Oz: Into the Wild

Rating:
Summary: The mystic journey of the wonderful werewolf named Oz
Review: Sometimes it is not the destination that matter, but the journey. That bit of eastern sounding wisdom certainly applies to "Oz: Into the Wild," the latest "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" original novel by Christopher Golden. Actually, Buffy makes the briefest of appearances in this novel, which tells the story of what happened to Oz when he left Sunnydale in a desperate effort to sooth the savage beast that rises up and howls at the full moon each month. This means that what happens in this novel takes place during Season 4 between "Wild at Heart," when Oz left Sunnydale and Willow after killing Veruca, and "New Moon Rising," when he returned to find some major changes in both the town and the girl he left behind. Consequently, everyone who watches the show who reads this book knows full well that Oz will succeed in his quest. The reward here is in the journey, rather than the destination.

There are so many initial reasons to like this book. First, in fills in one of the major gaps in the Buffy storyline with regards to all the questions about Oz's quest to the East. I love books that come up with creative and valid ways of filling in gaps (most of the unfinished and unpublished "Buffy" and "STNG" novels in my files are fill in the gap stories), and this fits the bill in that regard. Second, it is a solo story, where Oz is essentially out on his own, with minimal help from anyone back in Sunnydale. There have been very few solo efforts on the television series ("Anne" and "The Zeppo" come to mind), but that is driven by economic considerations: when you are paying people money to be in a television show each week, they should be seen on that television show each week. Of course, Oz has to go half way around the world to have his solo adventure, but that is certainly a small price to pay.

Oz is clearly the most problematic character to try and write dialogue for in a "Buffy" novel. Most writers have a hard time coping with his laconic style and sparse use of verbiage, but not Golden. His characterization of Oz is as fine as any I have come across in these books, which means everything since he is front and center for almost this entire book. "Into the Wind" is one of those novels where two plot lines collide in a thrilling climax. The more interesting and more significant of the two is Oz's internal quest for control over the wolf within, and the best parts of this book are when nothing is "happening" other than Oz sitting on a mountain trying to come to terms with himself. Meanwhile, Cane, the werewolf hunter from "Phases," is hot on the trail of Oz, and when they both end up in the mountains of Tibet when a demon overlord is making a big time power play, the stage is set for a nice big collision.

But the part that sold me on this novel was not the conclusion and how everything comes together, but rather how Golden goes back and tells the story of how Oz became a werewolf. Taking something that was sort of a throw away joke in "Phases" ("Is Jordy a werewolf?"), Golden fleshes it out into a couple of poignant scenes. That was what sold me on "Into the Wind" being a very good "Buffy" novel. Final note: The origins of this particular novel are rather complex, for it is not only based on the television series created by Joss Whedon, it is also based on a story that first appeared in Dark Horse Comics. For those of you who want to decide if Golden is a better writer of comic books or novels, this is your chance. Knock yourself out.

Rating:
Summary: The mystic journey of the wonderful werewolf named Oz
Review: Sometimes it is not the destination that matter, but the journey. That bit of eastern sounding wisdom certainly applies to "Oz: Into the Wild," the latest "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" original novel by Christopher Golden. Actually, Buffy makes the briefest of appearances in this novel, which tells the story of what happened to Oz when he left Sunnydale in a desperate effort to sooth the savage beast that rises up and howls at the full moon each month. This means that what happens in this novel takes place during Season 4 between "Wild at Heart," when Oz left Sunnydale and Willow after killing Veruca, and "New Moon Rising," when he returned to find some major changes in both the town and the girl he left behind. Consequently, everyone who watches the show who reads this book knows full well that Oz will succeed in his quest. The reward here is in the journey, rather than the destination.

There are so many initial reasons to like this book. First, in fills in one of the major gaps in the Buffy storyline with regards to all the questions about Oz's quest to the East. I love books that come up with creative and valid ways of filling in gaps (most of the unfinished and unpublished "Buffy" and "STNG" novels in my files are fill in the gap stories), and this fits the bill in that regard. Second, it is a solo story, where Oz is essentially out on his own, with minimal help from anyone back in Sunnydale. There have been very few solo efforts on the television series ("Anne" and "The Zeppo" come to mind), but that is driven by economic considerations: when you are paying people money to be in a television show each week, they should be seen on that television show each week. Of course, Oz has to go half way around the world to have his solo adventure, but that is certainly a small price to pay.

