Customer Reviews

Wicked Willow III: Broken Sunrise (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Simon Spotlight))

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

 

 

There was a flicker of hope for Yvonne Navarro's "Wicked Willow" trilogy at the end of the second volume, "Shattered Twilight." This alternative history of the end of Season 6 of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has Darth Rosenberg devoting all her Wicca energies to brining back Tara, who is hanging around as a ghost and at the end of the second book is seemed pieces were finally falling into place. Buffy and the Scoobies had discovered what Willow was really up to and Giles captures the Ghost of Tara, binding her to the Magic Box. Obviously Willow was going to go ballistic as soon as she discovered what had happened, but "Shattered Twilight" ended without her getting a clue but still being enraged. So there was some dramatic tension to set up the last volume, but not as much as there could be or as there should be to get you all excited about the last book.

Then we get to the start of "Broken Sunrise" and in the prologue a WEEK has passed since the end of the previous book and Willow still does not have a clue about why she has not see the Ghost of Tara until a new character conveniently shows up and tells her. Does this make wicked Willow go nuclear? No, not yet. Meanwhile, Giles and everybody else has apparently been settling into a normal routine instead of living in fear that Willow is going to level the Magic Box at any moment. Instead, after a week, Giles comes up with a plan to offer Willow a trade: time with Tara for the return of Oz and Spike. Remember them? They have been Willow's chained pets since the first book, "The Darkening," and if you think something dramatic is finally going to happen with them or the Riley Golem from "Shattered Twilight," forget it. There is not big payoff to any of this, even though you would think there has to be a point to Oz being brought back into the picture. This is true about the subplot involving the two members of Willow's coven that Giles made disappear. Again, we think there is more here than meets the eye, but it turns out there is not.

Eventually Willow gets mad enough to do something and she summons yet another demon (how many is that now?) to take on Buffy and the Scoobies. Now, I have to admit that this particular demon does something particularly gruesome and I was thinking that Navarro was finally going to let Willow embrace the dark side and inject some actual horror into the proceedings. But the bad stuff that happens happens to happen at such a slow pace that it is obvious she is avoiding dealing with the consequences of her idea being played out to it logical conclusion, which is that some of the Scoobies would be dead. Then we have Buffy dashing off to the rescue only to give up because she cannot figure a way to get into a building and going back to the Magic Box, which is not exactly the sort of heroics you envision for the Slayer, but that is par for the course for Buffy in this trilogy.

The one character that comes out ahead of the game here is Anya and Navarro certainly gets credit for dealing with the character as she was during the final episodes of Season Six. Most writers of "BtVS" novels overdo Anya's tendency to say the wrong think, usually with regards to her sex life with Xander, so it was refreshing that the once and former vengeance demon had a substantial role in the story. But Anya having a bigger role than Buffy and Xander in a story featuring Willow is not going to sit well with most readers, especially since Anya is not part of the end game (but she probably should have been, because it would have to be better than what we get).

The final three chapters of "Broken Sunrise" are where Navarro is going to have readers wondering why she bothered with this alternative-history trilogy. Wicked Willow finally does get her chance to at least try and get Tara back, and Navarro comes up with a neat story from world mythology that offers a pointed lesson for Willow on the error or her ways (which also fits what Tara told Willow in the episode "Forever"). But then we have the final three chapters and you will find yourself wondering what was the point of reading this trilogy, why the editors signed off on this ending, and why does David Fury's name not appear prominently at some point since he is really the one that wrote those three chapters.

Well, it turns out that it was the EDITORS and NOT the author who mandated the ending, presumably under the misbegotten notion that the ending had to tie back into the continuity of the Buffyverse. It is hard to blame Navarro for the way the ending defeats the entire purpose of the trilogy if it is not her decision. That mandates makes it extremely difficult, if not well nigh impossible to come up with anything really memorable if in the end you have to go back to what we already remember from the show itself. Joss, what fools these editors be.

