Customer Reviews

Afterimage (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm suprised that some other reviewers, who basically liked this book, only gave it 3 stars. This isn't American Idol, you don't have to be so exacting. I've read practically all the Buffy books and this isn't the best, but I still gave it 5 stars. Why? Because it's GOOD. The author captured the characters, dialogue and the fun aspects of the show well. Also, I thought the whole drive-in concept was pretty clever and original with some funny moments. I loved the whole Inga/Giles bit too! Some parts lag a bit with some spotty writing here and there, but lighten up folks. Wouldn't you all rather have this guy write another book then some of the hacks they've had in the past? At least Askegren knows what he's doing, Marie Celeste flub, aside. My 5 stars indicate to other Buffy fans that Afterimage is worthwhile and a fun read, nothing more. What's the best? That's debateable. Let's try to encourage the publishers to keep the good writers, like this guy, going. Who knows maybe his next one WILL be the best.

This book was good if a little dry at times. For the most part it keeps you entertained. I like that Cordelia had a big role in the storyline. Usually in the Buffy books she is persona non grata. I did think there should be more focus on Buffy though. It did annoy me that the book didn't narrow down the time period it was set in until close to the end (the writer finally revealed it was set about a year after Buffy came to town). I wanted more about the back story of Buffy. But for a short read this was pretty good. I would recommend it to anyone with a few free hours on their hands.

Afterimage
Pierce Askegren (2006)

RATING: 3/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season Two (ambiguous)

CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Giles, Xander, Joyce, Angel, Harmony, Aura, Jonathan, Principle Snyder, Xander's Dad, Xander's Mom

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Balsamo (Caliogstro, evil alchemist); Amanda (Magic Box employee)

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "Sunnydale, California, hosts more than its fair share of action and horror. It's understandable, then, that news of the long-closed Sunnydale Drive-In's grand reopening with a scheduled night-long festival of classic action and horror movies is met with disinterest or disdain by Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia. Only Xander, who has been spending his afternoons on the drive-in's work crew, is eager to enjoy the rewards of his effort. Buffy is too distracted to sit and take in a movie, anyway. A frightening encounter with a werewolf ends with its vanishing-not into the woods, but evaporating like a ghost before her eyes. Suspicious people in dated clothing and hairstyles are spotted throughout town but don't appear to be the usual vampires. And most disturbing, a sleeping sickness begins to sweep over town, leaving those affected in a state of extreme drowsiness-or a coma. It's no wonder no one notices the distinguished-looking gentleman of indeterminate age. His name is Balsamo. At least, that's what he's calling himself this century. But Xander simply knows him as `Boss' and has been promised a prime parking space for the upcoming evening's spectacle. . . ."

REVIEW

With such a thorough back-of-the-book summary, I almost don't even feel the need to recap the plot, but here I go anyway: Sunnydale has a new drive-in movie theater and you can bet something bad is gonna happen when it opens (anything new in Sunnydale is almost automatically evil). The man with the plan is a centuries-old schemer better known as the evil alchemist Caliogstro, and the magic crystals that power his movie projector make some of the screen characters become real. Oh, and if you go to see a movie? Good chance you'll fall into a coma real quick.

Afterimage is well-plotted and paced, with a good lead-up to the mystery and one of the better demonstrations of how the Scooby's do detective work. Although the dialogue is only average, the action scenes are enjoyable and there's a very sweet scene when Xander, unable to convince anyone to go to the drive-in with him on opening night, decides to ask Jonathan. All in all, an average but satisfying offering.

Simon & Schuster has continued to focus most of its recent Buffy books on the high school years-wouldn't it be interesting to see them try a more intense, hard-edged, high-stakes novel geared toward adults?

Jhaeman's Buffy Reviews: www.geocities.com/jhaeman

(c) 2006 Jeremy Patrick (jhaeman@hotmail.com)

I can't go along with others who say this is the best Buffy book, or one of the all time best, because it isn't. At least not to me. However, it IS a good Buffy book. Just not the greatest that has ever hit paper. I enjoyed the book, and I gave it three stars which I think is fair and a nice rating. A reviewer above asks why we rated it three stars if we enjoyed it. Three stars out of five is a nice rating for a nice book. It's not a four star book, and it's not a five star book. The book has flashes of fun and wonderful creativity, and some nice dialogue, but it didn't have me raptured as a number of other books in the Buffy canon. I can think of a number of bigger and longer Buffy books that were so much better. Even some in the younger novels(which have been over for quite some time I believe). That being said, "After Image" offers a lot of fun, but the best thing about it is when the story takes place. This book(and the ones coming down the line I hear)goes back to high school. I enjoyed that. The high school years were my favorite of Buffy, and any time we go back to school, is fine with me. The story takes place during the show's second season. Buffy mentions she has only been there a year. Plus, Cordelia and Xander are getting intimate and "smoochies" have ocurred, and Angel has not yet turned into Angelus. So, the book definitley takes place after the two part "What's My Line" episode, but before the "Surprise/Innocence" drama. And the story itself?. An old Sunnydale drive in theater is being re-opened and Xander has got himself a job there. A dream job for him!. No one in the gang seems all that interested. At the same time, a charismatic gentleman named Belsamo has arrived in Sunnydale. People fall over him, but he has a dark agenda. Don't they all?. Buffy has been battling weird werewolves and strange biker gangs that seem to disappear when attacked or killed. But it soon becomes clear that things that are happening are connected, and attention goes to the drive in. Weird looking people dressed in clothes that are from another time are appearing and disappearing, and a number of Sunnydale teens are falling asleep and not waking up. Sunnydale High outcast Jonathan is one, and uppity up Aura is another. Who is this Belsamo?. What is the story with the drive in?. Why do these strange people that are appearing look like the people that are playing in the old movies?. The book has a fun movie within a movie thing going here, but I think they could of pushed it further. Made it more cinematic than it was. The best part of the book was when the climax started to come. As for the writing, Pierce Askegren has his Buffy stuff down pretty good. He writes the characters as they should be at that particular time in the series. There were two moments that had me smiling. The scene in the library with Giles telling Buffy and Willow about Swedish Nurse Inga, and the two females ribbing Giles for it. You could almost see them doing it, and it was funny. The other was Giles informing Belsamo that Buffy will be "amused" when he tells her that Belsamo thinks Buffy won't go into action without her watcher there. So true. And did anybody else notice that the school nurse was named Kitty Forman?. That is the name of the mother on Fox's "That 70's Show", who is also a nurse. Was this just a fun coincidence, or did Askegren throw this in as a sly joke?. All in all, this book is a good read and has quality writing and entertainment. I enjoyed it, but at the end of the read, it didn't stay with me like some other Buffy offerings.

