Customer Reviews

Dusted: The Unauthorized Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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

 

 

This is a good Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode guide. Like Keith Topping's excellent Slayer books (also available from Amazon and still the best books about the series) the authors express their personal opinions about each episode as well as providing interesting notes about characters, trivia, etc.

I have one nitpick about the book. We're informed on the spine and front and back covers that the book is unauthorised...and then again inside the book at the bottom of every second page. It's barely distracting, but it does seem like overkill.

I definitely recommend this to Buffy fans who are looking for a well written book that covers the entire series as well as the various spin-off novels and comics based on the series. I did find myself disagreeing with many of the opinions expressed about the last couple of seasons, but I see that as a positive as I enjoy having my views challenged.

Fans looking for a guide that covers all seven seasons of the series have either this book or Keith Topping's guide to choose from. In their introduction, these authors take a nasty swipe at their fellow Brit, Keith Topping (although not using his name), in saying that they won't mention trivial continuity glitches or list every pop reference. Instead, these authors like to discuss how an episode contributes to character development and fits into larger story arcs, and the underlying moral or lesson of each episode.

Overall, this guide is awfully negative, and the downbeat tone gets irritating after awhile. I can agree with Miles that the series went downhill after Season Three (high school angst is more traumatic than postsecondary angst). But whereas I loved the Trioka, at least in their earlier appearances, and the evil-Willow arc, this guide is utterly scathing toward those story elements. I was curious how these authors would react to my favorite episodes, and very often they loathed them, such as "Fear Itself," "Superstar" ("extremely stupid"), "Gone," and "Grave" ("genuinely awful"). Nonetheless it's interesting to read another perspective, and a book can still be fun even if I disagree with the authors.

There are one or two pages per episode - actually quite a bit because each page is large and the book uses a fairly small font - plus numerous sidebars and material covering novels, comics, music, etc. The overuse of brackets is quite irritating; the authors seem incapable of writing more than ten words without putting a tangential thought in brackets.

I think this book is horrible. To start with, it's a poorly written book. There are blatent typing errors all over the place, and even the basic sentence structure is so bad it's distracting from the text. The guide reads like someone without any basic grammatical knowledge trying really hard to impress readers. And the worst part is that there are three authors. I remember in grade school being reminded to proof read papers before handing them in. You'd think one of the three of them would have thought to do this.
My second problem is that the authors' biases actually get in the way of the information they are presenting. The sections on the first three seasons are tolerable, because the authors liked seasons one through three. But there is no point in reading past that. The authors basically argue themselves into a corner after they decide that "Fool for Love" ep. 5.07 is the last good episode in the series. For the remainder of the book, the focus of the "episode guide" becomes the authors justifying their position, and the behind the scenes information and such (that should make up the majority of this book) suffers for it. They suddenly become unable to find the real meaning behind any episode and actively downplay any positives in any of the episodes from halfway through season five to the end of the series. By season seven, the authors are reduced to arguing, I didn't see any meaning in that episode...it must be about nothing...it was bad. The old, I didn't get it, it sucks approach to criticism. If you want to be taken seriously as a critic, prove to me that you understood something first, then tell me why it wasn't good, otherwise don't waste my time with poorly supported opinions.
Content wise, the worst portions of this book was the glitches section. What the authors do is state something from an episode that could potentially be a glitch in the storyline, then immediately (usually parenthetically in the exact same sentence they mentioned the glitch) come up with a reasonable explanation why what they just said might not actually be a glitch. If they have successfully argued themselves out of considering something a glitch, then why am I reading about it in the first place. When writing a book like this, one should decide ahead of time what does or does not constitute a glitch, then present the end result. Don't tell me why it's a glitch, then immediately tell me why it might not be.
The other part (small as it may be) worth mentioning is when the authors state that an actor in a show using a bad British accent is as offensive as portraying African Americans as uneducated, grammatically challenged, menial laborers. Little bit of a leap, I'd gamble (and speaking of grammatically challenged...see above).
Having read this book, I can't think of anyone who would actually want to read it. If you are a Buffy fan and interested in episode facts, behind the scenes info, and little known scoop, there are plenty of other places to find it that don't involve wading through poorly supported criticisms. With a simple internet search, I was immediately able to find three outstanding episode guide websites which do a much better job of presenting the same information as this book, minus the inaccuracies "Dusted" didn't bother to check up on. This book would be great for anyone who doesn't like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but then, if you're not interested in the series or don't like it, why would you read a whole book about it. Thus, there is no reason for anyone to read this book. Fans can do better, and non-fans shouldn't care. In my opinion, this book has no audience.
Finally, as a side note in my own defense. I didn't buy this book, it was given to me by a friend who I introduced to the Buffyverse,who knows one of "Dusted"'s authors from Dr. Who conventions. Needless to say, at least one of the authors will be getting a personal negative critique come this year's convention.

