Rating: 
Summary: Great book!!
Review: "Blood and Fog" is the best Nancy Holder book that I have read. I think "Blood and Fog" does an excellent job of dealing with the very complex issues of Season Six. All of the characters in this book were written very well. I loved the flashbacks to Spike and Dru, but I am very glad that the majority of the story was current day. The Spike/Buffy relationship was written very well. I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Blood and Fog." I loved Jack the Ripper's story. I strongly recommend this book to all fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I hope to read more books by Nancy Holder in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Bloody hell, this is painful
Review: "Blood and Fog" starts very slow, and when you finally manages to get into the storyline, you stumble across some mistakes and annoyances concerning the portrayal of Spike that keep you wondering which will be the next thing that will make you hit the ceiling. It's very disappointing when you buy a book hoping to enjoy a good story with your favorite character and ends up finding out that the author haven't even bothered to do some research about him, and therefore avoided making such primary mistakes like portraying Spike as a "white-haired lad" in the flashbacks (did he use to bleach his hair in 1888, already?), showing him lighting up his cigs with matches (haven't you been introduced to Spike's lighter, Mrs. Holder?), or worst of all, affirm that Spike's chip does work on Buffy (and implying if it didn't, he would kill her in a heart beat), when even the casual viewer who watched season 6 should know that the chip haven't worked on Buffy since she came back from the dead - and never did cross Spike's mind to bite the Slayer. However, through the book, you keep getting references to Spike as "serial killer", "the loser vampire of all time", "evil", "every human's enemy", "bloody thirsty killer", "murderer", "thing", "predatory animal". Want more? Spike, besides evil, is a moron; at least one time, he doesn't get what Buffy says (making him, besides dead, brain dead, as Buffy points out), and is bad at math. Towards the end, the author concedes a little bit, and Spike is shown as not soooo evil - but then, too little, too late. I, for one, was already very angry and disgusted. The flashbacks with Angelus, Darla, Spike and Dru are just correct. And we are given some news - Angelus killed Slayers! Not according to what we've learned on the small screen, at all. To my understanding, Spike was the one who used to seek and fight Slayers, not Angel's evil self. And the Buffy/Angel nonsense? "She drooped inside, wishing for it to be Angel who was downstairs"... So, of course, we don't get any Spuffy love (or sex, whatever). ***Please, let this to B/A novels, for B/A fans to buy; there's no Angel on season 6, he's been GONE for years, Spike is the PRESENT in Buffy's and viewers' lives.*** And Wicca (shouldn't be Wiccan?) Willow... is the junkie Willow, who has seizures, and throws up in the toilet. If it was necessary to put the poor character in a "bad place", it would have been much more fun to read about her evil side (Dark Willow), than about the magick addicted witch. And if all of this weren't enough, many dialogues on "Blood and Fog" are quite dull, like the parts with Xander, Anya (who, according to the book, has "demon blood") and Tara in the car; just words that go on endlessly without getting anywhere. And you get just bored with the numerous descriptions of how "cold and how scared people are in Sunnydale", besides confused about the final battle. The plot itself - Jack The Ripper, the Fomhóire, and the Tuatha (no mention of First Evil - well, just once, but he/it is soon forgotten - or Doc or agendas, by the way) - isn't that bad, but doesn't compensate the bad things, either. So Fox, if Spike is one of the main characters of a novel set from season 5 on, please, don't give me things like "Blood and Fog"; "These Our Actors" and "Little Things" are good examples of respect for what it was shown on TV - and what I enjoyed. I do want books with Spike (and/or Spuffy), but I don't appreciate him portrayed as being evil to the core.
Rating: 
Summary: Nancy Holden is one of the best Buffy writers out there
Review: All I can say is I saw some of the reviews and it's too bad that so many people had such not so nice things to say about Nancy Holder and her "portrayal" of Spike in her writing. Nancy along with Christopher Golden is one of the best writers out there of Buffy novels. The 2 of them have been doing so since the early days and have the BEST grasp of the characters next to Joss Whedon himself. I have been reading the books since they first start publishing them as I've been a fan of Buffy since it's debut in 1997 and Angel in 1999 and Nancy is one of the authors I know without a doubt will never disappoint. She does portray the "real" Spike, I'm sorry the so many can't see that, he was no knight in shining armour in season 6. I LOVE the Spike of her writing and I only hope she continues to bring us more after May 20th so I can continue to enjoy all these characters I've come to love over the last 7yrs.
