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sohxpie's review
4.0
3 more enjoyable stories. The first was pretty much what you'd expect for a BTVS halloween episode. The second was probably my favourite so far, it would definitely translate well to TV. The third was okay, just very predictable. It would have been nice to see Willow save the day, especially as that's where it seemed the story was going, Overall, a better collection than the first.
desiree_mcl's review
2.0
Over all the best in this collection was Bad Bargain. As a whole this wasn't a great collection of Buffy novels, sad to say. Individual reviews of each book are down below.
Halloween Rain:
2 stars. This one wasn't a fantastic read. It was all right but in comparison to other Buffy books I've read it wasn't up to par.
The story takes place in Season 1, the book references the Master and that he's still around, but it takes place on Halloween, which if you're a fan of Buffy you know that the first Halloween experienced by Buffy in Sunnydale was in Season 2.
There were some thing that bothered me while reading, the constant punning that the characters did. I loved the dialogue in the show but in this book there was just too much of the characters trying to be witty and most of the time it didn't work the way the writers wanted it to.
There was a character, Mr. O'Leary, who was a wasted character. Everything he did, except, could have been done by Angel, who at that point in the TV series was doing what Mr. O'Leary did in this story.
The zombies were boring. I'm rarely interested in reading about zombies, watching it's a different story though.
However I did like the 2 chapters where both Buffy's fight scene in the graveyard and Willow, Xander, and Giles's fight scene in the school/library was written. The 2 chapters blended together wonderfully. Also really enjoyed that they (the authors) added in a character we only saw once, Aphrodisa, she was in the first ep of Buffy as one of the girls in the locker room right before the body fell out of a locker.
The one thing that really took away from this book was that there wasn't any normal teenage issue that Buffy had to deal with while at the same time battling evil. I felt that detracted from the story.
Bad Bargain
3.5 stars.
One of my goals this year is to read more of the BTVS novels I have. So I've started early on this goal.
I enjoyed this one. It had some of the elements that I really like in a Buffy story, one of those elements is having a normal girl/student problem, along with a Slayer problem. A rummage sale is going on at school and Joyce is in the middle of her keep Buffy on track and know where and what she's doing after school hours kick. Now on top of all of that, the Hellmouth has been releasing little demonic plagues/viruses (for lack of a better word) that are causing bad things to happen to people and they are using items at the sale to infect the wearer's/users/etc.
One thing that did bother me was that the time line was a little messed up. Not much, I don't think it would bother anyone who has only watched the show a couple times but for anyone that has seen the show multiple times it might bother them. There are indicators that it's post Halloween and pre-Surprise. If the timeline had remained vague it would have been fine but there were moments pinpointed that made the timeline now between episodes What's my Line Part 2 and Surprise. Spoiler for the show ---> So little things like that took me out of the story but it's not a huge deal, I've seen a lot worse continuity errors in other BtVS books.
I felt the story was too long. It's under 200 pages but it felt dragged out. I wish the author had slimmed the story down about 50 pages.
I wish there had been more Angel but that's just because I love Angel and I adore Bangel. So if you hate Angel or don't like Bangel this probably won't bother you that much.
Overall this was an enjoyable BtVS novel and I look forward to reading more this year.
After Image/Afterimage (I've seen it spelled both ways)
1.5 stars.
If this wasn’t a BtVS book I would have DNF’d it at the half way point…maybe earlier.
This story was about some force putting various people in Sunnydale asleep…well whatever force was at work in the book was making its way out of the book and putting me to sleep too.
Normally I can bust through a 250-300 pg Buffy novel in about 3 to 4 hours. As I was reading After Image I could only read about 20 pages at a time before I had to set the book aside. There were some pros but the pace of this and the lack of anything going on just made those pros not matter.
Takes place in Season 2 sometime after ‘What’s My Line’ but before ‘Surprise’.
Let’s start off with the Pros!
