Rating: 
Summary: A Walk down Memory Lane
Review: Being a fan of seasons 1 through 3 of Angel, it was nice to drift back in time and read about the characters and their dynamics that inspired me to watch the show. It is refreshing to go back and see the mutual admiration that Cordy and Angel had for one another, Wesley still trying to find himself, and Gunn before Wolf Ram and Hart inserted new knowledge into his brain. The show as it presently stands has totally turned me off and its good to be able to enter the world that I used to love. It is great to have Cordy recieving visions and playing the damsel in distress again; no Connor; no Spike; and the Angel investigations that we all grew to love. Maybe Joss Whedon could have held on to the shows fanbase if he stuck with the original premise.
Rating:
Summary: A Walk down Memory Lane
Review: Being a fan of seasons 1 through 3 of Angel, it was nice to drift back in time and read about the characters and their dynamics that inspired me to watch the show. It is refreshing to go back and see the mutual admiration that Cordy and Angel had for one another, Wesley still trying to find himself, and Gunn before Wolf Ram and Hart inserted new knowledge into his brain. The show as it presently stands has totally turned me off and its good to be able to enter the world that I used to love. It is great to have Cordy recieving visions and playing the damsel in distress again; no Connor; no Spike; and the Angel investigations that we all grew to love. Maybe Joss Whedon could have held on to the shows fanbase if he stuck with the original premise.
Rating: 
Summary: Who is the Real Endangered Species Here?
Review: Endangered Species is entertaining and action-packed fun. Not surprisingly, it's very high on the action and fighting, but pretty low on the character development. But in this story, it seems like it doesn't really matter.The gang is out patrolling one night when they are cornered by mutated demons... and soon rescued by their creator, Chaz Escobar. Chaz reveals that he was on his private island with his wife, Marianna, who was recently turned into a vampire. The two loved to hunt; they sponsored special gatherings in which a breed of demon, or even human, would be the prey. Marianna, however, escaped from the island and Chaz believes she may be in Los Angeles fulfilling her deepest wish: to capture and then hunt a Slayer. The Slayer in question is Faith, who is still serving her sentence in prison. Chaz soon reveals, though, that he is searching for a way to cure his wife of her vampirism. To do so he needs the Book of Interregnum, the most evil book ever made. But the way he plans on curing Marianna isn't what's expected: he wants to destroy all vampires. And he's not the only one after the Book... another vampire (incidentally sired by Drusilla) is looking for it to raise the Beast of the First Blood... AKA the first vampire. Endangered Species has several high points: the return of Faith, who was been absent from the Buffy-verse for years now, several flashbacks to Darla and Angelus's past, and a wonderfully written Hawaiian character who comes to Angel's rescue. There are also a fair share of low points: Faith is actually hardly in the novel, the final battle drags on for too long, and most of the outcomes are very predictable. Overall, I would recommend Endangered Species. If you're a die-hard Angel fan, you might want to get it right away. If you're just a reader who enjoys the novels, you may want to wait until this one's available in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Who is the Real Endangered Species Here?