Rating:
Summary: bloody brilliant
Review: although it has an odd plot idea, blood and fog mixes in very well with season six. The buffy and spike relationship is explored for the only time in any of the books, and nancy Holder does it very well. Willow is shown exceptionally well struggling with her addiction to magic, and there is a good clue to the end of the series. The idea of Jack the Ripper in Sunnydale is far fetched, and even more when he is a fairy, but the charcter relationships and emtions more than make up for the bad plot. The flashbacks to london are very interesting and you find out about Elizabeth, a slayer with which spike struck his first deal. The main characters in the book are Spike and willow, as they are in the season. The book is worth buying for Spikes comment on taras choice of underwear alone! The finale is well written with Buffy being put in a very uncomfortable position. Her relationship and feelings for spike are explored in a way never before shown on tv and Nancy does what she does best in this interesting, unusual book. The epilogue is extremely sad, as you see a side to Giles you haven't seen since season four, and realise just how much he, Buffy and everyone around them has given up to save the world. This makes you think more than the usual books, and is really enjoyable. I would defineately recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Suffers from the Same Problem Most TV Tie-In Books Have
Review: Being a Buffy fan (and a Spike fan, for those who wish to know), I quite naturally looked forward to the first book from the BtVS series that promised to feature the pair together. I was to be disappointed. Not because "Spike is evil"; the book is set mid-Season 6 and most of the Buffy/Spike interaction is told from Buffy's POV where she has very mixed feelings about him. No, my disappointment lies in the fact that the book is bland. There's little in the story to reach out and make me want to finish it. Over the course of my reading, I put it down several times because I simply wasn't interested enough to continue at the moment. The characterizations were generally one-note, with no real exploration of motivations. And therein lies the difficulty with most TV tie-in novels; bound by dictates from the studio that own the characters, the authors often find their hands tied from tackling stories with any true meat. Characters cannot grow or change in any meaningful way because that's reserved for the screen. There are moments when an author might hint at complexity (here, Nancy Holder strikes an interesting note in the last scene between Buffy and Spike), but they are only hints and quickly pass. I didn't expect much because I never expect much from this type of book; I stopped reading the Star Trek novels years ago because it was often the same thing over and over, with few notable exceptions (Peter David). The studios who license the books aren't interested in a good story; they're interested in further profits on their property and this is reflected in the stories that they allow to be told. I'd class it as a beach or bathtub book; one you're not going to be upset if you get sand in it or accidentally drop it in the water.
Rating:
Summary: Times Change and so does everyone....including vampires.
Review: Blood and Fog visits the present and past to bring forth a retelling of Jack the Ripper that involves a Slayer from the past and present day Buffy. The only constant in the story is Spike....he's been in this Fog before. This book kept me interested because I liked the story, not because I expected the book to conform exactly to the TV show. Buffy and Spike have a complex relationship that is well represented in this book. I was pleased to see Willow and Tara, as well as something about Watchers. The ending is worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!
Review: BLOOD AND FOG, in my opinion, is one of the best Buffy books around. It's great! The Jack the Ripper storyline shows brilliant creativity, and is very thrilling and suspenseful. I feel like Nancy Holder totally captured the essence of Season six in this book: the confusion, the pain, and the danger that the characters Buffy and Willow were experiencing at the time. Personally, I really enjoyed the aspects of the Buffy/Spike relationship portrayed here, and Nancy offers really intriguing insights into Buffy's thoughts about Spike, as well as Willow's confusion and torment in her struggle to break out of her magical addiction. When i was reading BLOOD AND FOG, I literally couldnt put it down, and so i stayed up all nigth to finish because i just couldnt wait to see what would happen next! SO, this is an amazing Buffy tale that stays true to the plot of season 6 and the characters, and delves even deeper into their internal struggles and fears. Throw in a really great Jack the Ripper twist, and youv'e got a really awesome book!
Rating: 
Summary: Love the idea...
Review: Faeries, and Vampires in one book, sounds too good to be true. :-)
Ok the book is good but at one points it gets a bit boring and the relationship between Spike and Buffy is very off track. The last conversation they have in this book was so stupid, it was like two different people talking, not B/S. As always Spike is willing to lay down his own life for Buffy (but it wasn't written quite as passionately) and all Buffy does is say "Whatever" and walks away... I'f you expect a fluffy love story here, don't buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: ok but a bit of character confusion
Review: Fans of Buffy the Vampire slayer... will enjoy this book but be annoyed with the changes and mis representation of the characters. It takes place in the darkest time during season six just before the episode "dead things" happens. The characters Willow, Xander, and Tara say true to their character roots and the places they were during that time in the season including buffy but the over all writing of Spike was totally off with his constant I'm evil so evil thing and that he still wants to hurt people i.e. Dawn it just doesnt make sense because Spike's whole thing during season six was I was a souless vampire but I'm good! and it gets annoying, the ripper storyline holds lots of interset throughout the book and the ending fits well with were the characters were at season six still left with the same question "where do we go from here". The overall book is a good read and the flashbacks are perhaps the best aspect of the book!
