Rating: 
Summary: Spike and Angel, sort of
Review: "Cursed" was alright. Spike needs money, so he agrees to a robbery in Los Angles, Angel's turf. He ends up getting more than he bargined for when he obtains a haunted artifact that Angel Investigations are also looking for. The book has solid action, a great story, and the characterization of Spike, Angel, and the others were fairly accurate. What I didn't like was that Angel and Spike don't even meet until the last thirty or forty pages; I was led to believe that they were together for most of the book. Just a little misleading there. Spike is my favorite character, he is described as being more than just a trouble maker (though he dose do that). His actions are always in the interest of Buffy, even if they are a little misguided. It was a fast read and fun read.
Rating:
Summary: City Of Angels....And Spike
Review: After having read a great deal of most of the Buffy novels that have been released over the years, I have never written a review for one. Why now then?. Well, this isn't a typical "Buffy" book. In fact, the Buffster is nowhere to be found in the book at all, save for a few mentions here and there and her voice on the phone on the last page. No, this brings Angel and Spike together in a crossover book for the first time. We must also think author Mel Odom for doing so. While Spike is now currently annoying Angel on his fantastic WB show, that has not happened as of yet in this book. The book apparently takes place during Buffy's 5th season and Angel's 3rd. I am guessing that the author is messing with the series' continuity because otherwise he has made some things happen that do not coincide with the time this story presumably takes place. Spike, sulking around Sunnydale after a falling out with Buffy, comes across a job that is offered to him. He is asked to participate with a bunch of demons in a robbery in Los Angeles. Angel territory. It will pay him money and he is desperatley looking for cash for his own intentions, and to help Buffy, who he wants to help with her finances and also hopes will forgive him for the gesture of helping her out. Spike agrees and he heads to L.A. Angel, and his circle of friends, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne, are on a mission to secure a mystical object that is being shipped into the city thanks from a tip from Giles. Little do each vampire know that they are both after the same thing as the object is exactly what Spike and his demon gang are supposed to rob. After some situations, the two vamps come face to face and realize that they must work together to get the job done. There is much more to it, but that would be getting into too much. Spike is the only character from the "Buffy" world to actually appear in the book, so it's more of an "Angel" novel. Odom has his people down pat. His Spike is the Spike at that particular time and place, and so is Angel and his environment. The numerous flashbacks scenes to the 1800's that take place in different locations, and also include Darla and Drusilla, are stunningly done, and thoroughly re-created. The flashbacks are always my favorite things because they are always so rich with history. These ones don't disappoint. Odom writes these characters, their situations, and the environment they are in with a knowing hand. The commeraderie, or lack thereof, between Angel and Spike, makes it feel like the real thing. His way of writing the other members of Angel's crime fighting team are right on the money as well. Like I said before, this takes place in an alternate continuity of Buffy's 5th and Angel's 3rd, seasons, and it would have to be because as I mentioned, things in here don't connect with what has, or is, going on at that point in time in both series. Still, this is a slam bang book dripping with fascinating details, flashbacks, history, and character development. One of the better entries in the Buffy/Angel arsenal. Every fan should enjoy this one.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting exploration of the romantic side of Spike
Review: After the "everybody in the pool" approach of "Monster Island," the previous crossover novel of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," the relatively simple idea of having Spike travel from Sunnydale to L.A. to engage in a little money making endeavor on Angel's turf, is a refreshing change. The double-edged sword here is that when Mel Odom wrote this book, little did he know that when it hit the stands Spike would have been added to the cast of "Angel," despite having died a grand and glorious death on the final episode of "BtVS." The good news is just as the fans of the television series created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt were enjoying this casting decision, Odom's book hit the stands with Angel and Spike pictured side by side. The down side is that Angel and Spike spend relatively little time together in "Cursed," and more often than not it is Angelus and Spike running around Europe in 1891. Some of the best scenes in "Cursed" are when Angel