Sigh. I honestly think there was a pretty good "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" story here, one that could have worked as a single volume (even a hardback one) rather than a trilogy. Navarro has several interesting ideas, but she does not exploit any of them as much as she should, and she absolutely needs a new ending for the simple reason that is pretty much a prerequisite for an alternative-history story. This story could have been fixed and if it did not end up being a great "BtVS" story at least it would have been above average. The selling point for this series was the question, "What is Evil Willow was never stopped?" But at the end of "Broken Sunrise" it turns out that was not the point of this trilogy at all. "The Gatekeeper" trilogy remains the consensus choice as the best "BtVS" trilogy, while "Wicked Willow" is going to occupy the other end of the spectrum.

I was enjoying this trilogy for the most part, until I got to the ending. Then it really fell apart.

The whole point of doing "alternative universe" stories is to shake things up. Witness the marvelous Buffy episode, "The Wish." Yeah, the Magic Reset Button was pushed at the end of that episode but look at what happened in the Wishverse. A simple premise, "What if Buffy Summers never went to Sunnydale?" The status quo was shaken up, with Willow and Xander being vampires, the Master ruling Sunnydale, Buffy being cold, and just about everybody dying at the end.

Now here we have the premise, "What if Dark Willow stayed evil?" And apparently the answer is, "Nothing at all, the Buffyverse remains exactly the same." The only thing this trilogy did was insert some extra story between "Two to Go" and "Grave." To end this story in EXACTLY the same way that "Grave" ended, with very minor changes, is unacceptable for an "alternative history" story.

What was the point of bringing Spike and Oz into this story at all? They were prisoners, then after they were freed they mostly disappeared. I so badly wanted to see Oz go off on Willow for turning him into a werewolf but that scene never happened. Such a wasted opportunity. Spike was completely useless outside of one "deus ex vampira" moment. And both of them were complete non-factors in the ending.

I flipped to the last page, and all I could think was "such wasted potentinal." This book definitely needed a different ending.

Avoid this trilogy. Or at least demand that the author rewrite this book.

Wow, what a disappointing ending to a series that started out so well. My interest waned a little bit with Book 2, as it seemed mostly that nothing much happened, but with the Scoobs capturing TGoT, I felt sure that things would pick up in the final installment. And they did for a minute or two, but those minutes were fleeting at best. When all was said and done, I actually rolled my eyes and said, "That's it?"

After three books, I expected to end up some place other than crayon-breaky land. The use of the powerful ending to "Grave" in this series causes it to lose every ounce of emotional resonance -- it was done great the first time. The second? Been there, done that. And much better, I might add. This book twists and manipulates things completely out of whack simply to force them to line up and be in shape to play out the episode ending, and completely negates anything that's come before it as a result. I had been hoping that because this series was billing itself as being an alternate universe that SOMETHING would happen. No such luck.

Looking at all three books as a single work, things happened which made absolutely no sense and added nothing to the overall body. I'm still scratching my head at why Spike and Oz had to be involved at all. The Scoobies spent the entire series bumbling around -- Giles in particular is left looking like a complete fool as one plan after another fails with almost ridiculous ease. Even Willow's efforts at gaining power cease to make sense when every single attempt only costs her more and more and gains her nothing at all. There seems to be no explanation as to how it is she feels she's able to take on a god at the end when there's no evidence she ever recouped the losses from her very first failed plans back in Book 1. And I still can't fathom how, if she was as drained as we're led to believe after the final confrontation, she is still powerful enough to destroy the world.

I had hoped we would, at least, get a touching farewell between Willow and Tara since it wasn't possible on the show -- but nope, not even that joy. When all is said and done, the only parts of these books that linger after it's complete are those that came from the show itself -- and for that, I'll pop in my DVDs.

All told, a colossal waste of time.

Broken Sunrise wraps up the Wicked Willow trilogy. Clearly, most reviewers did not enjoy the series. But I'm going to disagree. Unfortunately, to make the point, this review includes some spoilers. So don't read it if you want to be surprised by hwo the story ends.