Rating:
Summary: This book would have been better without Jack the Ripper
Review: Getting the go ahead to write "Blood and Fog" had to be a piece of cake simply because of the hook, which appears on the cover: "Buffy and Spike are on the trail of Jack the Ripper!" For Spike this will be the second go around with the original Ripper (not to be confused with Giles). The story is set in the sixth season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which means Buffy and Spike are dealing with what constitutes dating on their part while Willow is going through Wicca withdrawal and still separated from Tara. However, all of this matters only in terms of an attempt to presage the appearance of Darth Rosenberg at the end of the season, and while I think the nod towards that confrontation provides one of the best moments in "Blood and Fog," it is not the main game this time around. Ironically, while Jack the Ripper is the hook for Nancy Holder's novel, it is ultimately as unnecessary as the vermiform appendix. I am by no means an expert Ripperologist, but I have worked my way through the superb website of evidence regarding the murders and I know enough to be well aware that what the Hughes brothers provided in their adaptation of Alan Moore's "From Hell" is, by Ripper standards, a PG version of what really happened (they left the audience off easy). Consequently, I know that besides invoking the name of Jack Ripper there is nothing substantial about the Whitechapel murders worked into this novel beyond the setting. This is of some importance since it gives Spike and Dru, along with Angelus and Darla, ample reason to cross paths with Jack. If anything, given the purpose for Jack's killing spree, the historical escalating of eviscerations makes no sense in terms of Holder's narrative. At this point I should admit that I have something of a prejudice against science fiction and fantasy stories that turn Jack the Ripper into an inhuman monster. When Robert Bloch came up with "Wolf in the Fold" for the original "Star Trek," that was fine. After all, Bloch wrote a "real" Ripper story with "A Toy for Juliette." But Jack was human, which is what makes him such a horrible figure. If there is a more gruesome murder than what he did to his "final" victim Mary Kelly (Holder provides a massive example of understatement by referring to her as having been "gutted like a fish"), then I do not want to know about it and I especially do not want to see any photographs. Jack the Ripper was a human being and the idea that the Slayer of that time, Elizabeth, would be restrained by her Watcher from going after the Ripper because he was (presumed) to be human, has plenty of story potential. That aside, the important thing here is that in telling the story of an eternal conflict between two sets of Irish faery, the Fromhoire and the Tuatha, Holder makes playing the Jack the Ripper card unnecessary. All it really means is that the name itself inspires some notion of fear in Buffy, but they the faery induced fog does that all by itself, so that pretty much makes the Jack the Ripper point moot. Clearly the creature that Buffy faces is not the Jack the Ripper of legend, which, again begs the question why bother to waste him in this novel? If Holder had written a novel about Spike and the rest of the vampire quartet in Whitechapel in 1888, dealing with a human evil whose viciousness was beyond even that of Angelus, that could have been a pretty good "BtVS" novel, even if Buffy never made an appearance in the main narrative (I assume she would be in the prologue/epilogue). I have no doubt that Spike could carry a book pretty much on his own. The other problem with having Jack the Ripper in this story is that the Celtic mythology regarding the Fromhoire and the Tuatha gets muddled. "Blood and Fog" even has a lecherous little leprechaun who has taken an interest in Willow, which has nothing to do with Jack. As it is, the most chilling point in this novel is when we learn what Willow does to protect Dawn. Several others have comments on the canonical violations of this novel, which is surprising given Holder is the principal author on both volumes of "The Watcher's Guide" published to date, so I will not add to that debate. I will just say that Simon & Schuster should have a better spell check to run books through before they publish them. "Blood and Fog" will be one of the most disappointing "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" novels ever, mainly because when you take into account the hook and the author you would have such high expectations. The cover art is very striking and the title is perfect for the hook, but ultimately the story is flawed in its conception. The great irony is that is the hook was removed and the name Jack the Ripper had never been mentioned, I would have rated "Blood and Fog" higher.
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