Oz is clearly the most problematic character to try and write dialogue for in a "Buffy" novel. Most writers have a hard time coping with his laconic style and sparse use of verbiage, but not Golden. His characterization of Oz is as fine as any I have come across in these books, which means everything since he is front and center for almost this entire book. "Into the Wind" is one of those novels where two plot lines collide in a thrilling climax. The more interesting and more significant of the two is Oz's internal quest for control over the wolf within, and the best parts of this book are when nothing is "happening" other than Oz sitting on a mountain trying to come to terms with himself. Meanwhile, Cane, the werewolf hunter from "Phases," is hot on the trail of Oz, and when they both end up in the mountains of Tibet when a demon overlord is making a big time power play, the stage is set for a nice big collision.

But the part that sold me on this novel was not the conclusion and how everything comes together, but rather how Golden goes back and tells the story of how Oz became a werewolf. Taking something that was sort of a throw away joke in "Phases" ("Is Jordy a werewolf?"), Golden fleshes it out into a couple of poignant scenes. That was what sold me on "Into the Wind" being a very good "Buffy" novel. Final note: The origins of this particular novel are rather complex, for it is not only based on the television series created by Joss Whedon, it is also based on a story that first appeared in Dark Horse Comics. For those of you who want to decide if Golden is a better writer of comic books or novels, this is your chance. Knock yourself out.

Rating:
Summary: didn't seem at all like Oz
Review: The Oz in this book didn't really seem like the Oz from the show, as another reviewer pointed out quite well. Not only did he not seem to think like himself, he didn't look like himself either, and I had a lot of trouble remembering, as I was reading, that this was a book about Oz. With other comics I read, the art isn't as huge an issue for me, but with a comic based on a show I like, I was expecting the two characters from the show (Oz and flashbacks of Willow) to look more like themselves. I've seen BtVS art that was really accurate before, so I was expecting better than what I got with this book. Also, from the few details I got from the show about Oz's journey to take control over the werewolf, I always figured it'd be a really internal thing. In the show, Oz was never really a big fighter anyway, which made the fight scene in this comic odd. I don't think it was necessary to find a way to get a fight in this book - I've seen comics where most of the action was internal, and many of those were done very well. I wish it had been that way with this one.

Rating:
Summary: didn't seem at all like Oz
Review: The Oz in this book didn't really seem like the Oz from the show, as another reviewer pointed out quite well. Not only did he not seem to think like himself, he didn't look like himself either, and I had a lot of trouble remembering, as I was reading, that this was a book about Oz. With other comics I read, the art isn't as huge an issue for me, but with a comic based on a show I like, I was expecting the two characters from the show (Oz and flashbacks of Willow) to look more like themselves. I've seen BtVS art that was really accurate before, so I was expecting better than what I got with this book. Also, from the few details I got from the show about Oz's journey to take control over the werewolf, I always figured it'd be a really internal thing. In the show, Oz was never really a big fighter anyway, which made the fight scene in this comic odd. I don't think it was necessary to find a way to get a fight in this book - I've seen comics where most of the action was internal, and many of those were done very well. I wish it had been that way with this one.

Rating:
Summary: Dull and generic
Review: This book definitely hits one of the few sour notes in an otherwise high-quality 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comicbook series. To start off, readers are given a somewhat generic story of Oz wandering through Hong Kong and Tibet in search of answers on how to control his werewolving ways. The story is predictable and a yawner, offering little in the way of furthering character development in an ancillary Buffy character - Oz. Equally dull is the artwork with little in the way of flair or panache to further stimulate visual interest. I'd recommend reading this only if you can come across a copy on the cheap or for the most hardcore Buffy/Oz fans. Otherwise they are plenty more worthwhile volumes in this series worth your coin and reading time.

Rating:
Summary: Dull and generic
Review: This book definitely hits one of the few sour notes in an otherwise high-quality 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comicbook series. To start off, readers are given a somewhat generic story of Oz wandering through Hong Kong and Tibet in search of answers on how to control his werewolving ways. The story is predictable and a yawner, offering little in the way of furthering character development in an ancillary Buffy character - Oz. Equally dull is the artwork with little in the way of flair or panache to further stimulate visual interest. I'd recommend reading this only if you can come across a copy on the cheap or for the most hardcore Buffy/Oz fans. Otherwise they are plenty more worthwhile volumes in this series worth your coin and reading time.

Rating:
Summary: a must for all oz fans
Review: this book is absolutely great. it picks up the thread from the
fourth season when oz leaves the show in a search for a way to control the werewolf in him. his travels take him to the figi islands, australia, hong kong and even tibet. his quest is long
and hard and filled with lots of dangers that he thought he would not find so far from the hellmouth and sunnydale. the book is completely oz's story so if you are looking for the old gang
including buffy, you will be disappointed. but it is well written
and it fills in a void that the tv show did not really expand on.
i bought the book thinking that it would not be that good but i
can gladly say that it was definitely worth it.