Customer Reviews

Child of the Hunt

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder write the best Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels, not just because they are good writers but because they understand both the characters and the mythos of the Slayer. Even though the stories are set in Sunnydale, Golden and Holder have a keen appreciation for the Old World-ness of the Slayer's world. This is not just a question of Giles coming from England, Angel from Ireland and Jenny from the land of the gypsies, but rather a recognition that when you are talking about ancient evil you have to skip across the ocean because that is where our sense of vampires, demons and things that go bump in the night originates. "Child of the Hunt" represents this sensibility quite nicely.

Buffy and her cohorts are enjoying a traveling Renaissance fair that has come to Sunnydale, but while they enjoy most of what they see they do not like the way the visitors treat Roland, their court jester. That is not the only significant development in town, for roaming the countryside are the minions of the Wild Hunt, in the service of the Erl King and with a taste for flesh. Of course there is a strange and terrible secret that links Roland to the eerie visitors. The Slayer wants to get involved, but Buffy must beware the awful curse, which dictates that no one can see the face of the leader of the Wild Hunt and live. Unless, that is, they join the hunt and take an oath to serve the Erl King.

This is not a story about the end of life as we know it, like a Buffy season finale or Golden and Holder's justly celebrated Gatekeeper Trilogy, but then that is not the point. This is a more intimate story, where Buffy is fighting to save Roland more so than she is to stop the Erl King. Consequently, there is a complexity here that she just do not find in your average Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel. This is a serious story, with less of the humorous lines and cultural allusions than you find in most Buffy novels (usually to excess, I must add), that captures the spirit of ancient, Old World evil that provides such a provocative counterpoint to the essentially Post-Modern Slayer (there's a dissertation topic if ever I heard one). Actually, all you need to know is that if you are like Buffy then you should just read all of Golden and Holders novels. There is ample reason to believe they are genetically incapable of writing anything less than a great one.

As a fan of the TV show I was excited when I discovered the books about her but at the same time hesitant, thinking they might ruin things for me. The opposite happened. Now the space between Tuesdays seems to drag on forever, for after reading the book you feel even more a part of Buffy's inner circle. What makes the book even better than the show is you get to read each characters thoughts, hopes, and dreams.

This book isn't simply another Buffy episode either. It would be a major production for any of this book to make it to the small screen. You don't need it to either, the authors' imagery and descriptions allow the imagination to create your own show.

The plot is exciting. I couldn't put the book down, and if I hadn't moved on to another Buffy book by the authors I would be reading it again, and again, and again...

I did a report on this book. I'm in seventh grade but I love to read Buffy books. This book was written greatly and it is my favorite book now. I was very impressed with the writing and I was so anxious to read what happened that I couldn't even put it down. I recommend this book to everybody I even lent it to my mom. My teacher was so impressed with my report that she actually asked me where she could get a copy. I have read this book four times. I loved the fairs and Roland was really cool. All you people who have read the book you probably know what I'm talking about with the King Erl. Thanx for reading my review.

When I first read this book, I loved the way it brought back the child dreamer in me. It had a mlesc of fantasy,horror,and humor. This story (though many might not know) includes a famous German folk beast, the Erl King. (There is a famous poem by a German author called "The Erl-King.") Forget what they say about the show (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) this book will surely make a fan out of anyone. Enjoy!

Well, this isn't going to be a total spoiler. all I am gonna say is that this is a great Buffy book. It takes place after the second season of the show, Buffy is back in Sunnydale. A traveling Rennesaince Faire comes to Sunnydale, but something isn't quite right. This is a great book, a real page turner. It has everything, Buffy and Angel, Cordelia and Xander, Willow and Oz, and Giles, Buffy's mom. It has action, comedy, and it is scary. A great read!

