Customer Reviews

Paleo

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

 

 

Remember Buffy's battle with the Mayor a' la Snake? She had all of Sunnydale High and a lot of dynamite to back her up. This time the action pits the Buffinator against all the muscle of T-Rexes, and all the craftiness of a conniving demon. And this time, Buffy's more on her own. This is not to say the Scoobies, especially much-missed Oz aren't players, but the action here is top-notch. Yet what makes this book really roar are the original plot and character development. This isn't just a make-a-buck story plugged into an episode outline. The author has really developed the new characters while incorporating our standard faves, and she knows how to make rising action carry a plot. A must-read for die-hard Buffy fans, those just arriving at Sunnydale, and everyone looking for a novel this Halloween season.

After reading a few reviews here at amazon, I decided to pick up Paleo at my local book store. I am a huge fan of Buffy books and needed to add it to my collection.

What a wonderful surprise! Yvonne Navarro really knows her Buffy as far as the mythology. She built an intriguing story that had everything we expect from Buffy, including dinosaurs; and she executed it well.

At first look I thought this story was going to be very Buffy-light. The first half of the story focuses on Kevin Sanderson and Daniel Addison. Kevin recently moved to Sunnydale from Chicago due to his father's increading health problems, and hates the change. In Chicago he was big in dinosaurs and he can't seem to find anyone in Sunnydale he shares his interest; until the fatal day Daniel gives Kevin's Earth Studies class a lecture on dinosaurs.

Daniel is a college student who works at the Sunnydale Museum. While doing some busy work he comes across a long-deceased paleontologists charred journal. Within the contents, a spell that can ressurect dinosaurs. Once four dinosaurs *are* resurrected, the one who ressurected them will be granted a single wish. Being greedy, Daniel wants to try and bring some dinos back to life. But how?

When Daniel finds out Kevin snagged a dinosaur egg from one of his many paleontologist expeditions, he convinces the high school student to help him with his "experiment". Once the first dinosaur is resurrected, things go haywire. After saving a neighbors pet dog from a Timimus, and later killing a T-Rex in the alley behind The Bronze, Buffy realizes she must battle a possible army of prehistoric beasties.

The secondary story of this novel ties in with the main plot. A young woman is interested in becoming the Dingoes Ate My Babies band manager. She is a smooth-talker and has Oz, Devon, and the rest of the band very interested. Of course not everyone is as they seems!

Navarro does a wonderful job explaining the battles in these stories. She has a very precise way of wording things so there is no doubt of what is happening. She also does a great job at sticking to the story. She doesn't get wrapped up in plot upon plot, and she moves the story along at a steady pace.

My only major complaint is I didn't feel the Buffy characters were in this book. It could have worked just as well if it were anyone. At times the characters acted illogically for our favorite Scoobies, and there were times Navarro didn't quite capture their voices correctly, especially with Oz and Angel. There were also times she resorted to the "Xander is a goofball" theory, which kept him rather one-dimensional.

However, I was able to overlook these discrepencies because the action was so wonderful; and her moral of being a leader, not a follower, is very tried and true. Oz has a great part in this book and is actually in the center of the action, not standing aside and observing. If you are an Oz fan and miss him, this book is for you!

Dinosaurs truly make a great villian for Buffy, and the twist Navarro threw in was an extra delight to the reader. I'm definitely glad I added it to my collection!

I've read a good chunk of the Buffy novels that are out there, and I have to say, this one was disappointing. It seemed that the author did not have a firm enough grasp on the Buffy-verse characters to write them with the truth or reverence that true fans have come to expect from these novels. The aw-shucks, dino-rific! focus was more appropriate for younger Buffy readers/watchers, while the gore factor was unnecessarily high. If you're dying for a Buffy fix, this'll do, but I'd recommend rereading your Watcher's Guide, or picking up something by the always satisfying Christoper Golden and Nancy Holder.

This may not be the BEST Buffy book out there (try The Evil that Men Do or the Gatekeeper Trilogy for that), but it is definitely worth the time and money if you're an Oz fan. This is the long-overdue book that takes much from Oz's point of view. It is filled with suspense, action, humor, and a good story line, and does a good job of drawing parallels with mentors between kevin/daniel and Dingoes/Alyssa. Plus, did I mention Oz is a main character? ABOUT TIME!

In this book, Buffy must stop a quartet of re-animated dinosaurs from releasing a dangerous demon into the world. The storyline was good, and the book itself well-written, but it didn't feel much like a Buffy book. Buffy and Oz were used fairly well, but the rest of the Scooby Gang (including Giles) were pretty much window dressing. The sub-plot about Oz's band was interesting, but it needed to be developed further. The author seemed very comfortable with the plot and the original characters (Kevin and Daniel), but not so comfortable writing for the series' charactes. If you like dinosaurs and such, it's a good read, but if your main interest is in reading about Buffy and her friends, you may well be disappointed.

This was one of my favorite Buffy books so far because it had a very unusual storyline that worked well. Kevin Sanderson is a new transfer student at Sunnydale High who wants to become a paleontologist. He finds a friend in Daniel, who works in the peleontology deperatment at the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. Daniel has found a spell to resurrect dinosaurs, and the one who performs the spell will have one wish fufilled in return. So Daniel decides to try it, and talks Kevin into helping him. And before they know it, there's a live, demonically-possessed dinosaur loose in Sunnydale, which Buffy mannages to capture and lock up in the library. Now it's up to the gang to figure out how this extinct creature came back from the dead. And time is running out, because three T-Rexes are now running about as well! This book had lots of excitement, suspense, gore (yep, you heard me right) and everything you'd want to see in a Buffy book. And I loved the dinosaur storyline.