The premise of the Wicked Willow trilogy is that Willow went bad at the end of season six, really bad. But she didn't try to end the world. She focused her energy on bringing Tara back into the world instead. The god of death, Osiris, told her that it could not be done, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She set off to gather the power to bring Tara back. And she would let nothing stand in her way.

In the first two books, Willow tries to gather power, something that nearly kills Buffy and Anya. Then she tries to kill Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies. Both backfire on her. She's furious. And then Giles steals the Ghost of Tara from her. Once that happens, her anger is off the charts.

Broken Sunrise is all about Wicked Willow and her personal journey. The fact that the series is called Wicked Willow and not Evil Willow is important. Willow never becomes truly evil. She's angry, hurt and misguided. And in Wicked Willow we get to experience all the angst with her. This is, as I said in my review of Shattered Twilight, a character study with some action and adventure thrown in, rather than the opposite.

In Broken Sunrise, what is left of Willow's life falls apart. Her coven still has doubts about her, questions are being asked about the missing members of her coven and her former friends have stolen the ghost of Tara from her. Willow's anger escalates and she attacks the Scoobies yet again. Unfortunately this time she succeeds. And, as three Scoobies lie in the hospital near death, Willow must make a choice. Does she save her former friends or let them die?

Throughout this book, Willow wrestles with her pain and anger and, ultimately, her goodness. And that is really what Wicked Willow is about, that Willow's pain drove her to do some terrible things, but Willow is still Willow and there are limits to the horrors she will commit. She still has a conscience and a soul.

If you're read any of the other reviews you know that the ending of the book returns the story arc to the Buffyverse. And, if you're paying attention, you'll also realize that the Gnarls are the same demons who capture Willow upon her return to Sunnydale (when she is invisible to her friends) in Season 7.

While there may have been more satisfying endings for some readers, I believe that this ending made the point. Willow could never be truly evil. That wouldn't just be an alternate story, it would be an alternate reality and no one said this story took place in an alternate reality. This story is simply a continuation of Willow's time as dark Willow. Willow is still Willow. Keep that in mind and you may find the story more satisfying. And, if you truly want an alternate reality, skip this one.

Broken Sunrise was the last and BEST book of the Wicked Willow trilogy. Book 2 blew me away but book 3 left me speechless. What made this book better than the others? The Gnarl. Yvonne's use one of the Buffyverse's best and utterly creepy of monsters sent chills down my spine as I was reading (in daylight no less!). Each page had such great detail and suspense that you were left wanting more after every chapter.
Willow has always been my favorite of characters and her "gone bad" attitude in this novel never let me down. The author did a great job in showing that even the brightest and shiniest of people can have a darkside and when triggered, in this case getting back the love of her life, Tara, nothing can take away the pain. You just have to deal.
I loved this book and whether you are fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or not I highly recommend this book for a great, spine chilling read. Be careful, though. You may want to keep a lookout for a Gnarl!!! Sean

What kind of alternate Universe book takes you back to the regular Universe storyline? The point of an alternate universe tale should be to tell a story outside of the regular series canon. There is no point in reading this story because it doesn't change anything. The plot reads like outtakes from the script sessions and the characters are badly drawn. A waste of time.

These books could have been wonderful. They could have been great. They could have been just ... okay. Instead they were just plain lousy.

The dialog was contrived. Willow did not sound like Willow. As I was reading I kept having to stop myself from throwing the book across the room and screaming "Willow would not SAY that!" Same with Giles, and Buffy ... Xander had a few good lines here and there, but for the most part it was just lame.

But still, I read on. I had hope that the ending of these books would make up for the rest. Not so. To jump back to the original ending of season 6 after everything that happened in the first 2 1/2 books just makes no sense at all.

If you've got serious Buffy withdrawl, it's better than nothing. Otherwise, go write your own Buffy book. It's bound to be better than this one.