"Dusted" is definitely the best Buffy episode guide I've read thus far. Compared with Keith Topping's inane "The Complete Slayer", "Dusted" is funnier, more insightful, more informative and MUCH more accurate than Topping's boring, trite and remarkably inaccurate guide.

Like all episode guides, "Dusted" offers an episode synopsis and employs several "subsections" in its account of all 144 episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." What separates it from other guides is these subsections are well organized and well thought out. The subsections include "Character notes" (explaining new things that are revealed about the main and secondary characters over the course of each episode), "Glitches" (which points out mistakes and/or illogical occurences), "Demonology" (offering insights into the demon/vampire world in which Buffy must battle), "Best lines" (in which the authors pick their favorite quips from each episode...and, unlike Topping, the ones "Dusted"'s authors choose are actually funny!), and "It's Really About..." (a section that discusses what each show's subtext and metaphors are really addressing). Also, there is an amusing running death count, that tabulates the number of Sunnydale humans who buy the farm, as well as the number of vampires and demons Buffy dispatches from this earthly dimension. Finally, each episode discussion ends with a "Did you know...?" section that reveals interesting trivia about the cast, writers, producers and crew culled from various sources. Included are frequent discussions of the show's pedigree, history and background, as well as sections devoted to Buffy novels and the terrific music used in the show.

Granted, and as several reviewers here have noted, the editing could definitely have been tighter, as there are a fair number of errors that indicate sloppy proofreading. But, one must remember, it's a trivia book we're talking about here folks, not epic literature! Despite these mistakes, they never truly interfere with your enjoyment of the book.

As to those who criticise this book as being too negative...well, I, for one, like the fact it is criticial of the show, and not just another Buffy-loving puff piece. It seems a lot of Buffy fans love the show SO slavishly, that anyone who speaks critically of it is, in their eyes, traitors to the cause. In fact, the show is SO good, it can withstand criticism, and shouldn't be treated like a religious text, above honest critique. As much as I enjoy the show and count among the very finest programs ever broadcast, it is far from perfect. The authors of "Dusted", while criticial where it is warranted, obvious love the show, and are never disrespectful of it.

If you interested in a lively, insightful, amusing and intelligent "Buffy Guide", this one comes highly recommended. If you are looking for a fan book, that blindly accepts every episode as pure, unadulterated genius, undeserving of critique or analysis, go with Topping's dull-witted lovefest.