--There were no major continuity issues that I noticed. This takes place between WML and Surprise and other than that the time line is vague. In a lot of Buffy books the author makes the mistake of pinpointing exactly what episodes the book may fall between or on but they’ll mention stuff from future episodes that in the timeline they started out with it doesn’t make sense if you’ve watched the show. --(For example: Xander and Cordelia are still hiding their relationship or just got together which would be during the episode ‘What’s my Line’ but then the narrative will mention Angelus and Buffy being possessed by ghosts in ‘IOHEFY’ so by that point Xander and Cordy would have been exposed by then.)
--The different perspectives. There wasn’t a lot of Buffy in this Buffy novel. It was mostly a Xander outing with a decent chunk of Cordy and a smattering of Buffy, Angel, Willow, Jonathan and Giles. Xander is usually my least favorite of our core team but I appreciated getting a story that was more centered around his character.
And now the cons….
-Nothing/very little happened for soooo long. All we got for about 150 pages was some slightly weird interactions or visuals of people and 1 creature.
-The book was too long. There was nothing happening but there was so much filler and a lot of descriptions about various things. This whole book felt like the author needed to meet a word count but because the plot was really fairly basic the story had to be filled in, in other boring and long winded ways.
-Buffy and Angel’s interactions with each other were a little too awkward for the point of their relationship. During their first meeting in this book I was confused because it read more like early season 1...maybe late season 1 interaction than post-WML. And I think Angel would have at least offered to carry Buffy’s books.
-Some of the lines of dialogue didn’t seem to match the characters. Willow and Giles were fairly on point but there was a line or 2 that Buffy says that sounded more like a Xander line. There were a couple words here and there that Buffy wouldn't say. Minor nit-pick but still annoying.
-And lastly (or at least the last thing I’m going to talk about) I figured out pretty much what was happening in the first 30-50 pages and then I had to wait 100 more pages for it to be revealed in the narrative (at least a little bit) and then another 50 or more pages for the characters to figure it out.
So this was not a good BtVS novel experience. I will never read this one again. I’m happy it’s over.
Halloween Rain:
2 stars. This one wasn't a fantastic read. It was all right but in comparison to other Buffy books I've read it wasn't up to par.
The story takes place in Season 1, the book references the Master and that he's still around, but it takes place on Halloween, which if you're a fan of Buffy you know that the first Halloween experienced by Buffy in Sunnydale was in Season 2.
There were some thing that bothered me while reading, the constant punning that the characters did. I loved the dialogue in the show but in this book there was just too much of the characters trying to be witty and most of the time it didn't work the way the writers wanted it to.
There was a character, Mr. O'Leary, who was a wasted character. Everything he did, except
Spoiler
dyingThe zombies were boring. I'm rarely interested in reading about zombies, watching it's a different story though.
However I did like the 2 chapters where both Buffy's fight scene in the graveyard and Willow, Xander, and Giles's fight scene in the school/library was written. The 2 chapters blended together wonderfully. Also really enjoyed that they (the authors) added in a character we only saw once, Aphrodisa, she was in the first ep of Buffy as one of the girls in the locker room right before the body fell out of a locker.
The one thing that really took away from this book was that there wasn't any normal teenage issue that Buffy had to deal with while at the same time battling evil. I felt that detracted from the story.
Bad Bargain
3.5 stars.
One of my goals this year is to read more of the BTVS novels I have. So I've started early on this goal.
I enjoyed this one. It had some of the elements that I really like in a Buffy story, one of those elements is having a normal girl/student problem, along with a Slayer problem. A rummage sale is going on at school and Joyce is in the middle of her keep Buffy on track and know where and what she's doing after school hours kick. Now on top of all of that, the Hellmouth has been releasing little demonic plagues/viruses (for lack of a better word) that are causing bad things to happen to people and they are using items at the sale to infect the wearer's/users/etc.
