Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing, no surprise there
Review: Nancy Holder is held in high regard by public opinion as a competent writer. Of course, most people tend to forget that her best works were co-written by Christopher Golden, a superior writer who more than makes up for Holder's inadequacies. Simple comparison shows that when it comes to this dynamic duo, Golden outshines her in every way. And while Golden established himself as a literary genius with "Pretty Maids All In A Row" and "The Lost Slayer", Nancy Holder's "The Book of Fours" painfully demonstrates her shortcomings as a solo writer. Firstly, the most annoying element in this book is not Fire or Air, but Ms. Holder's blasted habit of telling her stories without any linear context. The climax is delivered in the first few pages and then repeated (with little to no similarity) in the end. Throughout the book we are taken backwards and forwards through time with no consistency: Buffy is talking to Giles, then she's dreaming of Kendra, except we don't know she fell asleep until the next chapter. Willow is clinically dead and then revived, but she appears on the Ghost Roads after recovering. Faith flirts with a few men at the Fish Tank, the story moves on and then suddenly jumps back to a man she danced with. Vampires plan to resurrect the Master even though this is Season Three and his bones have been crushed to powder. Axes are flying all around Sunnydale and you'll never know who has what and how they got it. Secondly, there are far too many characters in this novel, and most of them are completely useless. Kevin Harris, Holly Johnson, Micaela Tomassi, Simon Lafitte, Tervokian and countless others appear and disappear from the story with little to no effect. And the fact that their stories are never resolved only leaves the reader frustrated (i.e. WAS there any reason the Wanderer of Water chased Holly Johnson? Is she a future Slayer? Did Micaela and Neema return to the Council? What happened to Tervokian? And what did the "Kevin Harris cancer" plotline have to do with anything? It had no impact on the story; Kevin's mother wasn't even NAMED, for God's sake, and she had more lines than he did). So what Ms. Holder ultimately accomplishes is handing you a horribly-underdeveloped main plot and an assortment of sub-plots you either don't care for or don't understand. That, of course, is my main bone of contention with this book. Holder's worst mistake, both in this and other novels she's worked on alone, is paying too much attention to details and not enough with the big picture. The concept of four Slayers banding together, of Buffy discovering the truth about India and maybe even learning from her (mainly that emotions aren't always a good thing for a Slayer to have; India let her love for Kit blind her and she stupidly sacrificed herself instead of finding a way to stop the Wanderers) is a good thing. But India Cohen's scenes are few and far between, as are Kendra's, and by the end of the book you still don't have enough about her to see her as a "fleshed-out" character. Disappointingly amusing for a book subtitled "A Historie of Four Slayers". Instead of having a cohesive, consistent plot and characters, you have bits and pieces of stories that don't connect in any way, and you're left rather rudely unsatisfied. Finally, another hideous flaw Ms. Holder's books suffer from is underdevelopment of crucial scenes. The final battle against the Gatherer is a confusing mess of metaphors and impossible events, and even after you finish the book it's still unclear exactly HOW Buffy defeated it. There's talk of needing four Slayers, and four friends, and four Wanderers, and four Axes, and the final resolution has nothing to do with any of this. All in all, a mediocre read from a mediocre writer.
Rating: 
Summary: A Four Hundred Page Firestarter.
Review: On page 193 of my copy of this book, a vampire (the tragically named Kenny the Fang) is shot by a handgun. And DIES. This is just one example of the lack of attention to detail that Holder has employed in writing this novel. .... The story rushes back and forth between past, present and future, between innumerable characters (living, deceased and undead) and masses of unnecessary plot. Disappointingly executed and a dreadful ending. I would say that reading this 400 page firestarter is a lot like driving past a car wreck. You know you should stop looking, but... Zero out of five.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Story
Review: Overall, I believe that this was a great story. It was nice to go back to season 3 and see all of our favorite characters from BtVS (including Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Cordelia, Faith, and Oz). I really liked the plot and thought it was quite clever. I also liked how you got to see things from all the characters' points of view. At times the subplots could get confusing, but it eventually all came together and I believe that this story was huge success. I would recommend this book to any BtVS fans.
Rating:
Summary: More Please!