Okay, now I am a huge fan of Buffy books (since the series ended I have to get my Buffy somehow) Before I bought the series, I read some of the reviews. Most of them were talking about how bad the book was, but I decided to give it a try.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
I'm going to start with the bad points:
The charcters of Buffy, Willow, Xander, Ghost of Tara, and Dawn are not very well written. Part of why Buffy is so great is that the language is so well written, but these 5 are not the same. Another bad point is that Dark Willow doesn't seem as evil as she was in the end of season 6. She seemed pissed off at the world instead of wanting to destroy it. Also she needed to capture all these women to give her more power. It seemed she was pretty unstopable in the show. But in the book she seemed to need to drain these witches of power just to fight the Scoobies. Finally, and probably the worst part, is that she kept summoning Demons to fight the Scoobies instead of doing it herself. That was a big Disappiontment.

But in light of all that, Here are the Many good parts:

I love the fact that Willow was haunted by The ghost of Tara. It was smart of Yvonne to do that to help give Willow some guidance in her darkest days. Dispite the 5 badly written charcters, Giles is great in this book. You can really feel his sense of conflict when Willow breaks his back, putting him in a wheelchair. You can relate to him and it brough a sense of 'this is an alternate reality. Willow could actually kill them'. Anya and Dawn really shine in this book. If you're a fan of these 2, this book is deffinetly for you. Most people don't do much with Anya and Dawn because "they're just two human girls right?' WRONG You've got a 1120 year old Vegence Demon and a girl that hold the Key to destroying the universe in her blood. Yvonne really bring the two of them into the mix and has them fight alongside Buffy, Xander, and later Giles when he regains use of his legs. (I was very happy because I love Anya!)

Overall, the good outwieghts the bad. This trilogy is worth the buy If you love DarkWillow, Anya, Dawn, and Giles. If you don't like it at first, just give it some time. By the end you will be glad you bought it.

Now we come to the last book of this unasked for series and what are we left with? Nothing.

No really. Same bad plots, same juvenile characterizations of once liked characters. Same ineptitude of Xander, whinny platitudes from Buffy and the rest could have been balled up into just one character for all their blandness. And the same ending from "Buffy" the TV show from 2002!

In the end I wanted Willow to tell Xander to bugger off and then destroy the world. At least then there would be no more books.

This book should actually remove stars from the other two books in terms of ratings.

Ms. Navarro once said in an interview she would have liked to bring Tara back. Well she had her chance and blew it.

Boring, dull and just plain bad.

This has been a hither and thither series. Based on the interesting premise that, rather than go into a near terminal depression after Tara's death, Willow decides to turn to the dark side to resurrect her dead lover. That this is impossible is besides the point, Willow is determined, and will stop at nothing - Neither Buffy, nor Giles, nor all the hauntings of Tara can stay her from the course. This is a new, daring and, to be honest, extremely understandable Willow. One whom, until this volume, was still a sympathetic character.

But now Giles has managed to imprison Tara. When she finds this out Willow sets about a uniquely horrible revenge as one by one she feeds her ex-friends to a Gnarl, who likes to eat his meals slowly while alive. In the process of this Navarro achieves what no Buffy writer has every accomplished before - a genuine horror story. Unfortunately, in the process, the author throws away an opportunity to say something unique in the Buffy framework Instead we wind up with a grim story in which no character shines, one that proceeds inexorably to an embarrassingly trite ending.

On Navarro's website she pointedly fixed the blame for the faults of this book on her publishers. Admittedly, the Buffy annals are more tightly controlled than almost any other series, but regardless of whose fault it is, Broken Sunrise is a poor way to end the Wicked Willow series. The writing is stilted, and the characters... Well, Anya makes a poor showing, Buffy is permanently perplexed, and Giles makes one terrible mistake after another. Tara, by the way, makes a very substandard ghost.

The strange thing is that Yvonne Navarro is one of the better writers to grace the Buffyverse. To have her suddenly turn out a series that is underwritten for an adult series and a bit to grim for the yound adult crowd is more than disappointing. If it was 20th Century Fox who set the rules, Navarro would have been better off to decline the offer. Or to write what she is really capable of and devil take the hindmost.