PALEO
Yvonne Navaro (2000)

RATING: 4/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season Three

CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Angel, Oz, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles, Principal Snyder, Joyce, Devon

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Daniel Addison (graduate student); Kevin Sanderson (high school student); Mr. Regis (teacher); Alysa Bardrick (band manager)

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: Buffy Summers and her gang know that Sunnydale is a haven for outsiders, whether of the supernatural or strictly adolescent variety. Shy transfer student Kevin Sanderson is no exception. But Kevin instantly finds a mentor in Daniel, a paleontologist and fellow dino-phile at the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. When Buffy starts hearing rumors of alligators in the sewers, she has to wonder about Kevin and Daniel's hobbies. Meanwhile, the Slayerettes are having extracurricular excitement of their own. Alysa, a hotshot talent agent, wants to represent the Dingoes, and she's offering the Scooby Gang fame and fortune. If she's legit, it could be Oz's big break. But Buffy's too busy to run a background check-Daniel and Kevin have reanimated an ancient creature with a new agenda . . . an agenda that begins and ends with the destruction of the Slayer. . . ."

REVIEW

Paleo is one of those books that, at first glance, seems to have an extraordinarily silly plot: Buffy and crew fighting dinosaurs? Right. But what they say about judging books by their covers is true because Paleo is actually quite enjoyable and one of the best Buffy novels set during Season Three.

An atmosphere of mystery and suspense is established in the very first chapter, as we see graduate student Daniel Addison opening dusty old boxes in the basement of the Sunnydale Museum. Addison finds a partially burnt diary of a field archaeologist who tells of strange sightings and dark rituals involving the reanimation of extinct creatures. The plot continues to build from there, as author Yvonne Navaro does an excellent job of giving new characters interesting personalities, believable backgrounds, and strong motivation.

Alongside the main plot is a subplot focusing on Oz and his band, as they're approached by a talent agent offering to help them make it big. The amount of time spent on Oz is quite refreshing, given that he's a minor (or nonexistent) character in most other Buffy novels.

The characterization and dialogue in Paleo is consistent with the show, even for characters like Oz that are harder to write. Perhaps one of the best parts of the book is that the action scenes are well-written and exciting (although I almost felt bad for some of the dinosaurs being slowly hacked to death!). Paleo is one of those surprising little books that contains a solid, enjoyable story.

A clever pairing of dinosaurs and a mythical demon makes this Buffy novel unique. The first half of the book sets up the science. The last half explodes with action. Oz fans will be pleased that he takes a leading role in this story. Set in the scoobies' senior year Angel's expertise and strength is called upon through out. A warning,however, to Buffy and Angel fans there is no romance just breath taking chases and battles. Ms Navarro mixes humor with the havoc. Angel and Xander bicker. Particular interesting is the descriptions of Buffy and the scoobie gang by a new Sunnydale senior. The sub plot which concerns a manager for the Dingos Ate My Baby fits in neatly. A well written adventure. I recommend this book

I was a bit skeptical when i first picked up 'Paleo' especially considering the book is fairly thin for a buffy novel. However the Dinosaur 'buff' (pardon the pun) in me couldnt resist reading the amalgamation of a childhood love (the dinosaurs) and a current love (buffy the vampire slayer). When i began reading it, 'Paleo' drew me in and kept hold of me all the way through. It is my humble opinion that Yvonne Navarro has seriously given Chris golden and nancy holder a run for their money with this book. Navarro manages to combine the resurrection of an ancient evil with the efforts of the current day villians and stay focused keeping the reader on track . By doing this it shows that Navarro has carefully plotted out her story and made sure everything makes sense and the action is throughly discriptive and exciting. This is something that Nancy Holder has failed to do despite having good stories that are are enjoyable Her ideas are all over the place and not tightly knit and her two solo efforts 'Not Forgotten' (angel) and 'The Evil That Men Do' (buffy) are proof of this. Despite not being as long as the others 'Paleo' manages to incorporate good characterizations along with a very interesting and original plot along with a interesting and original villian. The action scenes were very well written it shows that Navarro had a very clear and precise image of what buffy was doing in the fight scenes. The book was also very humourous in parts and the characters believeable. The B story, involving Oz's band getting a manager and being given the possibility of making it big was interesting if resolved a little too quickly but i saw it as a mirror to the actions of daniel and kevin in their pursuit of fame by following the demon dragon Ladon's wishes. While Daniel and Kevin gave in Oz and the band thought about it and realised that the pursuit of fame is a harsh one and it is best to avoid succumbing to greed at all costs. Many people will probably wonder and go 'huh' what does dingo ate my babies have to do with a demon dragon well it shows that sometimes buffy novels are more than meets the eye and that you need to take a closer look at how the story could be a possible metaphor for the results of our real life wants and urges or actions. 'Paleo' is well written, planned and is excellent for Navarros first effort. Paleo has quickly become my fave buffy novel to date and i cant wait til Navarro writes another. There was however a part of the book that was too convenient involving how kevin gets the second lot of eggs (considering the eggs are of a rarely found dinosaur only 12 skeletons of a certain big meat eater have been found the eggs are even rarer). But Other than that as i said before a Throughly enjoyable book that is fast paced clever and well thought out. Readers may be dettered by the dinosaur references however (i wasnt, im a dinosaur freak ) but it is still worth buying even if its to just keep your collection complete. 'Paleo' is a fantastic read and i recommend it.

Admittedly, this is not the most original plotline. It seems every sci-fi show out there has decided there is a need for dinosaurs ever since the sucsess of Jurassic Park. However, fans of our friendly neighborhood werewolf Oz and his band "Dingoes ate My Baby," should not miss this one, as Oz and his band are the central figures of a secondary storyline.