Finally!!! A Buffy book I can read and love. This author captures the spirit of the show wonderfully!! Sounds like he had a lot of fun writing it. He really has all the characters down pat and created an original and fun storyline. Also, had some nice funny moments. I think that this would have made a great episode. I didn't like many of the other Buffy books, but, like I said, this one seems to have all the bases covered. A must read for Buff fans. Fun!!

One small note the author refers to the legend of the MARY Celeste, as the MARIE Celeste. He may have been thinking of the fictional version of it, and not the "real" one. Oh, well, at least he didn't say MOMMA Celeste! :-)

Also, a few too many typos for my tastes. Not the authors fault. That's the editors job.

I love Buffy books, but I did not enjoy this one... The characters were not true to the show. The writing was ok and so was the plot. I actually stopped reading about 3/4's of the way. The plot just wasn't working for me.

If I hadn't just read 'Spark and Burn,' I would say that 'Afterimage' boded well for the future of Buffy as a book series. Pierce Askegren wedges this story into the time period just as Xander and Cordelia are about to become an item. It's Buffy's junior year during that brief but magical time when things seemed to be going well. Well, as well as slayage ever gets. As stranger (Balsamo) comes to town with a plan to resurrect the Sunnydale drive-in in true 50's style and suddenly waves of strange events haunt the world's most haunted town.

On patrol Buffy and Angel find themselves confronted with werewolves and nightmarish bikers who disappear into thin air when injured. Books disappear from Giles library with the aid of new school nurse and a cheerleader garbed in pink. Both of which also disappear. The Bronze gets a new visitor or two, and suddenly people are taking extra long naps. It takes a while to pin the source of the problem down, but it should be no surprise that Balsamo is not a good guy and that all the ectoplasmic weirdness has something to do with his real identity. The Scooby gang to the rescue, of course.

Askegren does an excellent job of recreating the characters. He handles Cordelia especially well, emphasizing her better qualities. The story borrows its location from other chronicles of the Buffiverse, but it is by no means a slavish effort to simply repeat the same old stuff. As a result the story manages to maintain its freshness. Not at all a bad effort, especially for someone's first try at a Buffy story. It lacks the drama of some of the other novels, but I'm sure most fans will enjoy this visit to the hellmouth.

Okay, if I could use fractions, this would be a 3.7 stars review, and no one is pretending that Afterimage is a great literary masterpiece. On the other hand, this is a piece of tie-in fiction that was written (unlike some others) by someone who clearly has a feel for the characters, the mythic story arc, and the context of the show involved. When someone writes a tie-in novel where the characters are reasonably true to the show, the dialogue matches the rhythm and voice of the characters, the plot matches up to the type of plots the show has, and the read is generally quick and enjoyable, you just have to give the author a bit of extra credit. Beside, having given Queen of the Slayers a generous two-stars, how can I give this much better tie-in novel any less than four stars? Fun, enjoyable, and well-matched to the source material, Afterimage is a solid, entertaining tie-in which is true to its source. If you are reading these reviews, isn't that what you want to know?

This book is based somewhere mid season two of the show, however it lacks any mention of Jenny Calendar and guessing by how Angel is still good and Xander and Cordelia are still keeping their relationship a secret, she was still a part of the show at the time. Besides from that a strong storyline with an interresting choice for the villan.

This is far from the greatest Buffy book I've read, and I've read many. The characters sometimes don't seem in tune with the show but they do have their good moments. The author wrote Buffy and Joyce's connection all wrong. He made them seem like they don't have a great mother/daughter relationship like they do on the show.

The story was ok. I think the author could of done a better job but it does capture you while reading a couple times. The fight scenes are well written so that's a plus.

Overall, this book is in average. If you have read lots of other Buffy books this wont be the best. This the first Buffy book this author has written so that could be a reason. But I hope he continues because he could get better. I mean, remember Nancy Holder's and Christopher Golden's first Buffy book, Halloween Rain? What a mess.