Customer Reviews

Monster Island

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

MONSTER ISLAND proves there is power in collaboration. Here, we have two amazing authors, Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski, join forces to tackle a Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel crossover of epic proportions.

The novel has amazing character interaction. It met and exceeded my expectations for crossover meetings, be they reunions or first impressions. I especially enjoyed how well Fred and Tara got along. They almost instantly connect and their newfound friendship continues throughout the story while others comment on the wackiness that is them.

The authors certainly did their research when it comes to the monsters that have been on both shows before. Many familiar faces or races of demons appeared. The descriptions of those who were established on the series are accurate; the details of the new breeds the writers invented are imaginative and creative.

Anything with a wide array of characters, be it a book, a television series or a film, has to be handled very carefully so as not to confuse the readers and viewers. Golden and Sniegoski delicately balance the plotlines and give fan-favorite characters equal facetime. Not only do they incorporate the time-honored story of good versus evil, but they utilize issues that have been everpresent on both shows: ill-meaning father figures, abusive pasts, soul-searching, morality and mortality.

The story is engaging and the final battle is tremendous. I highly recommend this novel to any and all fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Two thumbs way up.

Or, if you are a monster, two horns or two fangs up.

This novel is well written, packed with action, humor, and the misery-loves-company angst that made Buffy such an incredible show.

The story, sort of a Buffyverse version of Hitler and his genocidal mania, finds our beloved characters fighting not only evil, but their own previous mindsets as they all learn that not all demons are evil, and some are worth laying your life down for.

It's a story worthy of Buffy, Angel and their crews, and the author does a brilliant job of bringing the two casts together. He has a gift for painting a picture with his words that bring the characters to life in the reader's mind. He describes Angel, crouching like a stone gargoyle, and captures that bat-like thing that makes Angel so delicious.

I loved the book and was sorry when it came to an end. It's definitely worth the read.

I only have one complaint with this book. The Spike bashing other reviewers have mentioned - it's the only reason I didn't give this book five stars. Major Spike Bash-o-rama!


The cruel things they say to Spike, especially Buffy, go way beyond being funny or amusing. They even go past being irksome. The bashing is not only distracting, it actually takes something away from an otherwise great and beautifully written story. Spike even saves Angel's life, and they all still treat him like crap. Even Willow takes pot shots at him. It's ... disconcerting.

If you're a devoted Spike fan, it'll likely tick you off. And that's a shame, because everything else in this book comes together so well.

Was the Spike Slamming Contest really necessary?

Nope. Nor was it comic relief.

Aside from that, a thoroughly enjoyable book from cover to cover.

A music teacher of mine once observed that the greatest examples of each musical era come after the end of that era. While that is arguable, there is no question that 'Monster Island' is an outstanding example of Buffy literature coming out too late for it to be anything but a poignant reminder of our favorite vampire slayer.

It is set in the time period after Buffy's final return from the dead, and before the onset of Willow's own difficulties. Not the best of times, but one of relative peace before things finally come completely apart. Also of interest is that Chris Golden and Tom Sniegoski have chosen to bring Buffy and Angel together in an unusual struggle. One in which the folk they are fighting to save are demons.

It shouldn't be any surprise that demons are liable to the same social dysfunctions that humans fall victim to. In this case, the onset of a racial purity movement threatens the existence of demons of mixed (part human) heritage - as well as those who support them.

In Sunnydale, a string of grim murders draws the Scooby gang into the nets of General Axtius, a Brachen demon who (oddly enough) was Doyle's father before he took up the flag of 'demonic cleansing.' Then Axtius shifts his focus to Los Angeles, where he is distracted from his cause by his efforts to wreak revenge on Angel, whom he blames for Doyle's death.

Realizing that the problem is bigger than either her or Angel, Buffy comes to Los Angeles, where the join forces. Eventually traveling to a mysterious island where those demons who have come to value peace have set up a safe retreat. There they must make a last stand against the hordes of General Axtius.

