always, Sunnydale is a magnet for demonic activity, and in Visitors that activity comes in the form of the korred, a demon that dances its victims to death. Keep in mind that this book was released long before the original airing of the musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling," featuring a demon with a similar modus operandi. The korred wants Buffy as a victim, thanks to her super Slayer energy, but it spends a lot of time stalking her and giggling before it gets up the nerve to try anything. Side plots involve a band of student teachers taking up residence in the library ("Does this look like a Barnes & Noble?") and everyone's favorite guest character, Ethan Rayne, dropping in for a visit.
Visitors is a flawed book, and I am going to enumerate those flaws. But before I do, I want to establish that it is by no means a bad book. It sets out to provide some quick entertainment for Buffy fans, and it succeeds at that. The character voices, while not spot on, are close enough to satisfy the reader needing a Buffy fix. The plot adheres to all the show's conventions. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is far from bad.
Visitors suffers primarily from the biggest problem with any TV tie-in: the characters are safe. I knew the korred wasn't going to make Buffy dance to death and then eat her. I knew, because I knew the show went on well past 1999. I knew, because authors of tie-ins aren't allowed to kill major characters. The absence of real danger hurts every tie-in, not just this one, but it stayed especially present in my mind with this book for some reason. Because of this, I never got very invested in the story.
Visitors also makes poor use of Ethan Rayne. I don't know that I've read a Buffy tie-in or fanfic that didn't involve Ethan Rayne randomly showing up for a bit of chaotic fun. I put him in my own fic as an agent of Drusilla, so feel free to call me a hypocrite. He's always tragically underused and the resolution of his story is always murky. If you've got trouble, you've just got to have Ethan, haven't you? He makes things so much more fun. His presence in Visitors was absolutely unnecessary. He followed the korred around and not much came of it. He didn't even interact with the Scooby Gang much.
The final flaw I want to mention is one that won't bother most people, but bugged me immensely: the sheer wrongness of the use of student teachers in the book. The student teachers are set up as a sort of side-villain, sketchy because of their constant presence in the library, funny because they all seem to have a crush on Giles. Having been a student teacher myself, I found this element of the story entirely implausible, and it really took me out of it, in the same way someone in the medical profession might have trouble watching House, or a forensics specialist might complain about CSI. Student teachers at a public school would not go by their first names. They wouldn't gather in the library and ogle the librarian, most likely. They would teach class every once in a while. I could go on, but as I said, this is a relatively minor point.
In sum: Visitors is good if you're looking for a quick, fun read with some good Buffy-style one-liners and a typical Monster of the Week plot. If you're looking for a deeper examination of the show's themes or Whedon-quality writing, however, I suggest you pick up one of the other tie-in novels. Perhaps something by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. Just a suggestion.
Visitors is a flawed book, and I am going to enumerate those flaws. But before I do, I want to establish that it is by no means a bad book. It sets out to provide some quick entertainment for Buffy fans, and it succeeds at that. The character voices, while not spot on, are close enough to satisfy the reader needing a Buffy fix. The plot adheres to all the show's conventions. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is far from bad.
Visitors suffers primarily from the biggest problem with any TV tie-in: the characters are safe. I knew the korred wasn't going to make Buffy dance to death and then eat her. I knew, because I knew the show went on well past 1999. I knew, because authors of tie-ins aren't allowed to kill major characters. The absence of real danger hurts every tie-in, not just this one, but it stayed especially present in my mind with this book for some reason. Because of this, I never got very invested in the story.
Visitors also makes poor use of Ethan Rayne. I don't know that I've read a Buffy tie-in or fanfic that didn't involve Ethan Rayne randomly showing up for a bit of chaotic fun. I put him in my own fic as an agent of Drusilla, so feel free to call me a hypocrite. He's always tragically underused and the resolution of his story is always murky. If you've got trouble, you've just got to have Ethan, haven't you? He makes things so much more fun. His presence in Visitors was absolutely unnecessary. He followed the korred around and not much came of it. He didn't even interact with the Scooby Gang much.
The final flaw I want to mention is one that won't bother most people, but bugged me immensely: the sheer wrongness of the use of student teachers in the book. The student teachers are set up as a sort of side-villain, sketchy because of their constant presence in the library, funny because they all seem to have a crush on Giles. Having been a student teacher myself, I found this element of the story entirely implausible, and it really took me out of it, in the same way someone in the medical profession might have trouble watching House, or a forensics specialist might complain about CSI. Student teachers at a public school would not go by their first names. They wouldn't gather in the library and ogle the librarian, most likely. They would teach class every once in a while. I could go on, but as I said, this is a relatively minor point.
In sum: Visitors is good if you're looking for a quick, fun read with some good Buffy-style one-liners and a typical Monster of the Week plot. If you're looking for a deeper examination of the show's themes or Whedon-quality writing, however, I suggest you pick up one of the other tie-in novels. Perhaps something by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. Just a suggestion.
atrixareads's review
2.0
A very dull tv tie in. For some reason it adds a load of extraeneous characters in with absolutely no pay off. At least the main characters seemed true to themselves, with the exception of Cordelia. She was a bit more like season 1 Cordelia here.
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