Customer Reviews

Monster Book

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The Monster Book is a delightful reference guide filled with pictures and information. There are chapters on demons, vampires, magic users, primals, ghosts, the walking dead, bogy men, invisible people, Faith, and, perhaps the most frightening of all, the human monster. Segments from the scripts are used to illustrate the monster's powers and effect on the slayer and her friends.In addition to detailing every creature that has crawled across the television screen in the first four seasons of Buffy. It contains research into the orgins and folklore of monsters. This is a must for all Buffy fans and monster lovers everywhere.

As soon as you see the cover art by Dave McKean you know "The Monster Book" is going to be good. As with "The Watcher's Guide," this "Official Guide" to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series is first rate in terms of both design and execution. The three authors of "The Monster Book" have pretty good credentials. Christopher Golden, one of the co-authors of "The Watcher's Guide" has written more Buffy novels and comics than anyone. Stephen R. Bissette, best known as the artist on Alan Moore's run of the "Swamp Thing" comic, is also a Bram Stoker award winning writer and pop-culture journalist. Thomas E. Sniegoski is the new kid on the block, but he is co-writing the Angel comic with Golden for Dark Horse Comics.

There are two important elements to this awesome reference work. First, you have your chapters on: Demons from Moloch the Corruptor to Polgara Demons; Vampires from Angel to Harmony Kendall; Magic Users from Willow Rosenberg to Tara; Primals from Oz the Werewolf to Veruca the Werewolf with the She-Mantis, Hyena and Fish People in between; Ghosts from Sid to Hus; Walking Dead from Daryl Epps to Adam; Bogeymen from the Ugly Man to the Gentlemen; Invisible People from Marcie Ross to Xander Harris; and last, but not least, Faith and the Human Monster, which effectively covers everyone and everything that has come into contact with the Slayer. Each chapter provides choice dialogue regarding each monster (sometimes lines omitted from the show, details their first appearances and other episodes in which they appeared, key relationships to other characters in the Buffy universe, unique attributes, "Most Monstrous Moment" and current status (not all of them are dead, you know).

The second element is an examination of each particular monster in terms of its cultural, literary and cinematic history. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is famed for its pop-culture references from Zeppo Marx to Russ Meyers, so it should not surprise us it is willing to talk about monsters with references to writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Stephen King, literary works from "Dr. Faustus" to "Tales from the Crypt," and films from "Nosferatu" to "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday." This is the most monumental example of name-dropping and cross-referencing you have every seen. You will find all of your favorites mentioned in appropriate contexts and you most certainly will discover some new writers, books and films you will want to put on your Christmas/Birthday wish list (I want to check out Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series).

I look forward to each and every addition to this series of Official companion volumes to one of the best shows on television. Joss Whedon has obviously exercised as much control over these books as he does over his show. Now that the first season is coming out on DVD, these reference books are going to receive a lot more wear and tear. Golden and his co-horts have set the bar a lot higher in terms of this sub-genre of publishing.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Monster Book" is sort a kind of compendium of all the demons, vampires, and other creatures on the show, but is even more interesting than I expected. It includes a lot of information about the influences Joss Whedon and the other writers used to create the mythology of the show, and then goes into traditional myths about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, witches, demons, etc. All this is in addition to a page or two (at least) about each of the creatures which has played a role on the show. It includes everything from Ted the RoboStepfather to The Three. In addition, it explores the concepts of our main characters as, in a sense, monsters -- including the Slayers, Willow as a witch, Willow as a Vampire, Oz as a Werewolf, and so on. It has a whole section about Faith and the concept of a "human monster." It's really well written and well thought out and full of pictures. I only wish that somewhere, perhaps in the back of the book, there was an index of monsters and who played them (actors and/or stunt folks). I know the book is about the characters and not the actors, but it'd still be nice to give some credit to the people who portrayed these monsters.

Christopher Golden once again displays encyclopedic knowledge of the Buffy Universe! This is a great book. It's divided into sections by type of monster and provides stats (including appearances on the show) for each monster.

While the above is a lot of fun, I think the book's real strength is the in-depth analysis of the monsters and their mythology. By interviewing the cast and crew to get their thoughts, the authors allow us to see even more of what makes the Buffyverse tick.

This is a must read for any serious Buffy-phile.

What's most striking about this book is that it can easily be read by both watchers of 'Buffy' and those that don't. It contains a comprehensive list of all of the monsters, vampires, werewolves and ghouls that make up the series's first four seasons. There's a closer look at the make-up and preparation that goes into each monster, with a step-by-step process of how the Gentlemen from landmark episode 'The Hush' were created. Amazing as this is though, the real interesting feature of the book is the explanation of why some monsters were used, their meanings in the series and what the episodes' writers think of the monsters. For instance, there is a brief interview with Jane Espenson that really lays bare the meaning of the demon from 'Gingerbread'.