Golden and Sniegoski have proven themselves a powerful writing team of several occasions, but 'Monster Island' may be their finest hour. Not only is there a strong plot, but the character interaction - especially as the Sunnydale and Los Angeles contingents adjust to each other - is remarkable. The story underlines the changes all of the character have gone through, and provides interesting insights into some of the less character.

Great plot, writing, characters, and the sweet bitterness of nostalgia for something that will never happen again. If you are ever going to read a Buffy book put this on your must read list.

Very interesting plot, and a pleasure to see the Scooby Gang (Buffy, Xander, Willow and Tara) and Spike working with the Fang Gang (Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Lorne) in Los Angeles, while Giles, Anya and Dawn give their contribution in Sunnydale. Even my favorite crocodile hunter, Australian Steve Irwin, is cited - not by name, but I suppose it's him Buffy wishes that was around to kill some croc-like demons...

Set on season 6 - after "Life Serial" and before "Smashed" - "Monster Island" begins with depressed Buffy who has just been ripped off Heaven, and is very angry at the world. As she cannot take her "anger and frustration and despair" on her beloved friends (the ones responsible for her resurrection, by the way), she takes it on the demons she stumbles across on patrol (no, not on Spike, yet - that will come later on the show), until something very nasty comes up and distracts the Slayer from her pain for a while: Axtius, Doyle's father, a big, bigoted Brachen demon who wants to exterminate all demons that don't have pure blood, has gathered an army. When the good guys find out about this evil plan, it's almost too late. Besides, Axtius has a personal vendetta against Angel, because he thinks the vampire is responsible for Doyle's death - a half-breed from whom Axtius intended to purge completely of his human part.

The Scooby Gang and the Fang Gang get along well - Fred and Tara seems to have a lot in common (nothing that jeopardizes Willow and Tara's love, which is strongly reassured), we get to know someone very important in Angel's life (a new character, Elijah, who will have an important part in the end), all bunch of demons (villains and good guys) are appealing, and there is a human who once was rich and handsome, and now cursed, wants Angel to do something for him... very funny!

As a Spike fan, I bought "Monster Island" mainly because I knew he was on the book. The treatment of my favorite vampire follows the same pattern of all novels - that is, teaches us that when Spike was evil, he wasn't so evil as the Scourge of Europe Angelus; and when he tries to be good, he isn't so good as Angel or the Scoobies - you know, it doesn't matter much what he does, he was/is always beneath them, and almost everybody wants him dead. Besides, the Spike on the book is more the one we saw on season five (when he was proud to be a demon) than the one from season 6 (when he was already seeing himself more like a man, and less like a monster).

The soulless vampire is in love with Buffy, of course, but they haven't started their "thing" yet; Angel senses a connection between the vampire and the Slayer, and when he thinks of the possibility of Spike having his way to Buffy (because he *thinks* of the possibility...), he gets disgusted (or jealous?). By the way, Spike's love for Buffy seems to be the one that cannot be spoken, and is always described without mentioning Buffy's name:

"His passionate interest was being spent elsewhere these days."

"She was not the one he wanted, but she was breathtaking, heartbreakingly beautiful. If the one he wanted wouldn't have him, he was more than happy to make due."

However, in fairness to Thomas Sniegosky and Christopher Gold (who LOVES *evil* Spike, according to himself), the soulless vampire has his BIG moment of glory, performing an heroic act, in a very powerful scene, as well as we have Buffy wondering that, maybe, the chip in his brain can result in something very good, eventually. Angel and Spike together rule - the rivalry between the two vampires is cool, true to the characters - and in the final battle Buffy even worries about Spike being severely hurt, while Angel is far away fighting some demon.

Although I would have liked a bigger part for Cordy - who doesn't have much interesting things to do, in contrast to Gunn and his annoying protégé Calvin - overall, "Monster Island" is a very enjoyable reading for Buffy's, Angel's and Spike's fans.

The book itself is very well written, the plot is intricate and interesting and the authors show a vast wealth of knowledge over demons and all things magical which makes the book all the better. There's those great Buffy one liners, and the other characters get some great lines in too. Plus Buffy and Angel seeing eachother again, whoo hooo!!

