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79 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Please give the fans something better, June 12, 2005
This review is from: Queen of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Simon Spotlight)) (Paperback)
I wanted to like this book. I really did. The idea of a post-Sunnydale Buffy adventure was pure joy to this Buffy addict. Holder is reputed to be one of the better Buffy novelists, so I figured "Queen of the Slayers" was worth a read. It wasn't.
"Queen of the Slayers" begins immediately after the destruction of the Sunnydale Hellmouth, as the few survivors are leaving the scene of the battle. They think they're home free, but--surprise!-- another apocalypse is brewing. After a few preliminary adventures, the group disperses to where they're needed--Faith, Robin, and a changing cast of new Slayer cannon fodder to the Cleveland Hellmouth; Giles to do damage control at the reconstituted Watchers Council; and Buffy et al. to Rome, where she oversees the training of the new Slayers gathering under the auspices of the Immortal. While there she must deal with a personality cult of "Queen Buffy," her growing attraction to and suspicion of the Immortal, the rise of an evil "Queen of the Slayers" and prevent the next apocalypse as well. To say she has her hands full is an understatement.
The book's strength is the way it combines its story of post-Sunnydale Buffy with the events of Angel, Season Five, adding detail to the little bits we were given then. There were also occasional flashes of humor reminiscent of the series. Unfortunately, these aren't enough to overcome the book's problems. Holder's prose tends toward the pedestrian, with too many patches of "this happened and then this and then this" gliding over events that should have be described more fully. Frankly, if the book's length were an issue, I would rather have less going on but have it handled better. "Queen of the Slayers" reads like a combination of several free-standing novels condensed into one. The villains were over-the-top, but they lacked the complexity of the best Buffyverse villains. Almost everyone of any importance to the Scoobies makes an appearance, which makes everything just a bit too tidy. As for the Immortal, this supposedly charismatic character comes across as pretty bland, and Holder manages to destroy any potential he might have had as a player in an ongoing Buffyverse.
Perhaps I shouldn't be so hard on Holder, since I don't know what kind of restrictions she was given by her publishers. When you write a media tie-in book, the characters are not your own and you can't always do with them as you wish. As another reviewer noted, part of the problem with this novel is that it's written as a Young Adult novel, and complexities of plot and character are "dumbed down" to the supposed level of a YA reader. This "dumbing down" make it difficult to do justice to the characters Joss Whedon created, and it isn't even necessary. The best YA books can and do deal with difficult themes--Holly Black's "Tithe," for example deals with some very dark issues in a sophisticated way. Much of Buffy's appeal has been the intelligence with which the shows were written. Unfortunately, "Queen of the Slayers" doesn't reflect this. My suggestion--take a pass on this book and read some fan fic instead. Some of it's better written.
P.S. A note to the book's editors: you don't put someone "enthrall"-- you put them "in thrall."
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39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not What Was Hoped For, June 8, 2005
This review is from: Queen of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Simon Spotlight)) (Paperback)
The best that could be said about this book is that it takes the story line beyond the end of both series. Don't look for any real closure on the Angel/Buffy/Spike triangle or even any REAL answers as to just what takes place in that famous alley after Angel says, "Lets go to work!" It just isn't here. Hopefully, however, this WILL mark a trend as to future books, taking us beyond Sunnydale and Los Angeles. It would be nice also to hope that sometime in the future, SOMEBODY begins to write something for the ADULT fans of Buffy and Angel, and I don't necessarily mean R rated stories, just ADULT themes written from an adult's prospective.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Horrible Blot On The Sparkling Buffyverse, July 16, 2006
This review is from: Queen of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Simon Spotlight)) (Paperback)
When I heard that a book was being released detailing what happened in the Buffyverse after the Sunnydale Hellmouth's closing, I was very excited. The only hints as to what happened to Buffy and gang were a few vague hints during season five of 'Angel'. I figured it would be nice to know what happened to the crew. I wish I hadn't found out.
Nancy Holder, by far the worst of the usual Buffy book writers, slings out the horrible 'Queen Of Slayers'. The plotline involves Buffy and the gang going to Europe to organize all the newly activated Potentials, Giles helping re-establish the Watchers Council, and what the crew was going to do regarding the infamous Hellmouth in Cleveland. Yeah, sounds good doesn't it? Well, its not. The three little plotlines I mentioned are made immensely boring by Holder.
When it comes to Buffy books, there's one major thing I look for: do the characters feel like they do on the show? None of them do in this awful attempt. They don't act like themselves and most border on irritating. Not to mention the absolutely horrible storyline involving Buffy and the Immortal. And then when Holder starts throwing in guest appearances by just about every person that was ever on the television show, it just gets laughable. Not to mention the extremely childish nature with which the book is written (Holder using verbs like "fwopping"...ugh). And the most interesting storylines, those being the re-establishment of the Council and Faith fighting the Cleveland Hellmouth, are more-or-less glossed over for a plot involving Buffy, the Immortal, and mystical cellphones...seriously.
But by far the worst thing in the book (along with the many typographical errors) is the ending. It is absolutely ridiculous. There's a big apocaplyptic battle, which in theory sounds interesting (I won't give it away if you actually intend on reading this piece of garbage). But it ends up, like every thing else in this book, turning out in a way that makes you want to vomit. I couldn't believe what had Ms. Holder had written over the last twenty pages or so. I was laughing all through it because it was so terrible. Wait until you read about the banner with Buffy's name on it...just awful.
I know that Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon, has to approve everything (books, comics, etc.) by other authors regarding the Buffyverse. I just can't see how he could've let this stinker get through. This is an awful book. There are so many different plots (including one involving some shapeshifters that goes nowhere, one about Xander going to Africa, and then Holder throws in one about Dawn being put into a mystical coma) and none of them go anywhere. Its really quite sad that the first book post-Sunnydale had to be this junker. 'Queen Of Slayers' is easily the worst Buffy book ever and one of the worst novels overall I've ever read.
Please do youself a favor and skip this one. It really is that awful. I cringe thinking about the ridiculous nature of the book. Terrible.
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