Review: Endangered Species is entertaining and action-packed fun. Not surprisingly, it's very high on the action and fighting, but pretty low on the character development. But in this story, it seems like it doesn't really matter. The gang is out patrolling one night when they are cornered by mutated demons... and soon rescued by their creator, Chaz Escobar. Chaz reveals that he was on his private island with his wife, Marianna, who was recently turned into a vampire. The two loved to hunt; they sponsored special gatherings in which a breed of demon, or even human, would be the prey. Marianna, however, escaped from the island and Chaz believes she may be in Los Angeles fulfilling her deepest wish: to capture and then hunt a Slayer. The Slayer in question is Faith, who is still serving her sentence in prison. Chaz soon reveals, though, that he is searching for a way to cure his wife of her vampirism. To do so he needs the Book of Interregnum, the most evil book ever made. But the way he plans on curing Marianna isn't what's expected: he wants to destroy all vampires. And he's not the only one after the Book... another vampire (incidentally sired by Drusilla) is looking for it to raise the Beast of the First Blood... AKA the first vampire. Endangered Species has several high points: the return of Faith, who was been absent from the Buffy-verse for years now, several flashbacks to Darla and Angelus's past, and a wonderfully written Hawaiian character who comes to Angel's rescue. There are also a fair share of low points: Faith is actually hardly in the novel, the final battle drags on for too long, and most of the outcomes are very predictable. Overall, I would recommend Endangered Species. If you're a die-hard Angel fan, you might want to get it right away. If you're just a reader who enjoys the novels, you may want to wait until this one's available in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Holder and Mariotte have knocked my socks off again
Review: Endangered Species was a follow up to their pervious series Unseen. Which I know a lot of people didn't like, but I thought it was cool. Endangered Species however is a lot more of a gripper then Unseen was. The plot goes something like this. This vampire named Marinna likes to have people pay her to hunt demons on her island, were her home is located. And she has a speical hunt in mind, a Slayer hunt. She gets W&H to get Faith transfered to a 'rehab falictaly'. Meanwhile Marinna's husband Chaz is looking for her in LA, and he goes to Angel for help. He has been looking for a way to cure her of being a vampire. Plus Chaz has found a spell to rise The Beast of the first Blood. Father of all vampires. If he can kill the Beast it will get rid of all vampires. This surprises Angel, and after much thought decsides to help him in his quest. On top of all that this vampire Mary Kelly who has made her own vamp-religon is also trying to raise the Beast so she can mate with it and have, new more powerful vampires. Will she be succssful in making this new race? Will Angel kill all vampires even himself? Will Chaz cure his wife? Or will she hunt Faith down and Slaughter her? Read the book.
Holder and Mariotte did a wonderful job! Cordelia and Faith had really funny lines! The plot had some twist and turns I did not expect. Holder and Mariotte did awsome job with Faith as always. Better then Golden did with her in his Buffy effort 'Wisdom of War.' Not that I don't like Golden or that book. It's just when I was reading this and Unseen Faith sounded more like herself then she did in Golden's book. I hope these two right more Angel and Buffy stuff. They are really great.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Lousy
Review: For Buffy and Angel fans, this year has been a bit lackluster. While I couldn't point to any particular book and say that it was a total flop, nothing comes to mind as really outstanding. Part of the blame no doubt rests with the changes both television series have gone through. It says much that Dark Horse has decided to shift the BTVS comic series to Buffy before Sunnydale. I cannot say that I am sympathetic, but I do understand. The best of the Buffy books this year is Chris Golden's 'Wisdom of War.' Andy the politest thing one could say about the Angel series this year is that there was nothing one could identify as 'the best.' Now, Nancy Holder and Jeff Mariotte have come to the rescue with their latest, 'Endangered Species.' The book's plot is something of a tag team action story. There are three teams of bad guys. The first is Marianna Escobar a vampire who runs an elite hunting island and has a plan for making Faith the next animal on the agenda. Next up is Benedicta, made by Drusilla and every bit as crazy. She and her nasty druid sidekick want to raise the original vampire and have little super vampires by it. And no one should leave out Wolfram and Hart, who manage to collect fees from everyone while working their own agenda. On the good side is the regular team, plus the Host, Fred, and Faith. New faces are Chaz Escobar - the vampire's estranged husband, and Lohiau, an Hawaiian revolutionary and Kahuna. Between kidnappings and holdups, the good guys are every bit as fragmented as their enemies, as everyone careens around trying to assemble the components of a spell that will either destroy all vampires or end the unlives of vampires everywhere. This is obviously a story heavy on the action and light on character depth and angst, but it is just what the doctor ordered. Even so, Faith gets a lot of attention and Fred makes her first major appearance in an Angel novel. Both characters are handled honestly, although I think Fred's weaknesses are overplayed. So, lots of action, decent character development, and tight, effective writing. Making this the season's must read for Angel fans.