However there were a few things that lessened my enjoyment of this book namely the out of date characterization. One of the authors seems to have let his love of Evil Spike get in the way of current events. It's a Spike bashing jamboree and everybody gets involved, even Buffy. In the tv series however, Buffy hasn't been bashing Spike in this harsh of a manner since before she died. The author clearly didn't see the ep where Spike told Buffy he knew she would never love him but he was grateful that she treated him like a man. In this book she treats him like a piece of garbage.

I've recently been watching the season of Buffy that this book seems to be set in and have noticed several glaring errors ( Giles still runs the magic shop but in the show he gave it to Anya before he left for England after Buffy died.)

But those can still be forgiven. All and all not a bad book, but still can't ignore the Spike bashing.

This was a WONDERFUL crossover novel. Everyone except Giles and Dawn played a part (too bad about Giles). I could barely put it down. I was wondering how they would handle Buffy/Spike/Angel, but it was very well done. Lots of action, lots and lots of monsters, great character descriptions. Should have been much longer, it was so good.

I just picked up Impressions, which was an earlier Angel novel, and am not enjoying it half as much. Angel novels are extremely uneven, from the ridiculous to the sublime. One needs to pay close attention to the author.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. There were a lot of great character moments and it was interesting to see characters who weren't usually together interact. Buffy and Gunn's pissing contest was especially amusing. I also loved all the shout outs to Doyle. However, the second half of the book gets bogged down in the plot and it drags a lot. There were also a few major printing mistakes. One page is omitted entirely and another is printed twice. Still, the book does bring nearly the entire casts of Buffy and Angel together in a coherent and believable manner which isn't an easy feat. If you are looking for a good crossover book then you may want to give this one a try.

Wholly apart from the authors' very fun, very entertaining story...which is chock-full of nifty tidbits that longtime Buffy and Angel fans will love...Simon & Schuster really dropped the ball with the first edition of the paperback (at least in the book I have): There is no page 366, the book simply goes from 365 to 367. What's more, a few pages later, several paragraphs are repeated. Is it asking too much that one of the world's leading publishers actually proofreads their stuff before they send it out? I'm sure they're aware of it now, though, and they'll correct it for future editions. In the meantime, you may want to go with the hardcover version.

Another in a long list of Buffy books which are shockingly out of touch with the show after season 3. Don't waste your money if you want portrayals that are honest to Buffy's, Spike's, and Angel's character evolution. You'll be particularly offended if you're a Spike fan.

I whipped through this book in just a few days, despite it being over 400 pages long. It has non-stop action, great cliffhangers and it leaves you feeling breathless. I have to give the writers props for juggling so many characters. On top of the cast of Buffy (Buffy, Willow, Xander, Tara, Dawn, Giles, Anya, Spike) and the cast of Angel (Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Fred, Gunn, Lorne) are a bunch of characters created just for the book. Even though there are so many people, it never feels crowded. On the contrary, it makes the book that much more exciting. Plus, the writers created characters have so much personality and background that they could easily have been a part of either series.

I bought this book because I love both shows and because I enjoy reading the books. The idea of a giant cross over book was exciting. However, the back cover of the book is very misleading about the plot of the book. It basically sums up the first two chapters. Also, it was unclear when this book was supposed to be taking place. It was as if the writers couldn't decide when they wanted it to have happened. From the fact that Buffy has recently come back from Heaven, that Spike is in love with her, that Connor does not yet exist and that Wes is still a trusted member of the group, I figure that it is at the beginning of Buffy's sixth season ang therefore Angel's third season.

However, there are problems with this knowledge. There were glaring errors in the timeline of both series. It is mentioned numerous times that Angel's gang had ALREADY met Tara. But Tara never came into contact with anyone on "Angel" (even Angel himself) while she was alive. There are many of these mistakes in the book.

The last thing I'll mention is what another reviewer said about a page being missed. This is true. Page 367 is missing and page 368 is repeated. I hope this gets fixed in later printings. Overall, a great book!