Review: Portable Buffy at it's best. I only hope this won't be the last time we see these four Slayers join forces, and I certainly hope to hear more about the "new" slayer, India. It's evident that Ms. Holder is as much of a fan as the people she writes for. I couldn't put this book down. Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: Jhaeman's Reviews
Review: THE BOOK OF FOURS
By Nancy Holder (2001)
RATING: 5/5 Stakes
SETTING: Season Three
CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Faith, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Kendra, Roger (Sam) Zabuto, Principal Snyder, Willy the Snitch, Sheila Rosenberg
MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: India Cohen (Slayer); Kit Bothwell (India's Watcher); Lucy Hanover (ghostly Slayer); Simon LaFitte (voodoo king); Cecile LaFitte (voodoo practitioner); Mirielle (insane girlfriend of Zabuto); Anthony Yorke (traitorous Watcher); Micaela Tomassi (sorceror); Cameron Duvalier (evil servant); Tervokian (demon); Cordelia's Mother; Willow's Father; Xander's Aunt & Uncle; Kevin Harris (Xander's cousin); Carlos New Mexico (crazy homeless man); Mark Corvalis (firefighter); Monica Hamilton (nurse); Holly Johnson (rescued girl); Amanda & Ben Johnson (Holly's parents); Neema Mfune-Hayes (Watcher); Ibn Rashad; Taran; The Gatherer (ancient demon); The Wanderers (Gatherer's four servants)
BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "From a place of nightmares--which Buffy and Faith share--a terrible evil invades Sunnydale, setting off disaster. Clearly, the big evil is linked to the Slayer's nightmares, which revolve around four figures: one burning, one dripping wet, one covered in mud, one shrouded in windswept linen. Each carries a box of grafted skin and bone. Giles learns that the last Slayer to encounter a similar container was India Cohen--Buffy's immediate predecessor. Strangely, Buffy has never given much thought to the young girl whose death activated her own Slayerdom, but now she must draw on the strength of those who came before her. For Buffy is being stalked by a monstrous force that journeys through time, fortifying itself by draining the primal power of a Slayer. Buffy must orien herself on a continuum against evil that predates even humanity itself. . . ."
REVIEW
The Book of Fours is an impressive accomplishment, and it's obvious why Pocket Books gave it the prestige of a hardcover launch. Spanning several countries, centuries, and even dimensions, The Book of Fours is the most complex Buffy novel I've read to date--indeed, it's one of the few that begs for a second read to take everything in. To put it another way: the novel opens with the apocalypse, and then things really get rolling . . .
The plot of The Book of Fours involves an ancient demon/god called The Gatherer, and his hunger for power that comes from the blood of Slayers. Served by humans, demons, and special beings called The Wanderers, The Gatherer remains a largely unseen character in the novel--most of the dirty work is done by his followers. Without going into excessive detail, suffice it to say that the threat he presents to Sunnydale can only be overcome if four Slayers are present to stop him--unfortunately, only two are alive (Buffy and Faith), and that's one more than normal. The solution? A trip to the Ghostlands, one of the resting places of the dead, to find the spirits of Kendra and India Cohen (Buffy's predecessor as Slayer) and ask them to temporarily take over the bodies of human hosts in order to the fight the Gatherer and his minions.
The novel does an amazing job of fleshing out India, Kendra, and their Watchers (Kit Bothwell and Sam Zabuto, respectively). Characterization of the main Scooby Gang members is right on target, and Holder does an especially good job of showing the characters interacting with each other in ways different than the standard Bronze scenes of many Buffy novels. Two things require special praise: the depiction of Faith, who can easily become either a caricature or a character without an edge; and a scene where Willow is in a car accident--even though I knew she couldn't really "die", it still had me turning the pages compulsively with my heart racing to see what would happen next.
Interestingly enough, The Book of Fours is the first Buffy novel I've seen to incorporate original settings and characters from other Buffy novels--for example, there are references to the events of Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row and to the Gatekeeper Trilogy. If there are any downsides to the novel it's probably that simply too much stuff is thrown in--it's hard to keep track of all of the different characters, and some of the minor subplots (like Xander's cousin becoming ill) should probably have been trimmed. Quibbles aside, however, The Book of Fours is one of the best Buffy novels I've ever read and is highly recommended.
Jhaeman's Buffy Reviews: http://www.geocities.com/jhaeman
(c) 2004, Jeremy Patrick-Justice
Rating: 
Summary: Four Elements
Review: The Book of Fours is an interesting concept for a story, but the way it is written is a bit complex and confusing. I found myself having to flip back quite a bit to remind myself of who certain characters were and what the new chapters were referring to.
I liked the introduction of India as the Slayer who preceded Buffy. She reminded me a bit of the season five version of Buffy in her willingness to sacrifice herself for someone she loved. I also liked the exploration of the four elements and how they related to each Slayer.