One thing that did bother me was that the time line was a little messed up. Not much, I don't think it would bother anyone who has only watched the show a couple times but for anyone that has seen the show multiple times it might bother them. There are indicators that it's post Halloween and pre-Surprise. If the timeline had remained vague it would have been fine but there were moments pinpointed that made the timeline now between episodes What's my Line Part 2 and Surprise. Spoiler for the show --->
Spoiler
It's mentioned that Xander and Cordelia are sneaking around making out, which starts in WML pt 2, however Spike, who at this point should be in a wheelchair because of the organ that fell on him, is up and walking around and in a decent chunk of the storyI felt the story was too long. It's under 200 pages but it felt dragged out. I wish the author had slimmed the story down about 50 pages.
I wish there had been more Angel but that's just because I love Angel and I adore Bangel. So if you hate Angel or don't like Bangel this probably won't bother you that much.
Overall this was an enjoyable BtVS novel and I look forward to reading more this year.
After Image/Afterimage (I've seen it spelled both ways)
1.5 stars.
If this wasn’t a BtVS book I would have DNF’d it at the half way point…maybe earlier.
This story was about some force putting various people in Sunnydale asleep…well whatever force was at work in the book was making its way out of the book and putting me to sleep too.
Normally I can bust through a 250-300 pg Buffy novel in about 3 to 4 hours. As I was reading After Image I could only read about 20 pages at a time before I had to set the book aside. There were some pros but the pace of this and the lack of anything going on just made those pros not matter.
Takes place in Season 2 sometime after ‘What’s My Line’ but before ‘Surprise’.
Let’s start off with the Pros!
--There were no major continuity issues that I noticed. This takes place between WML and Surprise and other than that the time line is vague. In a lot of Buffy books the author makes the mistake of pinpointing exactly what episodes the book may fall between or on but they’ll mention stuff from future episodes that in the timeline they started out with it doesn’t make sense if you’ve watched the show. --(For example: Xander and Cordelia are still hiding their relationship or just got together which would be during the episode ‘What’s my Line’ but then the narrative will mention Angelus and Buffy being possessed by ghosts in ‘IOHEFY’ so by that point Xander and Cordy would have been exposed by then.)
--The different perspectives. There wasn’t a lot of Buffy in this Buffy novel. It was mostly a Xander outing with a decent chunk of Cordy and a smattering of Buffy, Angel, Willow, Jonathan and Giles. Xander is usually my least favorite of our core team but I appreciated getting a story that was more centered around his character.
And now the cons….
-Nothing/very little happened for soooo long. All we got for about 150 pages was some slightly weird interactions or visuals of people and 1 creature.
Spoiler
Cordy saw a cheerleader in weird clothing and then when she went to confront she vanished (or at least seemed to vanish), some guy at the Bronze was dancing with Aura and then disappeared, there was a “new” nurse that Giles met but when Buffy looked into it the old nurse was still there and had no idea about what was going on, a strange, yet charming older guy visited the Magic Box, and Buffy and Angel fought a weird Anubis looking like creature.-The book was too long. There was nothing happening but there was so much filler and a lot of descriptions about various things. This whole book felt like the author needed to meet a word count but because the plot was really fairly basic the story had to be filled in, in other boring and long winded ways.
-Buffy and Angel’s interactions with each other were a little too awkward for the point of their relationship. During their first meeting in this book I was confused because it read more like early season 1...maybe late season 1 interaction than post-WML. And I think Angel would have at least offered to carry Buffy’s books.
-Some of the lines of dialogue didn’t seem to match the characters. Willow and Giles were fairly on point but there was a line or 2 that Buffy says that sounded more like a Xander line. There were a couple words here and there that Buffy wouldn't say. Minor nit-pick but still annoying.
-And lastly (or at least the last thing I’m going to talk about) I figured out pretty much what was happening in the first 30-50 pages and then I had to wait 100 more pages for it to be revealed in the narrative (at least a little bit) and then another 50 or more pages for the characters to figure it out.
