Customer Reviews

Dark Congress (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Simon Spotlight))

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It was only a matter of time before Buffy came up against a truly heinous evil --- politics!

Set after the end of the series (post Season 7), this is the second of only 2 novels that were written to depict events that occur after Sunnydale goes from being an outie to an innie (as Faith would say). Thankfully, "Dark Congress" is blessedly better than Queen of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), although it's not without a few problems of it's own.

In this novel, Buffy and gang are slowly drawn to Providence, Rhode Island, were a bizarre collection of Demons and magickal Beings are quickly gathering. Why, and for what purpose? Through classic exposition skills (Giles, of course) they come to learn that all manner of magickal creatures are gathering to convene whats known as the Dark Congress -- an assembly of representatives from the magickal community who come together to iron out various squabbles and differences among their races, as well as ultimately attempt to decide the fate of humanity (as in, destroy and conquer, or live in semi-peace). Now, as the Congress reconvenes after thousands of years, Buffy is selected to act as arbiter of the whole shebang. Reluctantly she accepts this duty, as it would give her the inside scoop, and the possible ability to sway the outcome in favor of humanity -- but after murder befalls the sacred meeting, it is up to Buffy and Scoobies to discover the identity of the killer, or risk a declaration of war on humanity...

This was a fairly satisfying post-season 7 novel. All the main players were present, and the actions, attitudes, and personalities of each character were more or less intact. By the end of season 7 of the series, each character had grown considerably as a person, compared to how they had begun way back in Season 1. I liked that Xander was still coming to terms with the loss of his eye, and how Faith was a participating member of the Scoobies, but was still struggling to redeem herself from her past sins and control her darker instincts. Even Oz, stoic as always, is once again utilizing his Lycanthrop abilities to aid in the fight (he was sent to the Congress as a representative for the Werewolf community). These are the types of character consistencies that I appreciate, both as a reader and as a fan of the show. I would expect nothing less from a longtime Buffy author like Christopher Golden.

Now, on with the few things I didn't enjoy as much -- I felt the beginning of the novel was very drawn out and unnecessarily long, while the ending felt rushed and a little incomplete. The Dark Congress itself isn't even mentioned (much less explained) at all until around page 120 (out of about a 220 page book), so everything leading up to that point is nothing but setup. And, I hate to say it (and I'm sorry if this ruins anything for anyone else), but I was really hoping to see either Spike or Angel (preferably both) make an appearance. Keeping in mind at the end of Season 5 of "Angel" things are pretty much left at a cliff-hanger, with the feeling that we have no idea if they made it out of that last fight alive. This would have been a great opportunity to reintroduce one or both of those characters, and offer a creative explanation for what happened. Sadly, I guess I'll still have to wait for that. I also felt the Tara thing and the ending were a bit of a cop out. You'll know what I mean when you read it.

Bottom line, this book is still a lot of fun, despite some of it's flaws. It's an interesting story, and it's done well. Buffy fans definitely shouldn't miss out!

This novel is a definite improvement on Nancy Holder's Queen of the Slayers; while an enjoyable, fun read, that novel seemed to be trying to please too many fans and masters. This effort by Christopher Golden has a much more cohesive story, with a reason for each characters presence (and that includes at least one HUGE surprise return), and a story that involves them in constructive ways, in tandem and on seperate adventures. Faith and Oz are especially enjoyable here; we get some more insight into Xander's continuing journey as he copes, contributes and matures; and as for Willow's journey............well, read the book. We get a more than usual insight into the demons, baddies and anti-heroes as well; they are all genuine characters, as opposed to plot devices. It all hangs together well, and leaves the door open for more, which is, obviously what Buffy fandom wants. The current and ongoing Dark Horse Comics Season 8 Buffy stories are much more enjoyable and fun, but this is also an enjoyable addition to the continuing BuffyVerse.

I found Dark Congress a tale that needed to be told and none more qualified to tell it with the tenderness required than you. Indeed the message that I got loud and clear was basically, the only thing harder than saying good-bye to someone you love is not getting to say good-bye to someone you love. It was put eloquently and yet still in Buffy-speak. Any Tara fan who does not read this book is cheating themselves of the closure too long overdue.

Tara's resurrection also served a real purpose in the main story as well...no Tara, no Scoobies arriving in the nick of time to help Buffy...and Buffy gets pulverized by Malik's sword.

I'll also give a big cheer for the reappearance of The Gentlemen. It really did round out the cast of characters and was a fantastic surprise. As always, he included bits of subtlety that true fans and friends of Chris and Buffydom will recognize, smile and chuckle.
Well done, Chris...well done indeed!!!!!!!

It seems the more Christopher Golden novels I read, the more I love him! He has a true flair for BtVS characterization, enough that I can easily and fluidly imagine them acting out his novels.

The storyline for this one kept my attention and involved duos that worked together well, even ones I was worried about: Buffy & Faith, Xander & Oz, Willow & Tara (read it to see what I mean!), and Giles & a female watcher. The story itself takes place after the Sunnydale Hellmouth has closed, so it's a nice look at the characters after the tv series ended.

The only qualm I have with it is that, even with all the action that causes some serious reminiscing, there is no mention of Buffy's thoughts on Spike. I don't want to give away anything that happens in the book, but there were plenty of times in the story that I felt Buffy would have likened events to her last couple weeks with Spike...yet she mentions her thoughts on just about everything except that. Minor point for most people, but if you were hoping to get some closure on the Buffy/Spike thing in this book, be aware that won't happen.

Other than that, I found the action and ending quite satisfying. Reading this book was time well-spent.