There is definitley no denying that the world of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is not lacking in the literary world. With novels, companions guides, and so on, it's made it's mark there as big as the one it gave to television. This latest book, well, it misses the mark completely. It's the one book of it's kind in the Buffy library that is not needed. Emotionless, cold, and without heart, this book seems to be written by people who call themselves "fans", and seem to only be fans of the show from seasons 1 to 3. There is no doubting the authors' appear to have the knowledge of the show's history and mythology, but does that necessarily add up to anything?. No. The book is hardly fun or enjoyable, and comes off as incredibly frustrating and annoying more than anything else. The episode guides are pretty well done. Their knowledge of mistakes in an episode, or "Glitches" as they call them, borderline on incredibly thorough and borderline psychotic. I've seen some obsessive nit-picks and knowledgability, but some of these take the cake. The best thing this book has, that no other book I've come across did, is that they keep score for the entire series' run of the vampires, demons, etc. that Buffy kills. They also keep a running tally for the students and staff of Sunnydale High. That is probably the one redeeming thing this book has. The book also does cover the Buffy comic books, and the young adult/adult novels. Something else most others books haven't really done. It's those few things they have that are different from others. But it's not enough. But it all comes back to the episodes themselves, and the authors' highly questionable, shady, off-balanced, self satisfying, and just plain moronic reviews. Not that they are all bad. They do occassionally praise an episode, but more often than not, it seems that even then they are being pushed, unwillingly, to say something good instead of actually meaning it. Save for the usuals(Season finales(except "Grave"), Hush, The Body, Once More, With Feeling"). They have a particular distaste for seasons after season 3. Most of the time, their critical analysis is nothing more than long winded, pompous, and completely out of text. As if they make problems to put a certain episode in so they could throw in mighty words and sound smart and like they know what they are talking about when it really makes them sound completely clueless. The season that gets blasted with the most hate is, predictably, season 6. Instead of really saying something, they just pretty much whine and never actually see some of the brilliance and intelligence and meaning that season six really had. Everything in season 6(sans the musical)gets the heat, and more often than not, basically because it's just season 6. I'm all for different views and opinions, as I have loved the other books from fans tht have a critical look at episodes, most notably the books from Nikki Stafford and Keith Topping. But this is bordering on ridiculous. One of the worst things they say is how unrealistic the show is. Excuse me?. The show may deal with vampires, demons, monsters and whatever flight of horror and fantasy, but it's not about that. It's about being a kid, high school, growing up, hardships, lessons, growth, etc. This is the show. And for those reasons, and those reasons alone, the show was incredibly realistic for those matters alone. Where have they been?. They contradict many things they say, by praising the show for being this and being what it is, and then they throw it in it's face later for no other meaning except that they have nothing to say and forego thought or intelligence and go against what they have said before and one of the many things the show does and stands for. And if they mentioned the show being "soap opera" one more time!. One of the most annyoing things the book has is that. What they consider "daytime soap", as they mention time after menotonous time, has always been there since day one. That's like saying 'here is where the show went comedy'. It no longer becomes 'I wonder what they will say about this episode', but instead you will find yourself asking 'I wonder what ridiculous ways they will think to bash this one?'. The one, and only, funny thing they say in a book devoid of humor is something that is unintentional. In one section they say, "Not to be too nit picky..". That's the funniest thing here. They state they will not a judge an episode by pettiness or the authors' own personal prejudice, but they occassionally do. Towards the end, it becomes more insufferable and a chore to read. And it really does become quite insulting when they continue to do nothing but bad mouth episodes. An insult to the ingenious writers and the millions of fans worldwide who get it. It's almost as if Simon Cowell wrote this book. Is there anything good about the book?. Well, I already mentioned the kill tally, the books section, and such. That's about it. Not much in the way of nutty things that other reviews state. It isn't until seven 7 that even the "Best Line" section seems to actually use the best lines, when most of the previous ones, save for a few, are far from best lines and will make most people wonder why that particular line was ever even considered. They even once referred to Kristine Sutherland(Joyce Summers)as Kathleen Sutherland. Uh huh. So why the two stars?. Because of the undeniable work and knowledge of the history, the "Glitches" work, and the section on the books. While it may be somewhat of an interesting read, it just ends up being an incredibly unecessary one. One that doesn't really say or reveal anything new. Something the authors blasted the show over and over again in it's later years, but fail to see that they are in the same boat. If you really want a good book with a look at episodes from a critical stance(and not like just companion guides like the "Watcher's Guide" books), then you need "Bite Me" by Nikki Stafford. The best book of it's kind. The "Slayer" series by Keith Topping is also a must have. Like Stafford's book, it is warm, usually right on the nose, very funny, and from someone who seems to actually like this show. If I knew then what I know now, I would never of gotten this book. If it seems that I am being too harsh on this book and the authors, well, the punishment fits the crime. This book, well, it should be dust.

DUSTED: THE UNAUTHORIZED GUIDE TO BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
By Lawrence Miles, Lars Pearson, and Christa Dickson (New Orleans: Mad Norwegian Press, 2003)

RATING: 4/5 Stakes

Buffy fans searching for a reference guide to the show have a lot of options: the three Watcher's Guides, Girl's Got Bite, Buffy X-Posed, and more. As far as I'm concerned, however, Dusted: The Unauthorized Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best of the lot.