So this was not a good BtVS novel experience. I will never read this one again. I’m happy it’s over.
jmccann031's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cwalter01's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
3novellas. Always a fun read
pinkalpaca's review
2.0
Halloween Rain, 1* Really goofy and didn't sound like the characters at all
Bad Bargain, 4* Actually seemed like an episode
Afterimage, 2* A bit boring & repetitve
Bad Bargain, 4* Actually seemed like an episode
Afterimage, 2* A bit boring & repetitve
lizlogan's review
2.0
Poorly-written. The Scoobies are ghosts of themselves. Perhaps that's the mystery that needs to be solved - what happened to the Scoobies?
Book bingo: 500+ pages
Book bingo: 500+ pages
bb_laurens's review
4.0
I really liked the plots of these stories, but the language is very different than that of the comics and show.
marie123's review
3.0
Recieved this from a goodreads giveaway, and was very excited to be chosen!
I guess the first thing I should start with is that I adore Buffy... and pretty much everything Joss Whedon created or inspired. (Browncoat!)
I also write/read fanfiction sometimes, 'cause I'm just awesome like that.
Still, I was hesitant when going into these stories...but when I won it from goodreads giveaways, I decided to go for it.
I'm going to go ahead and talk about it by story.
Halloween Rain -- Not the best opening story. First, we have Buffy reminding us that she's the slayer every other page.
As well, the dialog falls a bit flat on me. Also, I was wondering if the author has watched all the episodes of Buffy, specifically the episodes on Halloween and how supposedly nothing evil happens on Halloween. Of course, Joss plays with that upside down and right side up, but that's not what this story is doing. This story just seems to ignore that convention all together.
I'd give the book a 2/5 on the stars. The grammar, plot, spelling, and just basic skill is much higher than you'd find on a fanfiction website, but it doesn't seem to be much more than a nicely written fanfic.
Bad Bargain - Dialog was better, but I didn't like the point of view, because it was jumpy and made it confusing and a little frustrating. There was a weird hang up on the music playing, that I thought was odd -- we were alerted every time a different song came on. Still, I over all enjoyed the story. It would have been a good episode. 3/5
Afterimage -- I really liked the opening to this story, because it does catch your attention well. There were a few lines that felt awkward and OOC (out of character -- a fanfiction term!) but it was a minimum. 3.5/5
This book isn't going to my favorites shelf, but it wasn't horrible and it was a good way to spend one of my days off. Buy it if you wanna/gotta, but I'd recommend waiting for the library to have a copy.
I guess the first thing I should start with is that I adore Buffy... and pretty much everything Joss Whedon created or inspired. (Browncoat!)
I also write/read fanfiction sometimes, 'cause I'm just awesome like that.
Still, I was hesitant when going into these stories...but when I won it from goodreads giveaways, I decided to go for it.
I'm going to go ahead and talk about it by story.
Halloween Rain -- Not the best opening story. First, we have Buffy reminding us that she's the slayer every other page.
As well, the dialog falls a bit flat on me. Also, I was wondering if the author has watched all the episodes of Buffy, specifically the episodes on Halloween and how supposedly nothing evil happens on Halloween. Of course, Joss plays with that upside down and right side up, but that's not what this story is doing. This story just seems to ignore that convention all together.
I'd give the book a 2/5 on the stars. The grammar, plot, spelling, and just basic skill is much higher than you'd find on a fanfiction website, but it doesn't seem to be much more than a nicely written fanfic.
Bad Bargain - Dialog was better, but I didn't like the point of view, because it was jumpy and made it confusing and a little frustrating. There was a weird hang up on the music playing, that I thought was odd -- we were alerted every time a different song came on. Still, I over all enjoyed the story. It would have been a good episode. 3/5
Afterimage -- I really liked the opening to this story, because it does catch your attention well. There were a few lines that felt awkward and OOC (out of character -- a fanfiction term!) but it was a minimum. 3.5/5
This book isn't going to my favorites shelf, but it wasn't horrible and it was a good way to spend one of my days off. Buy it if you wanna/gotta, but I'd recommend waiting for the library to have a copy.