and Spike are together in the present going after each other. I just wish there could be more of that, because that is what we were hoping to read based on the cover of this book.I realize, of course, that there are practical reasons why this could not be. The Historian's Note in "Cursed" points out that this story takes place in an alternative continuity during the 5th season of "BtVS" and the third season of "Angel." That is a pretty good trick, since the former was the 2000-2001 season and the latter the 2001-2002 season. Since Conner is a baby and Spike has yet to get anywhere with Buffy, you can work out the continuity for yourself. The "alternative" is key because Odom has to write a story about Angel and Spike in which nothing really significant happens between them, because that privilege is left to Joss and his minions. To avoid the very confrontation we would most like to read in "Cursed," Odom has to a pair of double splits on his narrative. Consequently, while Spike is hired to join a gang of demons in retrieving a object, Angel and his agency are involved in their own case, with the reading becoming aware that these stories are two sides to the same coin long before the characters catch on. Additionally, as is usually the case with any narrative that brings Angel and Spike together, there is a plotline in the past, involving Darla and Drusilla, that informs he doing ons in the present. Bridging the past and the present are some gypsies, although, surprisingly, not the same clan that is involved in Angel's curse. Ultimately, "Cursed" is really Spike's story and his relationship with the strange gypsy woman Lyanka is the book's pivotal one, despite what the cover promises. As we all remember from "Dopplegangland," despite Buffy's attempt to stifle Angel when he disagrees with her observation that a vampire's personality has nothing do with the person they were in real life, that is indeed the case. Buffy's declaration was because Willow noticed that her vamp double was "kinda gay," and you can draw you own conclusions regarding how Liam became Angeleus. But what we know of the William the Bloody before he was turned is that he was an incurable romantic who wrote bad poetry. Odom is the first to deal explicitly with this idea with regards to Spike. Odom does a nice job of connecting the dots in this regard. After all, Spike's love for the daft Drusilla was his original defining characteristic, and then he spent the last three seasons on "BtVS" falling hard for the Slayer (just do not try to get me to figure out how Harmony fits into the equation, because I do not think she does). As much as I enjoyed the scenes when Angel and Spike finally get together in L.A. in the present and go at it with the choice verbal sparing, it is really the Spike that is revealed by Lyanka that resonates in "Cursed." The funny thing is, I do not think Odom realized the vein of gold he uncovered in this story, because it is really not set up to be the big payoff in the novel. So, the bottom line on this one is that the Angel part of the story is solid enough, but it is what happens with Spike that was well worth the exploring.
Rating: 
Summary: Gypsy Curses - You Can't Have Just One
Review: Angel has pretty much the same problem with gypsies that Anya has with rabbits. Whenever they show up there's trouble. This time not only does Angel have to deal with Gypsies, he finds himself in the midst of a clan war of gypsy demonkind struggling to get possession of a set of sacred stones. One group wants to use the stones to return home, and another wants to use them to take over the world to which they lead. Spike, reeling from his disastrous relationship with Buffy, determined to get her back, gets involved in a series of deals that collapse like a house of cards. Next thing he knows he is riding shotgun for another group of demons after, you guessed it, the same set of stones. Sure enough, there is a collision with Angel on the horizon. While Angel and Spike interact very little in the base story line, their history together plays a strong part in the current conflict. A beautiful woman and her grand-daughter stand at one pole of this conflict. Lyanka, who captured Spike's love for a time 100 years ago and Gitana who blames Angel for Lyanka's death. At the other pole is Chavula Faa and, of course, Wolfram and Hart. The story shifts back and forth between the turn of the century tale of Spike and angel's history together and the modern, almost military combat for final possession of the stones. At stake is the fate of two worlds and the dreams of two vampires perched forever on the thin like between saved and lost. Despite not being what the cover promises, Mel Odom does a solid job of putting together a complex story that is both filled with action and looks deeply into the motivations of the two vampires. We have come to respect Angel over the years, but this is Spike still struggling with his own redemption - the vampire who loved too much. There is something in this novel to please every one - solid, enjoyable reading.
