Customer Reviews

Seven Crows (Buffy/Angel Crossover)

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

 

 

Riley Finn and his wife, Sam, have been called in by the government to investigate some killings along the Mexican border. Shortly after their investigation begins, they are kicked off the case and told it is closed. This doesn't sit well with the Finns so they decide to call Buffy and Angel for backup. Now the foursome have to fight off vampires, shape shifters, pushy strippers, and the west Nile virus!

The basic idea of this book had me excited because I'm one of the few people on the planet that actually like Riley. The plot was an ok idea too but the problem was that the book was pretty boring. There just wasn't enough character interaction. As a matter of fact, Buffy and Riley are hardly in it. Buffy mostly just drives the van as Riley babbles on about crows. Sam and Angel do most of the work. I hated Sam on the show but she was ok in this book although her flirtation with Angel was just gross. This isn't really a bad book but it's just too boring for me to entirely recommend.

Riley Finn and his wife and fellow agent Sam find themselves out of their depth. Illegal immigrants are being eaten, drugs are being imported, and the local law has managed to get them called off the case. The solution is to hire a couple of mercenaries. Actually, Sam hires Angel and Riley hires Buffy - creating ome of the more awkward reunions in the history of Verdura, New Mexico.

Soon all four are scouring both sides of the border trying to track down a pair of vampires while being harassed by a sheriff who knows exactly what Angel is and doesn't much care for it. But nobody is quite sure what the sheriff is, only that he is somehow tangled up in a suspicious land deal. Thus we have all the makings of a classical occult western soap opera starring two of our favorite destroyers of bad guys. How can we lose.

Well, we don't lose, but John Vornholt never quite gets the sparks to fly in traditional Angel/Buffy style. The reader keeps expecting something to explode, and instead, the plot continues its merry way with scarcely a ripple. In truth, this story could just as easily have starred any four people and been just as good. But by using this particular cast Vornholt raises expectations and then doesn't follow through.

Still, there is nothing inherently wrong with the story itself. It starts with an interesting premise about alternate uses for illegal immigrants, although I would have liked a bit more detail on the skinwalker side of the story. Vornholt has been a successful Star Trek novelist for some time now, and may simply need to get his bearings a bit better in the wild world of Buffy.

Although I am a fan of both television series, this is the first novel I've read about either Buffy or Angel. I selected this book to start with because I was really interested in how Angel and Riley would interact considering their first meeting in season 4 of BTVS. And how Buffy would deal with her two past loves and seeing Riley and his wife again after meeting them in season 6.

I polished off this book within two days and, overall, I did enjoy the book but I have to say that I would have rated this book higher if this were purely an Angel novel. My impression is that the author had intended it to be an Angel novel to begin with and then thought to himself "I could probably sell more books if I made this a crossover story with Buffy". So with that in mind, it seemed to me that the author simply inserted Buffy into an already written Angel/Riley story. And Buffy had almost nothing to do!

Most of the action revolves around Angel and Riley's wife, Sam. The fact that Samantha was given a prominent role in the story was actually very enjoyable. But the scenes with Buffy were so atypical of the "Vampire Slayer". Buffy walks on the beach. Buffy drives the van. Boring! For most of the book, Buffy's character could have been replaced by anyone with little affect on the storyline. The fact that Buffy IS the Vampire Slayer had almost no bearing on the story at all.

And I have to agree with one of the other reviewers: the story plot was so mundane that it certainly didn't live up to what I considered (or hoped to be) a titanic team-up of characters from the Buffy/Angel universe. Hopefully another author will take these characters and write something more befitting of their potential.

I'm a little baffled by the positive reviews for this book so far. This book is a thinly written piece of drivel that tries far too hard to cash in on the Buffy following

The characters are inconsistent, and in the end, they fall flat, leaving no real impression behind whatsoever. I don't think the author can make up his mind who he wants Sam to be. One moment she's scowling at Riley for Buffy's arrival, the next she's proclaiming that Buffy's her "idol." What? The author seemed far too focused on Riley's jaw clenching ability, giving no real sense of who the character was. Love him or hate him, nothing written by Mutant Enemy solidified Riley's character as Captain Cardboard as much as this novel. In my opinion, he did a complete injustice to the character.

Mr. Vornholt also relegated Buffy to the background, making her arm candy and chauffeur for most of the novel. Given that Buffy's driving ability had been made fun of in the series itself, and was a bit of an ongoing joke, this made no sense.

And to continue the nonsensical, there are several passages where he has Angel gasping for breath after a cave in, panting while he's digging, ignoring the canon well known to anyone who's actually bothered to watch the show that vampires do not breathe.

