Customer Reviews

Spark and Burn (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Spark and Burn is a great 'Buffy' book. Most of the story takes place during the episode 'Lessons' when Spike is insane in the school basement. I liked that the entire book is told from Spike's point-of-view. Spark and Burn has a lot of flashbacks from early season two in it. I liked that Spike was spying on the Scoobies during the episodes 'Inca Mummy Girl' and 'Reptile Boy';it was really interesting to see what he thought of Buffy, Xander, Willow, Angel, and Giles back then. This book also tells you the story of how Spike ended up on the submarine with Angel in 1943. Diana G. Gallagher has a really good understanding of all the characters and the history of the show, and that helps make this book great. I highly recommend Spark and Burn to everyone who likes Spike or just a good book.

This book fails for a number of reasons, none of which is the writing. Gallagher puts in an honest effort, and if good writing was all it took to create a great story, Spark and Burn would be a success. Unfortunately, the problem with the book appears right on the front cover, where we are promised an 'original novel,' and it never goes away.

If you watched the series and read the books (or even the comic books) you have a pretty good idea of Spike's history. First a bad poet, and then a really bad vampire. Drusilla's lover, and then, by an odd twist Buffy's. Villain, tormented soul, and finally, a hero. What Gallagher has done is recap all of this in 240 pages or so, during which you never learn anything very new. Instead we start out in the school basement during Spike's madness after regaining his soul and travel from flashback to even further flashback until this cruel biography is done.

The story, jumping from one frame to another never gels. The truth is, that there really isn't a story here, just an interior monologue and a series of pastiches. Just Simon & Schuster so intent in capitalizing on Spike's draw as a character that they forgot that Spike is interesting because his part in the Buffyverse. Mooning over The Slayer and enduring The Other's attempt to destroy his mind really isn't what Spike is about, and the book has all the fire of a collection of postage stamps from a country you don't care about.

The best I can say is avoid this book, which is a flat effort at best, but keep an eye out for Diana Gallagher's books. Somewhere inside of her is a good book trying to get out. Unfortunately, Spark and Burn isn't it.

I agree with most of the other reviews, this book was horrible. I read the discription on the back of the book and was instantly interested ( being a huge spike fan ) and bought it. but I was very disapointed, the whole thing is just flash backs that come directly from the show and the autor didnt add anything. I would rather just watch the show!!! Plus the flash backs are out of order, leaving you confused. DON'T BUY THIS BOOK, YOU WILL REGRET IT.

Knowing ahead of time that there was no "new" story, I wondered if I should even buy this. I have been disappointed by the portrayal of "Spike by other authors in the "official" novel line. I have to say this was a wonderful gift to fans of Spike's journey! The "old" story was presented with new insights and many "fill in the blank" moments. I was in no way bored and it did not read as a rerun.

Spike is fairly represented as an evil vampire when proper and the changing vampire he became. I only hope this author writes more and is assigned all Spike books.

As a long-standing Spike fan myself, I can say with confidence that "Spark and Burn" is an awesome book for fellow fans. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", despite it's cheesy show title, is one of the greatest shows of all time, and Spike is probably one of the best characters, next to Buffy herself.

"Spark and Burn" takes you on a journey through certain events on "Buffy", especially during season 2 when Spike and Drusilla first crashed through that 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. It jumps back and forth from past events (when Spike was first sired by Drusilla, and the years following his birth as a vampire and his subsequent terrorizing of Europe with Drusilla, Darla, and Angelus) that help illustrate how Spike grew to be the vampire he is today, and current events (which for this book 'current' meant season 2, the first season Spike appeared as a character on Buffy). The book is told entirely from Spike's point of view, which is unique in that most of the Buffy novels that contain Spike use him as a peripheral character. I've always wanted a Buffy novel that was all about Spike, and here it is!

What I loved most, besides Spike, was that the story took you through well-known Buffy episodes (mostly in season 2) and retold them while giving you a whole different perspective on things. It illustrates how Spike first viewed the Slayer, and how his initial animalistic attraction to her (despite the fact that he still intended to kill her), slowly transformed into grudging respect for her skills as a warrior, and eventually grew into a sort of burning need for her (hence the title of the book). Being able to (as a reader) get into Spike's head and really experience the inner workings of this bleached-blonde care bear with fangs is a real trip! It's an incredible journey, and I'd love to see more books like this one!

By the time you finish the book, you're left wishing they had gone further with it, because you are so entranced that you don't want it to end! (at least *I* didn't want it to end). Spike fans, and especially Spike/Buffy fans, will truly get a kick out of this book! Those who aren't necessarily Spike fans might become one after reading this!

