Rating: Summary: A great Buffy novel Review: I have read several of Golden and Holder novels based on the Buffy show, and I am always impressed with their ability to give voice to the characters' personalities. I never have any trouble picturing Xander, Buffy, Willow or Cordelia in their portrayal in his novels. I am often seen giggling uncontrollably, particularly during dialogues with the entire character group.In Immortal, Buffy meets her match with an immortal vampire named Veronique, who is doing her best to raise the Triumvirate demons with the assistance of eleven of her children vampires. Buffy, Angel and the group are determined to stop her before its too late. I thought the plot was great, albeit slightly drawn out, and again, great character depiction. It's a fast read and high on the entertainment scale. I'm definitely looking forward to another Golden Buffy novel!
Rating: Summary: Wow......... Review: I LOVED THIS BOOk. of course, that includes the V romantic parts on angel n buffy. *sIgH* it was soooo sweet yet so sad! the bbok itself was amazing, an immortal vampire who'works' for three powerful demons that form the Triumvirate. gloden n holder describe every detail in such a way u feel like u r there. it inspires, and makes u go all soft. anyway...i still think that they( golden and holder) are D DYNAMIC DUO. books by them are simply a must-read
Rating: Summary: amazing book Review: IMMORTAL I think that this is the best Buffy novel so far by miles. In this book Buffy has yet another world ending Demon ritual as usual there is a vampire involved. Her name is Veronique and she keeps respawning like me in unreal tournament each time into a differenty body. The usual cast from the TV show is there it is definitely set in series 3 because the Sunnydale school still is functional. I enjoyed this book especially the finale which I won't tell you about.
Rating: Summary: Golden and Holder, dynamic duo! Review: After dazling us with "The Gatekeeper Trilogy," the writing team of Cristopher Golden and Nancy Holder returns to bring us the story of a vampire who is immortal in the true sense of the word. Imagine Buffy's surprise when a vampire she has already killed returns to battle, this time in a new body. Along with this thrilling story we have a secondary plotline; Buffy's mother is threatened with a possibly severe illness. Buffy now has two concerns, saving the world and taking care of her ailing mother. One has to wonder if Joss Whedon took his ideas for the fifth season of Buffy from this novel ...
Rating: Summary: Must read for the Buffy set Review: In 1940 New York City Spike learns that the ice demon Skyrmer possesses Freyju's Stand, the necklace of the Birsings. Spike promised his vampiriro lover Drusilla that he will obtain the necklace for her un-birthday and whatever his beloved Dru wants Spike wants for her. They sail to Europe without incidents until they meet a mythical demon in Arctic Norway and cut a deal. In Copenhagen, the watcher informs her protégé the slayer Sophie Carstenen that she had a vision in which the Nazis overwhelm their country. They flee to England but not before Sophie cleans out a nest of vampires. In England, the Council sends Sophie to France where the undead have gathered to nourish from the war. Soon Spike and Dru will meet the slayer and reading the novel will let the audience know the outcome of that confrontation. SPIKE AND DRU: PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW is a thrilling entry in the Buffy series that brings a historical perspective to vampires and slayers. World War II comes alive as feeding ground for the undead and a dangerous place for the dedicated slayer. The story line is exciting and filled with much of the mythos that makes the series so popular. Dru and Spike are a lunatic duo while Sophie may be just as crazy as the teenager is that obsessed with cleaning out the unclean. Fans of the series and those readers who enjoy Top Cow,s Witchblade (especially the historical Witchblades) will fully love Christopher Golden's tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating: Summary: Needs to fit into continuity Review: Storyline was OK, although focused a bit too much on Xander/Angel and xander/Cordelia, saw relatively little of Willow, Oz and Giles. Rating dropped significantly though because book doesn't fit into the program, which just bugs me. Season 3 yes, but where? Xander and Cordy have split, so post Lovers Walk. Willow mentions evil twin so post Dopplegangerland. Giles still a Watcher so before Helpless, conflicts with being after Dopplegangerland. No Wesley? He came in Bad Girls (also pre-Dopplegangerland). No Faith (given Buffy's situation, Faith would be called until she publically went rogue in Enemies)? So the novel doesn't quite fit into the established Buffyverse, which I find irritating. Couple that with Buffy dying during the novel. Slayers can't temporarily die without drastically affecting the continuity (ie another is called). May not apply to a once-dead Slayer, but if not, this needs to be revealed in the series, not a novel. I'd probably give this a lower rating for my enjoyment (ie a 2), but I've been a bit generous as I'm unusually ticked off by continuity glitches
Rating: Summary: An immortal evil and an immortal love make a great book Review: This book took my breath away. The old evil, kill it and it returns again and again. An impossible love deny it and it returns over and over again. I admired the way the authors wove creative mythology, the stories of Angel's past and the trauma of Joyce's illness together to create an excellent story. Mr Golden and Ms Holder present one of the best representations of the Buffy/Angel relationship. I have actually marked the pages so I can go back and reread the passion and pain these two star crossed lovers face. Angel's confession that he can't bear to think of Buffy's death and that he has actually considered turning her, thus granting her immortality is chilling. It's almost redundant to say that a Golden/Holder book sparkles with action and mystery. Even if you have never seen an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel pick up this book, Any reader will enjoy this book. Any fan will embrace it. After reading this novel, a reader will come away considering their own mortality. I know I did. Can I give it six stars? Please.