Rating:
Summary: Gypsy Curses - You Can't Have Just One
Review: Angel has pretty much the same problem with gypsies that Anya has with rabbits. Whenever they show up there's trouble. This time not only does Angel have to deal with Gypsies, he finds himself in the midst of a clan war of gypsy demonkind struggling to get possession of a set of sacred stones. One group wants to use the stones to return home, and another wants to use them to take over the world to which they lead. Spike, reeling from his disastrous relationship with Buffy, determined to get her back, gets involved in a series of deals that collapse like a house of cards. Next thing he knows he is riding shotgun for another group of demons after, you guessed it, the same set of stones. Sure enough, there is a collision with Angel on the horizon. While Angel and Spike interact very little in the base story line, their history together plays a strong part in the current conflict. A beautiful woman and her grand-daughter stand at one pole of this conflict. Lyanka, who captured Spike's love for a time 100 years ago and Gitana who blames Angel for Lyanka's death. At the other pole is Chavula Faa and, of course, Wolfram and Hart. The story shifts back and forth between the turn of the century tale of Spike and angel's history together and the modern, almost military combat for final possession of the stones. At stake is the fate of two worlds and the dreams of two vampires perched forever on the thin like between saved and lost. Despite not being what the cover promises, Mel Odom does a solid job of putting together a complex story that is both filled with action and looks deeply into the motivations of the two vampires. We have come to respect Angel over the years, but this is Spike still struggling with his own redemption - the vampire who loved too much. There is something in this novel to please every one - solid, enjoyable reading.
Rating:
Summary: The best book of the series
Review: Cursed is the best book based on the two television shows to date. Odom has a great handle on all the characters, especially Spike who is the hardest to get right. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better Buffy/Angel crossover novels
Review: For anyone looking for great Angel/Spike snarkiness, (ala early season five of Angel: The Series), this book will be a slight disappointment. Angel and Spike don't even come together until the third to last chapter in the book. That is, at least, modern-day Angel and Spike. However, we do get a nice balance of flashbacks with the Fanged Four (Angelus, Darla, Spike and Dru) throughout most of the book. Which kind-of make up for the lack of modern-day interaction between Angel and Spike. Not completely make up for it, but it doesn't leave one totally disappointed, as it could have. At over 440 pages, this is one of the longer tie-in Buffy books, and Mel Odom's writing doesn't drag, or feel rushed, or over written, at any point. I didn't notice any continuity glitches, which is something that always seems to happen when there is a Buffy/Angel book that has flashbacks. This is also, quite possible, the first Buffy tie-in book I've read that portrays post-season four Spike the most accurately. Yes, Spike is amoral. Moral ambiguity going on, all the way. However, Odom doesn't hit the reader over the head about it. He doesn't tell the reader what to think about Spike. Not once does it feel like he's preaching to the reader that Spike is "bad, evil, bad!" and nothing else. We know that what Spike is doing is either evil (in the flashbacks) or amoral (present). We do not need to be *told* it is as well, over and over _an infinitum_, which is something other recent Buffy tie-in books are horribly guilty of doing. Odom gets that there is much more to Spike than just some thrist for violence and mayhem as his only driving force. This Spike has his driving force . . . his *real* driving force . . . which is also his Achilles heal: he's a fool for love. In the book, it's his love for Dru that drove him to make a foolish move in 1887, while the Fanged Four are planning a robbery of a wealthy English Lord. It's his love for Buffy that got him into the mess with the loan shark, that gets him into another mess in L.A. in trying not only to pay back the loan shark, but still get some money for Buffy as well. Love will motivate Spike to do anything . . . even help save a ghost. The Fanged Four flashbacks were my favorite parts of this book. The interaction between Spike and Dru and how their relationship is portrayed makes perfect sense, for the timeline of the book. Spike adores and loves her madly, yet it's that love and adore that has Dru sometimes treat Spike quite cruelly, in order to make him jealous. (Like flirting with Angelus, taking a demon lover now and again.) It makes sense in light of the whole Angelus-Dru-Spike triangle in season two.