Bottom line, it's an awesome book, and I plan to read it several times!

I know all Buffy novels take dialogue from the show, but this one goes WAY overboard. It relies almost completely on the dialogue and plots of Buffy, without adding anything new. In addition, the story jumps all over the place moving back and forth through time in a confusing jumble (even for a fan that knows the show and the episodes like the back of my hand). Finally, the line that really got my goat is a direct quote from season seven, where the first evil is talking through Warren and says, "sugar and spice and everything...useless unless you're bacon." Bacon? Try BAKING! This author needs to go back to the drawing board.

The character of Spike is quite fascinating. One of the most interesting and enigmatic characters on TV. Any book that is solely devoted to the character of Spike and his history, is a most welcomed treat. The book that is here is quite different than any of the other Buffy books. Far being the bigger and longer books in recent memory, the book is smaller and shorter, but is packed with interesting Buffy/Spike history. Author Diana C. Gallagher should be commended for her thorough research. She has a ton of important Spike moments and lore brought back up, as well as a number of memorable Buffy moments. She intertwines them all beautifully. The book, in ways, is somewhat reminiscent of the season three Buffy episode, "The Zeppo". In that episode, we got to see what life was like for Xander. What went on with him behind the scenes when we wasn't there with the others. Well, this book is kind of like that but different in it's own way. We don't just get a lot of back history from Spike, but we see him in situations and moments from Buffy episodes that he wasn't in in the original episode. We see that when Spike first came to town in season two, he was all over Sunnydale. In the actual episodes that he wasn't in, where was he?. What was he doing when he wasn't coming against Buffy?. That is where the book veers into "Zeppo" territory. Where was he?. Well, everywhere. Gallagher seamlessly blends Spike into moments he wasn't in and makes it seem natural. When Ampata was about to suck Jonathan dry in "Inca Mummy Girl", Spike was there. When the frat brothers were worshipping to Machida in "Reptile Boy", Spike had stumbled upon them. It is quite brilliant how not only does Gallagher have fun with Spike's past, but how she creates these more recent moments of where he was and what he was doing when we didn't see him on the show. She also has these Buffy moments down pat. She has the dialogue down and actions from these scenes straight out of the script itself. But it's not just season two. It goes right to season 7, the final year on Buffy. Crazy Spike is in the new school basement being tormented by the First and it's many incarnations. Apparently, we didn't see all of the manifestations the First used to torment Spike. Because here we see new bits that Gallagher created. We even see Angelus talking to Spike, when he didn't in the show. Not to be left out, there are moments from the "Angel" show that is incorporated as well. While the history and the incorporating Spike into moments he wasn't originally in is fascinating reading, there is a down side to this otherwise fun read. There is no real story. It would of been much, much better if there was something stronger surrounding all of the history jumps the book took. Something tying it all together. But there really isn't. She basically sets up why and when Spike started to change towards the slayer and falling in love with her, but it really wasn't strong enough to carry the book as it's main plot. That's why it isn't the full five stars. But this wasn't enough to make me lose interest in this otherwise fine book. Diana C. Gallagher has cleverly crafted together an entertaining read into one incredible character.

The only reason to read this book is if you're really bored, because it has nothing new to offer at all. While the writer is satisfactory, all the story does is rehash the past. Nothing important happens. So, its basically as though the author has turned an episode transcript into a narrative. For someone who's been obsessed with btvs, especially Spike, for a long time--it was a real disapointment. It's basically a kids book and Buffy was never really a kids show.

I thoroghly enjoyed this book from cover to cover.

True, it does rehash events we've already seen in the show and I can see why some readers were disappointed, but I enjoyed hearing those events told from Spike's point of view. It made his madness in Lessons understandable and even, at some points, sorta rational.

His love for Buffy really shines through in this book, and while I'm more of a Buffy/Angel fan, I found it heartening and touching.

This book is well written and wonderfully descriptive. Spike is an awesome character with a lot of depth and history, and he deserved his own book. The author brings him to life in this story.

If you're a Spike fan, curl up with it. It brings the reader as close to the blond vampire as a fan can hope to get. A great read!

This is a must read for Spike fans. It is written from the point of view of Spike and talks about his physiological roller coaster ride from the human William, to Spike the big bad, to Spike the champion. The book expands on many of the Spike centric episodes of BtVS. Readers are privy to Spikes thoughts and feelings as well as his conclusions about himself from what he has learned from his experiences.