The only thing that Mr. Vornholt did with any conviction was describe the desert. Ad nauseum. The desert's dry: check. The desert's arid: check. It has a tendency to smell of creosote after the rain: check. If he had put as much effort into plot and character development, this book would be worth the time to read.

This book was a complete waste of time, and is only worth it if you are a Buffy fan in complete withdrawal who will do anything for a fix.

In this Buffy/Angel/Commando crossover, don't expect to see any of the Scooby Gang or LA crew. This is a novel that is based purely on the foursome, Buffy, Angel, Riley and Sam. There's not much to the plot or the significance of the crows. The main highlights are the interactions between the foursome. This writer is one that well understands the complexity of B/A and B/R. For most of the novel, Buffy and Riley play sidekicks, with Angel and Sam going undercover and getting most of the action and heat. One wonders how Angel could survive out there. Anyway, besides the past relationships, there's also Sam's crush on Angel, surprises along the way, B/A teary moments and the Sam and Buffy rivalry. Overall a book that takes place out of Sunnydale, out of LA and out of the Buffy and Angel verse. It takes the relationships of that genre and throws it out in the middle of Arizona and Mexico for some good roasting.

I enjoyed Seven Crows but I didn't feel it captured the characters to the core.

There were some things that I couldn't see like Buffy doing like arts and crafts and Angel putting on make-up to look Hispanic. Plus I think there was a couple of mistakes but I know that the BtVS books don't always fit the tv storylines.

Yet I enjoyed the chemistry between Riley and Sam. I liked the black ops stuff there. I was disappointed that Buffy was sort of the back seat of this book. I could see the tension between Riley and Angel as it's always been there.

Overall, it was a good book but not a strong favorite. I hope to see more cross overs like these nevertheless.

Husband and wife government monster-hunters Riley and Samantha Finn stumble on a curious case just this side of the Mexican border, in Arizona: seems a few illegal immigrants have become someone's dinner. Local law enforcement is all too ready to ascribe the suspicious deaths to natural predators, though the demon-chasing duo are rather inclined to believe the mutilations are the result of vampires. Their suspicions go into overdrive when the area sheriff pulls some strings to get them taken off the case, provoking them to call in a little extra help - namely Buffy Summers and her erstwhile vampire boyfriend, Angel. Given that Riley and Buffy were once an item themselves, the quartet's fun in the Mexican sun promises to be quite the exciting weekend.

Vornholt writes these characters wonderfully, and has chosen four unlikely candidates for his team story that end up working remarkably well together. The writing is witty and brisk, the action steady and satisfying. The only complaints I have about this book are that the ending is far too abrupt, and the plot insufficiently grand or demonic to justify the wonderful team-up of unlikely characters.

Still, it's a great read, well worth the time and money. The mere idea of a vampire investigator running around the Arizonan and Mexican deserts is worth the price of admission, alone - what kind of sunblock do you suppose he uses, anyway? - and the inevitable fun of this dual love-triangled quartet (Sam develops something of a crush on Buffy's hunky ex, Angel, before it's all over) thrown together on any adventure, let alone this one, is too much to pass up.

Enjoy. And don't forget your beach blanket and sombrero, muchachos. (!Viva!)

Why bring back one of the least popular characters on the series who happens to be one of the most BORING characters of the series (and his insanely, annoyingly perfect wife who appeared in just about THE worst episode of the series) and have a novel based around them. Huh? Does this make any sort of sense? And the whole "Buffy/Angel crossover every few months despite the fact that Buffy and Angel became boring together a while ago is also something of a mystery.

But a "bring back Riley" novel? What were the publishers thinking?

I was dissapointed to be honest. The plot was weak IMO. And Buffy fans beware she takes a mega back seat to Sam and even Riley. There are a few good moments between her and Angel but not enough to make the book pop. Also the tension between Riley and Angel seems to be more over Sam making Buffy the Fifth wheel in this book. There isn't a feel of massive danger or excitment and the "mystery" is easy to get within the first few chapters... The end with Buffy and Angel was sweet but nothing we dont already know. In the End I say skip it.

Let me start by saying something none of the reviews have said which would be helpful to a reader going in. This book takes place in a alternate season 7. This fact was fine for me as i got the book from the library but I felt the need to state this fact much of the book as reviews have stated is about Riley and Sam who find out for no real reason during the novel there gonna have a kid. Angel is used very little in the book buffy even less. Dawn and Fred make cameos in this book as well. if you like Riley get this book if not get it from the library