Rating:
Summary: Hunted into Extinction
Review: For Buffy and Angel fans, this year has been a bit lackluster. While I couldn't point to any particular book and say that it was a total flop, nothing comes to mind as really outstanding. Part of the blame no doubt rests with the changes both television series have gone through. It says much that Dark Horse has decided to shift the BTVS comic series to Buffy before Sunnydale. I cannot say that I am sympathetic, but I do understand. The best of the Buffy books this year is Chris Golden's 'Wisdom of War.' Andy the politest thing one could say about the Angel series this year is that there was nothing one could identify as 'the best.' Now, Nancy Holder and Jeff Mariotte have come to the rescue with their latest, 'Endangered Species.' The book's plot is something of a tag team action story. There are three teams of bad guys. The first is Marianna Escobar a vampire who runs an elite hunting island and has a plan for making Faith the next animal on the agenda. Next up is Benedicta, made by Drusilla and every bit as crazy. She and her nasty druid sidekick want to raise the original vampire and have little super vampires by it. And no one should leave out Wolfram and Hart, who manage to collect fees from everyone while working their own agenda. On the good side is the regular team, plus the Host, Fred, and Faith. New faces are Chaz Escobar - the vampire's estranged husband, and Lohiau, an Hawaiian revolutionary and Kahuna. Between kidnappings and holdups, the good guys are every bit as fragmented as their enemies, as everyone careens around trying to assemble the components of a spell that will either destroy all vampires or end the unlives of vampires everywhere. This is obviously a story heavy on the action and light on character depth and angst, but it is just what the doctor ordered. Even so, Faith gets a lot of attention and Fred makes her first major appearance in an Angel novel. Both characters are handled honestly, although I think Fred's weaknesses are overplayed. So, lots of action, decent character development, and tight, effective writing. Making this the season's must read for Angel fans.
Rating:
Summary: What Should Be Endangered is This Lackluster Book
Review: I'm having a hard time with this book. It certainly isn't bad, but it's very easy to put down. I've read all the Angel and Buffy books, and this one falls somewhere in the middle. I thought the last book, Vengeance, was far superior to this one. Wish I had waited for the paperback, or download version. Too many flashbacks, too many bad guys. I read these books to read about Angel, and he's not around a lot in this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but not worth a hardcover
Review: I'm having a hard time with this book. It certainly isn't bad, but it's very easy to put down. I've read all the Angel and Buffy books, and this one falls somewhere in the middle. I thought the last book, Vengeance, was far superior to this one. Wish I had waited for the paperback, or download version. Too many flashbacks, too many bad guys. I read these books to read about Angel, and he's not around a lot in this one.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Lousy
Review: If you're reading this, then you've probably bought some of the Buffy and Angel books before, and you're no doubt thinking of adding this one to your collection. If you merely want to get this book because you've already got all the others, then fair enough. If, however, you're considering buying this book for your reading pleasure, then I'd strongly advise against it. The plot is serviceable enough, and if you generally enjoy the storylines in the Buffy/Angel books then you'll probably find it to your liking. The problem, however, is in the quality of writing. Both authors are very well established, and have their names on a lot of good books (including other Buffy and Angel novels), so I was amazed by how lacklustre the writing was in this case. First of all, even a hack writer should know that you shouldn't make a habit of using the same word repeatedly in adjacent sentences (let alone in the same sentence). You should have noticed that my repeated use of the word 'should' sounds unpleasant. Well, get used to it - the book is full of examples like that. Once or twice it would have been acceptable, but this problem crops up again and again. Someone should buy the authors a thesaurus. Secondly, the authors frequently invade the narrative with a paragraph of inane thoughts by one of the characters. Angel, for example, might suddenly think of how much another character means to him, because of how they blah blah blah. A little introspection is fine, but too much of it ruins the flow of the plot, and makes the book easy to put down. There are also several points at which the authors decide to recount a tale from the TV show, for no particular reason. A character will be doing something, and start remembering (at length) something which occurred in a previous episode - even if it is completely irrelevant. Again, this spoils the flow of the plot. If we wanted to hear a synopsis of various episodes that have nothing to do with the novel, we'd go and buy the "Angel Casefiles" (the watcher's guide to the series). This book was an effort to read, like wading through a swamp. Life is too short to waste your time with bad literature. There are a million excellent books out there, so read some of them instead.
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