What makes the book so accessible is the way in which it charts demons, vampires, ghosts, werewolves and the like through folklore, legend, literature and film. This is particularly interesting because it explains exactly how 'Buffy' has expanded on what went before it and how it has shown innovation in the entire genre. Another impressive aspect is how all-inclusive this backlog of information is, ranging from Vlad the Impaler to 'Interview With The Vampire' and including modern classics such as the 'Harry Potter' series and hit movie 'The Others'. Finally, although this book wins on many levels the fact that it is just so comprehensive make it a must-have guide.

Christopher Golden an his co-writers now have reign over the title "Best Authors of a Buffy Viewer Guide" (something like that). The book is the ultimate source to find out about the monsters, demons, vampires, and more that have appeared on Buffy. Everything said about the "monsters" are very detailed, and their current status is even mentioned. Then, after each category, ancient lore and the history of the type of monster and pop culture references are told. I think that is what makes the book very interesting.

Buffy fans will line up for this one- a helpful guide filled with four seasons worth of supernatural foes and friends. The Monster Guide is similar in format to the Watcher's Guide, and for each monster there is a list of episodes that monster has appeared in, a description of the monster, and some comments from the writers of the show and creator Joss Whedon. The guide is split into section of different kinds of monsters- demons, magic users, ghosts, vampires (of course!), and even a section devoted to "human monsters," such as Faith, the slayer who went bad. A must for fans of the show.

Any big fan of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" would want to have any type of book they could get their hands on. This is one book that they will definitley eat up with every page. After having been given a number of books about the show, it's cast, it's characters, and behind the scenes stuff, we get a book that solely concentrates on the other stars of this hit, groundbreaking show - the monsters. They definitley deserve their own book. It's only fair. Every type of monster that has appeared on the show in it's first 4 seasons are chronicled in this deeply researched book. Christopher Golden, author of the first "Watcher's Guide", and many 'Buffy' books, co-wrote this with Stephen Bissette, and Thomas Sniegoski. These guys really did their homework. Not only are you given the details and story of every monster on the show, you also get an in-depth history of the type of monster in popular culture. Anybody who is into that kind of thing will be drooling when they read this. The book is squared off into 9 different categories. You get "Demons", which detail characters like Moloch from "I Robot, You Jane", Machida from "Reptile Boy", Norman Pfister from "What's My Line 1 & 2", and many more. Then it's onto "Vampires". This section chronicles everyone from Angel to Spike to everyone else. "Magic Users" is pretty self explanatory. "Primals" deals with werewolves(Oz), Shape-shifters, and animal people. Next up is "Ghosts". No need to explain that one. "The Walking Dead" will tell you about zombies and reanimated corpses. Next we have "Bogeymen", which talk about everyone from The Gentleman in "Hush", to Der Kindestod in "Killed By Death", to Xander's clown in "Nightmares". After that is "Invisible People". Pretty much says everything. And finally, we are left with "Faith And The Human Monster". This may be the most interesting of the chapters. As you might of gotten from the title of the chapter, this section deals with people. Real people who are just...bad. It delves into the awesome Faith character and storyline, as well as Prof. Walsh from Season 4, Gwendolyn Post from "Revelations", and a lot more. There you have it. It's a wonderful read into the background of the mosnters and other beasties and ghouls, and a great helping of where these types of monsters really came from. It's a delightful and interesting read that will no doubt please any fan. There are also some great colored photos in here as well. That only makes it better. One hopes that Mr. Golden and his team hurry up and give us "The Monster Book Vol. 2". There have certainly been enough for a second helping. Check this out and enjoy.

Though obviously targeted for fans of the TV series, readers who enjoy mythology will surprisingly love THE MONSTER BOOK. Obviously, the book includes an in depth look at what has occurred on the TV series as these books tend to do. However, the trio of authors also explores links to myths, other literature and movies, and culture, especially that of the supernatural creatures visiting Sunnydale obsessed with slaying the slayer.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE MONSTER BOOK is one of the best of the media tie-in books written because it delves deep into the underlying philosophy of the show. The standard passages are all included to the joy of Buffy buffs, but there is more to the legend as written by Mr. Golden, Mr. Bisette and Mr. Sniegoski. Thus, THE MONSTER BOOK has wider appeal.

The television series `Buffy The Vampire Slayer' has seen nearly every type of monster you will ever find. This book details all the leading ones seen up to the end of series 4 of the program. Divided into appropriate monster sections - Demons, Vampires, Magic Users, Primals, Ghosts, The Walking Dead, Bogeymen, Invisible People, and Faith and The Human Monster, it details every character with who they are, when they appeared, where they are now, unique attributes, etc.

This is just not a book based on Buffy though, alongside the Buffy Monster descriptions are a incredibly well researched history of each type of monster alongside nearly every mention of them within movies, comics and literature. As a bonus also, there are 16 colour pages with publicity shots, make up shots and scenes from the series on them.

Overall, this book is not only a guide to Monsters in the Buffyverse, but all mainstream monsters in general. RECOMMENDED not only to Buffy fans, but fans of all things monstery as well