Dusted is a comprehensive guide to all seven seasons of Buffy. Each episode is broken down into the following categories: Air Date, Writer, Director, Guest Cast, Story Summary, Firsts and Lasts (first and last appearances of characters or events), Young Love (detailing how the show's myriad romances are developing), Character Notes, Demonology, Best Line, Glitches (continuity or logic errors), Pop Culture, It's Really About (allegories and metaphors in the show), The Slayers Total Kill-Count So Far, At the End of the Day (brief review), and Did You Know? (interesting tidbits). Along with the episode-by-episode analysis, interesting sidebars focus on specific aspects of the show, such as "Buffy vs. the Emmys", "The Best Episodes of Each Season", and "Spike's Nature." An appendix contains a good listing of Buffy comics, although a similar list of novels is rather truncated.

The writers obviously know their Buffy, as there are frequent cross-references to other episodes and to Angel. The episode descriptions are interesting and, unlike the Watcher's Guides, for example, Dusted doesn't hesitate to criticize poor episodes or performances. Indeed, perhaps the only major failing of the book is that the writers don't seem to really even like the show very much: in their eyes, everything fell apart after Season Three because the show stopped using allegory or metaphor to make the stories "resonate" with real-world issues. Indeed, the hyperbole can even get irritating at times, such as when they describe the Season Six finale as "a story that crosses a line past `bad' and qualifies as genuinely awful." On a side note, the book's defense of Spike's actions in "Seeing Red" (which most viewers and Buffy herself perceived as attempted rape) will certainly raise some eyebrows.

My guess, however, is that most fans buy episode guides for reasons other than seeing what the authors thought of each episode; in pretty much every aspect, Dusted is an impressive accomplishment. And if nothing else, the cool cover art makes it worth a purchase.

The best Buffy companion out there. I have many Buffy companion books and this one takes the cake. As a HUGE and obsessed fan. Buffy is the best show out there and this companion is filled with trivia and behind the scenes info I've never read anywhere else as well as a detailed analysis of each and every episode that really makes you think about the quality of each episode more than you did before. It also gives you the inside scoop on Buffy novels and comic boks published up until 2003 (when this book was published).

A MUST have!

The reviewer who states that it is little wonder three authors are credited because one person could not do this much research sums this book up pretty well. For an "unauthorized" guide, I think this is the best Buffy guide on the market. It's packed full of nutty stuff that makes Buffy fans seem on the same level of crazy insanity as all those Star Wars geeks out there.

I give it four instead of five stars because I don't really feel like this book has any heart. It explains, it enlightens, and it digs in deep, but I think they only did this to make a quick buck, not because they really wanted to, and definitely not because the book was needed, 'cause let's face it, there are more than enough Slayer guides out there that we do not need yet another one.

I have to step up to the defence of DUSTED, which is my favorite book written about BUFFY and the one that gives the most complete analysis of the world created by Joss Whedon. I especially got a kick out of the Slayer Kill-Count, which keeps tracks of the creatures that Buffy slays, and the category (can't remember its name) that logs how many students die at Sunnydale.

It's sometimes said that the DUSTED authors aren't fans because their reviews get negative after Season Three. First of all, this quite simply just isn't true. They say many, many good things about Season Four, even claiming that many of the episodes are underrated. They also say many nice things about Season Five, mainly criticising that it drags a bit. (Which it does, actually.) In fact, they go out of their way to say that the show doesn't have an actively BAD episode until "I Was Made to Love You," which is in the last third of Season Five.

Sure, they don't care for Seasons Six or even Seven a great deal. But then again, I don't recall reading that BUFFY fans were obligated to like those seasons. Many fans (myself included) felt the series was continually running out of steam, and that the producers certainly by Season Seven had just run out of good ideas. Each week was like watching a sick friend linger in the hospital, hoping they'd get better.

Taking everything into account, this book taught me more about BUFFY than any other text, and I'm now rewatching the episodes with a fresh eye after reading DUSTED.

I bought this book because it covered all 7 seasons and was written by highly respected authors in the Buffy universe. It was very thorough. I loved the kill count and character profiles. The section I hated the most- the glitches. Maybe its my love of the show and maybe I hate anyone criticizing my favorite show of all time. But the glitches section seemed to be whiny and nit-picky. Especially since their commentary for Season 6 complained about the overuse of obsessive geeks and this book talks about little flaws in the show that are sound like someone really watched this show- again, date I say- TOO much.