My second book I've read from my favorite hit t.v show and again, I am impressed! The writing is great and the characters are so lifelike and true to form. What I like about the books are the fact that we finally get to delve into the collective minds of the complicated characters that are Sunnydale's 'Scooby Gang'. A vampire slayer, a watcher, a witch, a werewolf, a vampire, a wisecracker human and a rich girl who keeps getting mixed up with the gang, even if she pretends she can't stand them. Like the show, the book was beyond entertaining and well worth the money.
This novel, 324 pages, could easily have been a great episode. It was a very different departure from what we've seen in the show. A weird group of traveling renaissance faire people that arrives in Sunnydale, CA, (a.k.a, the Hellmouth) who are not only weird, but have something to do with a sinister group of horsebacked, hellhound dark faerie roaming the woods around Sunnydale looking for souls.
The Scooby Gang think a faire would be uncool, but find themselves drawn to the faire anyway and experience a feeling of dread and doom. Jousting contests, human chest matches, knights and ladies and a court jester that all seem a little too...real.
Caught up in a whirl of confusion, the gang experience the dark faerie for themselves and find out the faire is the least of their problems. The Erl King has brought the Wild Hunt to the Hellmouth and the gang must stop them before all the lost souls in town become part of the Hunt forever. Not only does the Slayer have to worry about the king, but the jester in the faire is not what he seems...he is destined to become the Slayer's mortal adversary....

Tracy Talley~@

Whenever I read a commercial tie-in book (basically, any novel that's based upon an existing television show, movie, video game / RPG system, or comic book), I'm always wary. Usually you're left with a sub-par story that just happens to feature the same characters that you know and love from the initial source material. So when I started reading "Child of the Hunt", I didn't have high expectations.

I was pleasantly surprised, however. The book is able to capture much of the spirit and voice of the television show (of which I'm a fan). The credit for this of course lies in the authors, who are well versed in the Buffy franchise, as both have written previous novels on the subject and Mr. Golden alone has contributed about as much to the "Buffyverse" as Joss Whedon himself at this point. There were many elements from the TV series that the authors were able to translate well into the novel, such as the distinct humor of the show, the dead-on characterization of the cast, as well as some of the more serious nature of the program.

I found the story to be very interesting and inspired as well. On the show it's common to see Buffy take on all manner of vampire and demon, but the program usually doesn't stray into the realm of the fae. Golden and Holder provided a refreshing deviation from the normal Buffy villain (delving deep into mythological lore to bring us a unique creature of legend). The story here is very dark as well; it touches upon the runaway population of Sunnydale, as well as feelings of loss, fear, despair and abandonment. The authors do a great job of setting up the mood for the story. The villains here are truly evil and ruthless, and the violence (of which there is a good deal) is at times quite brutal. This works for the best of the plot, though. If this was an episode of the show, it would definitely get the "for teens and adult audiences" label at the beginning of the program.

Overall, this was a wonderful book. I was surprised at just how good it was. If you are a fan of the show, than this is definitely something that you should purchase; you won't be left disappointed. But this is not just a book for Buffy fans; on its own merits, this is a rather well-done piece of horror fiction, with interesting characters, intriguing villains, and a lot of intense action. Definitely a recommened read.

This book would have to be one of my favorite Buffy books. I love the ones with a strong Buffy/Angel storyline, and there were some great 'scenes' in this one. I also liked seeing a slightly different side of Cordelia, a kinder side. There were good bits with all the characters, and a lot on relationships. Also, the medieval faire made for lots of good, funny lines. Definately a good book to buy. Read it!

I'm obviously in the minority on this particular Buffy entry. This was the first "adult line" Buffy offering, though it might be noticed that it's now packaged in the "juvenile line" format, as well. Something that must be borne in mind, always, when shopping for Buffy books, is that the packaging is immaterial as far as gauging maturity level of the content.

This isn't a bad book, and has a lot going for it. Other reviewers have noticed that the dialogue is less solid than in other entries, and that there are consistency problems. I was reluctant to buy another title in this series after reading this one, only because it struck me as nothing extraordinary - it isn't a great deal like the T.V. series, but is insufficiently independent of it to stand on its own as a novel. The characters are well-drawn (Roland, especially, who achieves something of tragic stature) and it has an interesting plot, which is recounted in the other reviews here. But this book doesn't have quite the caliber of writing as later entries.

In short, not bad, but I wouldn't recommend it as anyone's first foray into Buffy.

It seems the creative team of Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder are perfect for writing the Buffy novels after this successful attempt. From the use of off-beat villians like the ERL-KING from Norse mythology, to the small, gremlin like, Dark Fairies. They retain all character aspects from the show, with the way the characters act and with their dialogue. Also able to bring an eerie, sense of forboding quality in all of the key scenes involving the Faere and the Wild Hunt.You'll find that the fight scenes are a bit more full-on than the tv show, with the cast actually receiving pretty full-on wounds, which is great and more truthful for the subject matter. This book runs exactly like a movie length episode would on tv. RECOMMENDED to all.