Anyway, this is a very good book. Not exactly like I was expecting, but the story was good, and all the characters, especially, (for one of the first times ever), Spike, were spot on. So I definitely recommend it, especially for fans of Angel and Spike. And I hope that Odom will get a chance to write some fifth season AtS novels next.
Rating:
Summary: Angel and Spike together - what a good idea!
Review: Great novel; it begins a little slow, with too much descriptions of fights, and chasing, but soon its pace gets right and you get caught on a very interesting story as well as a good developing of the characters. Spike, in Sunnydale, is in trouble after having the demon eggs he was taking care of (for a friend) destroyed by Riley and Buffy (season 6 "As You Were"). As the vampire is in need of some high cash (for him as well as for his beloved Buffy), he agrees to join three other demons in a robbery that will take place in Los Angeles - Angel's territory. Meanwhile, Angel and the Fang Gang are busy after Giles has asked them to keep an eye on something that is arriving in the city from overseas by ship. Eventually, Spike's and Angel's activities (in the present as well as in the past) turn out to be around the same mystical object (and people), and the two vampires are forced to work together. And something in the end is true to real life - sometimes what we wish so much, for so many time, turns out to be NOT the great thing we thought it would be. Angel is the Champion we know, always ready to fight the good fight, while struggles with his guilty about the horrible things he did in the past. Also, Angel feels vulnerable when he contemplates the vulnerability of *his friends* - and the feeling grows bigger when it concerns his new-born son, Connor. Angel is lucky of having Cordelia by his side, because she truly represents a mom's figure for the baby, and is always there for him and his daddy. Wesley, Fred and Gunn have a good part in the book, and I just missed Lorne, whose presence is delayed a little too much in my opinion. The new characters - Lianka, Gitana, Chavula Faa, the Qorqoth demons Dannek, Muullot and Doxxil - are interesting enough to keep you on track. The flashbacks with Angelus, Darla, Spike and Dru in Europe are very original. Spike's portrayal is excellent, Odom proves to be very acquainted with the show and the character. Yet unsoulled (thus showing a little of his bad behavior...), the Spike we see in this novel is the one we have learned to love in "BtVS" since season 5, when the vampire falls for the Slayer and starts developing a new attitude to please the object of his noble feelings. In "Cursed", we see that, although having been made a monster by Drusilla (and Angel, his master), Spike kept the "William" in him, the sweet poet who was driven by love - a love which could change him for better, as it happened eventually and definitively. His interaction with a woman from his past (and Angel's) - Lianka - shows once more how Spike can't deny his *true* nature, one that can beat even the evil demon within him, and make him want to help the... helpless, even a little grudgingly. Angel and Spike together, working on their misdeeds in the past, arguing about things in the present, and helping people using the cunning once used to do evil, is a very appalling thing to see, indeed - well, lucky us the right people have realized that and given us the already excellent "Angel" with a new spice on it: Spike! Trivia: the fact that Spike sired his mum and had to dust her afterward (season 7 "Lies My Parents Told Me") is cited on the book.
Rating:
Summary: Mel at his best
Review: I am a fan of Mel Odom's. This book is one of his best. I personally liked it because of how it flowed from one part of the story to the next. He does not focus on JUST Angel or JUST Spike. Even if you dont like The show Angel there are references to the show Buffy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!! Must read for Buffy and Angel fans.
Review: I could not put this crossover book down until I had read the entire book. Spike's character portrayal in the book was right on the money as was Angel's. Angelus' character could have been a little bit broader in my opinion, I mean we are talking about the "Scourge of Europe" here. The flashbacks into the past of Angel and Spike were wonderful and very much with the happenings and the feelings of these two long standing rivals. For me it was nice to finally read a Buffy/Angel book that was just from the Spike/Angel point of view. While I know we all love Buffy, it is nice to once in a while break away from the monotony and really delve into the lives of the other characters other than our favorite Slayer.
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