Rating: Summary: Up there with the best Buffy novels Review: Immortal is a riveting, fast-paced novel gently laced with some Buffy-Angel romance (good thing for you 'shippers!). The villains in this novel aren't cheesy, which is often hard to find in Buffy novels, where every other chapter feature big, powerful vamps hissing "Sssssssslayer" which I find annoying. The villain here sort of reminds me of Sunday from "The Freshman", a worthy opponet for Buffy and her friends. Also, the flashbacks were interesting instead of boring (Gatekeeper Trilogy anyone?). All in all, a novel I'll look forward to reading many times.
Rating: Summary: Certainly Kept Me Reading Review: I had high expectations for this novel because I'd read the authors' other Buffy novels and consider them the best writers for our Slayer's non-TV adventures. I appreciate the trouble they take to keep the characters in character and to write dialog that I could believe they would say. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I was not surprised that Buffy is still in high school instead of college as she has been since the 1999 season started. It takes time for authors to write books and time for the publishers to have them ready to ship to the stores, so I would have been surprised if late 1999 - early 2000 Buffy books were set in the same time frame as the most recent episodes. Veronique is definitely a unique vampire. At the same time, she reminds me of a number of SF/fantasy TV villains who serve more powerful villains. After all, she was granted her version of immortality in order to do the Triumvirate's bidding, and she's been failing to fulfill her part of the bargain for over 1500 years. Her nervousness about failing yet again -- not to mention that over 100 years of helplessness thanks to the ingenuity of an earlier Slayer -- is credible and understandable. It's not as if she could file a grievance against her employers for anything they do to punish her. The historical flashbacks add depth to Veronique, necessary background information, and are very interesting in themselves. Anyone who has ever been torn between family and duty will understand how Buffy feels when her mother's life and the entire world are in danger at the same time. The more we learn about the Triumvirate, the more frightening they become. The final revelation was absolutely horrifying in its implications. The final battle would have been quite spectacular seen on the big or small screen. It's probably a good thing for Veronique that she doesn't have much time to regret her final mistake, because the consequences were ghastly. Random comments: I was puzzled when Pepper mentioned "The Seven Chinese Brothers" because it sounded like "The Five Chinese Brothers". I thought the authors might have made a mistake, but I checked Amazon.com and there is a version with seven brothers. Angel's mention of the card game Faro on p.52 made me smile. I'm an old fan of Georgette Heyer's [intentionally] funny Regency Romances, so I knew that was an authentic detail. (In case you're not familiar with the period called "Regency", it lasted from 1811-1820, when King George III of England was permanently insane, so his son was regent. Since Angel is Irish and over 200 years old, I'd expect him to remember Faro. By the way, according to my library's big Webster's, the name might be derived from "pharoah".) Because I've read both the Gatehouse Trilogy and CHILD OF THE HUNT, I was pleased to see the return of the ghost roads and Lucy Hanover. Loved having Willow called by Underdog's girlfriend's name. Buffy's eyes have been described as blue and hazel in other books. This time they're brown. I think every Buffy novel writer should be given a handout with each of the show's characters' physical details. That Leah, an oncologist, is a smoker was ironic. The description of the wrinkles around her mouth (caused by her long-time cigarette habit) was another authentic detail. I was feeling really sorry for Slayer Angela when I got to page 170, but then I read the top of p.171 and snickered nastily at her Watcher. (The late 20th century Watchers Council's loss of Buffy in the third season seems even more stupid after reading about how the 19th century Watchers lost Angela. Some groups just don't learn.) The conversation about Frankenstein was funny even though I already knew what Angel knew. Interesting that Buffy assumed that Angel would go on after she died instead of walking into the sunrise. That Veronique chose the San Rafael cemetary is another bit of irony because Saint [Archangel] Raphael is a healer. Laughed out loud at Xander's very telling observation about Crestwood. I wish Giles had asked Buffy if she'd asked that nurse to give her the details about her mother's illness before he passed judgment. I don't think the American Nurses Association would be very pleased with the mostly negative depiction of nurses in this book. In case you were wondering, the "Valley Fever" that is one possible diagnosis for Buffy's mother is a real disease. It's also called coccidioidomycosis. It's common here in the Southwest. Luckily, severe cases aren't so common. What happened to Mrs. Summers because she wasn't more aggressive about getting medical care is good cautionary tale. Buffy feeling like a child at the prospect of losing her mother was realistic. I was 46 when my mother died last year and for awhile I felt like a lost child. Don't bother waiting for someone to point out that the Triumvirate are an Unholy Trinity. Unless I missed it, no one did. Perhaps the authors thought that would be disrespectful. I didn't like the way they depicted the Empress Theodora. I also didn't like having Veronique be behind kicking the Jews out of France and the ruin of the Templars. Plain old human greed, envy, prejudice, and corruption were more than adequate reasons. Don't let historical evil off the hook. On the whole, though, this is a marvelous adventure.
Rating: Summary: An impressive addition to the Buffy Series Review: I loved this book! The story lines where exciting! Veronique is an anchient vampire that cannot die, but be passed on from body to body, and when she comes to Sunnydale the scooby gang finds her to be more than one slayer can handle. But that's not Buffy's main concern. Joyce Summers, her mother is very sick and it could be life threating. I find this book to be a very good read, Holder and Golden once again provide a exciting storyline with convinceing charecterization. I'm sad to see they won't be doing any more colloborations after this. But I look forward to their individual books.
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