One thing that I had a problem with was that Buffy and Faith seemed to be lacking their healing time. The book referred to Faith as needing stitches for an injury that she received, which seemed odd since even when the Slayers have serious injuries (except when Faith was in a coma on the show), it rarely takes them more than a day to recover. Being unable to recover within a day from a cut seemed unusual to me.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Quite Suspend My Disbelief
Review: THE BOOK OF FOURS sat on my shelves unread for two months because I was afraid it would contain the same major flaw that marred the otherwise excellent THE EVIL THAT MEN DO. It does. No the book isn't too complex, there aren't too many characters, too many subplots, or too many flashbacks. Frankly, I liked the part about Xander's cousin because it gave Xander (the token "normal" of the Scooby Gang), another chance to let the true nobility of his character shine. The problem with both books is that Ms. Holder seems to forget that she's writing entries in a series, not one-shots. Both books have far too much death and destruction going on in Sunnydale for a series. Enough happens to Sunnydale in this one to have it declared a Federal Disaster Area and take years to pull itself back together. In fact, if not for some little hints in the last few pages, I'd be expecting the entire planet to have been rocked back to the Stone Age by the Gatherer's power. It's a shame, because other than this flaw, Ms. Holder is one of the best writers of Buffy books and this is a very worthy effort. I do agree with other reviewers who recommend that you read the Gatehouse Trilogy and PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW before this book, but not because you need to have read them in order to understand THE BOOK OF FOURS. I think you should read them first because this book contains "spoilers" for them. Now I wish I had ready PRETTY MAIDS first. I look forward to the story of how Buffy will free India even if Ms. Holder doesn't tone the disasters down to a believable level. Her writing is compelling enough to keep me going even while I gritting my teeth.
Rating:
Summary: It's Elemental
Review: The Book of Fours takes place in season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - meaning Faith is 5x5, Buffy is still seeing Angel, and the teenage Slayerettes are in their senior year of high school. Buffy and Faith begin to have shared nightmares, and four elemental disasters - earth, air, water, fire - sweep Sunnydale. The villain of the piece is seeking out Slayers that
represent each element, with Faith of fire, Buffy of air, India (the Slayer whose death triggered Buffy's calling) of water and Kendra of earth. With India and Kendra both having passed on years earlier, the Ghost Roads come into place as the town erupts in chaos. As someone who has always wanted Buffy to research her predecessor, I was very pleased with the introduction and backstory for India. It was high time for Faith to debut in the
official novels, having been a driving force in the third season, where the books were set for quite some time. Holder captures Faith's essence, yearnings and burnings to wonderfully; I adore the scene in the nightclub. The book travels through a multitude of locales and periods in time, with a little bit of something for everyone. Those who have followed the show from the start and read the official novels - especially Child of the Hunt, The Gatekeeper Trilogy, Immortal and the like - are in for a real treat as characters you know and love (or love to hate) pop up everywhere. The climax shows girl power to a tee, with Cordelia and Willow stepping up to assist Buffy and Faith. The history of the world. The headquarters of the Watchers. The essence of the Slayers. The Book of Fours concludes on a note like that of The Neverending Story - and I hope to Joss they let Holder write a sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many plots, too little time
Review: The problem with all the hard-cover 'blockbuster' Buffy novels thus far is their attempt at being grand epics which start off with a bang and gather promising momentum before crashing and burning with an unsatisfying fizzle. .... The premise is intriguing enough - Buffy and Faith have to fight and defeat the Wanderers,4 mummy henchmen of an evil force known as the Gatherer which needs the Slayers' primal life-force to incarnate itself into this Earth. However,to do that,they have to join forces with lovesick India and anal Kendra,Buffy and Faith's dead predecessors respectively. If that isn't bad enough, the Wanderers have brought calamities with them to Sunnydale like raging forest fires, tidal waves, hurricanes and earthquakes.The Gatherer's slutty voodoo queen Consort,meanwhile,is busy playing all sides against one another even as she schemes to rule the world with the Gatherer's power. Confused already?Well,you're not the only one. The narrative then plods on with gratuitous flashbacks,unnecessary characters who annoy rather than enlighten with their irrelevance(until now,I'm wondering what [in the world] Xander's cousin has to do with the overall plot)and cameos by Spike,Dru,Willy and a host of other characters from the previous hardcover novels and the Gatekeeper Trilogy.Oh,and let's not forget another dead Slayer,Lucy Hanover. ...
Rating:
Summary: More about India Cohen and past slayers, please, Ms. Holder
Review: There are four Slayers running around in Nancy Holder's "The Book of Fours," but the really interesting one is not Buffy, Faith or Kendra, but rather the "new" one: Buffy's predecessor. If the focus had been more on India Cohen, or even exclusively, this would have been a really first-rate Vampire Slayer novel. But there ends up being way too much going on in this story. Then again, one of the things that makes Holder stand out as a writer of Buffy stories is that she continues to use the people and places you creates (e.g., the Ghostroads), so hopefully there will be some more on India down the road. They already proved in the Spike & Dru novel that stories about past Slayers can work, so let's just keep our fingers crossed on this one. "The Book of Fours" is not a great Buffy novel, but it is certainly above average.
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