Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Immortal [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Christopher Golden (Author), Nancy Holder (Author), Charisma Carpenter (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

During a routine slaying, Buffy Summers runs into a small group of vampires who seem to be out for more than the usual bite-and-suck. As the vamps scatter, one of them stays behind willing to sacrifice itself to help the others escape. Though surprised -- vampires aren't exactly known for their generosity -- the Slayer doesn't waste time pondering the demon's motivation and kills it.

Or so she think.

But the next night a new vampire confronts the Chosen One and her friends. One who knows Buffy's name and can anticipate her basic attack. One who doesn't have the proper respect for Mr. Pointy. One whose name is Veronique.

"She cannot die. Strike her down, but like the night she will always come again. And she will bring forth the end of Man...."

Every time Buffy kills her, Veronique rises again in a new body.

"Great. Instant replay." An invincible demon is the last thing the Slayer needs right now. Joyce Summers is about to undergo a serious operation, calling up all of her daughters fears about her own mortality. Angel wants to comfort Buffy, but her mother's crisis underscores the difference between them: he will live forever, while she will grow old...or die young.

Torn between her duties as a daughter and as the Chosen One, Buffy will need the support of her friends to help her solve a rash of grave robberies, head off an influx of new vampires, and take Veronique down, once and for all.

For Veronique is on a mission -- to bring about the unification of her masters, the Triumverate, into one all powerful demon who will drink the blood of the last man on earth....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like the ongoing Star Trek audio series, this tape is aimed at a television-bred cult audience hungry for ancillary product (this is the first Buffy title to be adapted to audio). Though this original novel is available in print, its dramatic play seems naturally dynamic in its spoken incarnationAthanks, in part, to reader Charisma Carpenter, who works hard to live up to her first name, translating the tale's gothic flourishes into full-on Valley Girl speak. (On the TV series, she plays Cordelia Chase and has a starring role in the spin-off series, Angel.) While the descriptive passages might seem overwrought and ponderous as written, she transforms it all into bubbly good fun. Buffy is a normal teenage girl who moonlights as a "slayer" under the guidance of her "watcher," Rupert Giles. She's recently moved to Sunnydale, a benign-looking Southern California town that in actuality serves as "evil's very own ground zero." Buffy must weigh her love for her mother and school against the grisly tasks she's required to perform. It's a formula that makes for can't-lose entertaining moments, sure to please devoted fans. Simultaneous release with the Pocket hardcover. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Christopher Golden is the award-winning, Los Angeles Times bestselling author of such novels as Strangewood and Of Saints and Shadows, and the teen thriller series, Body of Evidence. He has written eight Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels (seven with Nancy Holder), including the upcoming Sins of the Father, and is also a popular comic book writer and pop culture journalist.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Audioworks; Abridged edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671046551
• ISBN-13: 978-0671046552
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,442,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence, honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA's Best Books for Young Readers. Upcoming teen novels include a new series of hardcover YA fantasy novels co-authored with Tim Lebbon and entitled The Secret Journeys of Jack London.

A lifelong fan of the "team-up," Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and scripts. In addition to his recent work with Tim Lebbon, he co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola. With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of the book series OutCast and The Menagerie, as well as comic book miniseries such as Talent, currently in development as a feature film. With Amber Benson, Golden co-created the online animated series Ghosts of Albion and co-wrote the book series of the same name.
As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies The New Dead and British Invasion, among others, and has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, the online animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson) and a network television pilot.

The author is also known for his many media tie-in works, including novels, comics, and video games, in the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Angel, and X-Men, among others.

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Buffy fan from Columbus OH 12/9/99, December 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Immortal: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Hardcover)

I stumbled upon "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series this fall and am hooked(and "Angel" too). I spotted the book "Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Immortal" at the local library new book section and had to read it. Now I'm hooked on the books. This book was hard to put down. I lost a lot of sleep enjoying the story line. I enjoyed the today lingo that matched the TV Buffy's dialog nuances. I felt like I was watching the TV Buffy show in my mind's eye while reading with the added gift of knowing everyone's thoughts that only reading can provide. My only wish is that I had been a fan from the beginning of the whole story line. But catching up will be fun. The only thing I wondered about this new book published just recently, was why Buffy was still a Senior in High School when the TV series has her a Freshman in College.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buffy the Vampire Slayer takes on an Immortal Vampire, April 26, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Immortal (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Mass Market Paperback)

With most stories of the battle between good and evil what makes the story is the quality of the villain. While Veronique, the "Immortal" vampire is not on the level of The Master of Hannibal Lecter, she does create some interesting possibilities for her encounter with Buffy in this novel by Michael Golden and Nancy Holder. Empowered by her demon overlords the Triumvirate, Veronique passes from the body of one vampire to the next every time she has been dusted, picking up more information about the Slayer and her fighting style with each and every encounter. Meanwhile, Veronique and her minions are preparing for the Triumvirate to take form in this dimension at which point wackiness will ensue and eventually she will get to drink the blood of the last man on Earth. Unfortunately, Buffy Summers is a bit preoccupied at the moment since her Mom is hospitalized and has to undergo a biopsy. Of course, given the death of Buffy's mom during season five, this subplot regarding Joyce now has an additional resonance. In this story its purpose is to put the Slayer between a rock and a hard place: the world is going to an end (again) and her mother is going under the knife. Golden and Holder create a situation in which Buffy can legitimately say "no" to doing her duty.

Once again Golden and Holder have proven that their tag-team efforts at written Buffy novels set the standard for everybody else. You have to wonder if "Immortal" movie provided some inspiration for what happened to Joyce Summers this season on the series or if this is simply a case of great minds thinking alike. However, I do think they could have utilized Veronique's abilities a bit more creatively and exploited them to much greater effect. Since this novel has vampires ghoulishly robbing graves, it does have several scenes that are up there on the gross scale compared to other Buffy books. As always, the authors are concerned with exploring the depths of her characters, so that Buffy, preoccupied with thoughts of her mother's mortality cannot stop thinking about how time and death are relatively meaningless concepts to Angel. The Buffy/Joyce relationship comes across nicely in this story. Golden and Holder also continue to explore the past, both in terms of previous Slayers (two of whom appear in the book) and Angel B.B. (Before Buffy). "Immortal" is another first-rate Buffy novel from two writers who fully understand the Buffy mythos.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An immortal evil and an immortal love make a great book, September 1, 2000

By 

algerina "algerina" (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Immortal (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book took my breath away. The old evil, kill it and it returns again and again. An impossible love deny it and it returns over and over again.

I admired the way the authors wove creative mythology, the stories of Angel's past and the trauma of Joyce's illness together to create an excellent story. Mr Golden and Ms Holder present one of the best representations of the Buffy/Angel relationship. I have actually marked the pages so I can go back and reread the passion and pain these two star crossed lovers face. Angel's confession that he can't bear to think of Buffy's death and that he has actually considered turning her, thus granting her immortality is chilling.

It's almost redundant to say that a Golden/Holder book sparkles with action and mystery. Even if you have never seen an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel pick up this book, Any reader will enjoy this book. Any fan will embrace it. After reading this novel, a reader will come away considering their own mortality. I know I did. Can I give it six stars? Please.