Very disappointed in this book. It had an interesting premise, Buffy is named to be the mediator in a demon congress. Unfortunately that aspect of the book was barely touched. In fact Buffy is only in about 5% of the story.The first 100 pages are mainly introducing 15-20 characters and it jumps around between these characters every other page, so you really can't get into any flow. It's a choppy, poorly written book.

Christopher Golden has written several "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (BtVS) novels. As has Nancy Holder. And they've also collaborated on a few. I think Christopher Golden's books are pretty good, the Golden/Holder collaborations are acceptable, and Holder alone is perfectly dreadful.

So what's my point?

I don't believe that this is a Christopher Golden novel. It's a Nancy Holder novel.

Her style is very distinctive. For one thing, there's an archness about it. A smugness. And a kind of over-the-top melodrama (but not in a good way). Original characters in her books die in horribly gory, painful, shocking, sadistic ways. (And honestly, that was never BtVS. Just because it's technically in the "horror" genre and deals with vampires, doesn't mean revelling in gore.)

There's a lot of time spent on the back story of each of the bad guys, which irritates me because it takes time away from the BtVS characters. I've read all of the BtVS novels simply because I want to spend more time with the Scoobies, and, in this one, they were only present in about half of the scenes.

(Also, every woman in the book--and I do mean every--is "stunningly beautiful" or "breathtakingly exquisite" or, in one case, "a woman of singular beauty". One character was referred to as "the beautiful witch" three times in four pages. Not a big point, but it started to exasperate me after awhile.)

I'd bet money on the theory that, for some reason, Nancy Holder wrote this, not Christopher Golden. Perhaps he'd contracted to write the book, but circumstances prevented him, so Holder stepped in? Or perhaps the publishers preferred to use Golden's name, since Holder's last BtVS novel (and the only other novel to be set post series), "Queen of the Slayers", seems not to have been very popular?

If I'm wrong, and Golden really did write it, then I can only say that I think he's been working with Holder too long.

As for "Dark Congress" itself, you'll probably want to read it if, like me, you're still missing Sunnydale and eager to have news of the Scoobies. And, it was great to see Xander, Faith, Oz, Giles...and a couple of others that I'm not supposed to mention. (One thing that disappointed me was that Dawn was absent.) I just would have preferred not to have the story cutting back and forth from them to the bad guys. (Eventually I started skipping those parts and flipping ahead to the next Scooby scene.) This story didn't really sate my thirst for BtVS...but it was a nice sip.

I loved this book. I think Golden wrote the characters true to their nature. I loved bringing the older characters back, even if they were not all meant to stay. I have read a few books that begin after the S7's ending of BTVS, and I have to say this one hits the closest to what I would have thought the show could have gone.

Hope to see more of this continue, and I urge the author to please give us a little more.

Isn't that funny how that works. It's always better the second time. Well, that is true with this book. When I first attempted to read it I was less than thrilled with what I saw. However, after just reading it again (fully this time I may add) just within the past few days, I am rethinking my first assumptions that this was a bad books to saying this book is very good. Although I agree that "Queen of the Slayers" may be the best Buffy book ever written, this one can easily fit within the top 10.

I recommend it for all Buffy fans. And if you are a Tara fan, well, without spoiling it here, lets just say she plays a role in this book. It is well written, believable and keeps you riveted wanting to find out what happens next. It is almost a continuation of the comics season 8 in that allot of info in those comics can be found within this book making it seem like it is canon, even if it isn't. Or is it?

You can probably buy it here on Amazon for a small price which is always a good thing, yes. I think that all Buffy fans will find at least some parts of this book to be well written and maybe some parts not so much but overall, out of a score of 10, I give it a high 7+. I am looking forward to the next Buffy/Angel book and if we're lucky it will be written by the golden boy himself, Christopher Golden or maybe Nancy Holden. Hey one can hope can't he!!

After finishing this book, I felt as if I had traveled back in time, when Buffy TVS was on TV, some things were as they should be, and that anything was possible. It has surprising twists and turns that are in line with the great writing that made Buffy one of the great series, I feel, of all time.

Of course, you would have to be able to see the pictures inside of the words to "get" this. So, while it is not for everyone, it IS for ALL true Buffy fans!!! Hope Mr. Golden continues writing for Buffy...!!! Brava!!

This reader had to give Christopher Golden's "Dark Congress" five stars, because it's such a heartwarming story about what happens to the main characters of the Buffyverse after Sunnydale is destroyed. Xander and Buffy are together and this relationship is appropriate. Buffy, in an indirect way, was responsible for Xander's missing eye. Xander tells Oz that he has a purpose in life, fighting with Buffy against the forces of evil and he's known his purpose the first time he helped Buffy in Sunnydale. It gave the reader the opportunity to look back to Season One and think about how most of the characters have evolved. Even Faith has changed. Her relationship with the 'Deathless Slayer' is still contentious, but she listens and trusts Buffy. Buffy in return has learned to appreciate, admire and respect Faith. Faith even gains a new friend in Oz. They fight well together. Continuity swirls its way throught the novel. It's funny that Buffy still has a thing for supernatural, strong and deadly types.
If you are a fan of Willow, dear reader, you will be disappointed in her character's actions. She's still on the look-out for Potentials, but she's half-way around the world, far away from the Scoobies. She is so wrapped up in her feelings, her quest for more power, her resolutions. It was off-putting. Willow has very little control over her anger so much that she could barely restrain herself from hitting Giles. Willow's treatment of Oz was extremely disrespectful.
The ending of "Dark Congress" is touching enough to break out the Kleenex. Great storytelling by Golden.