Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1 (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I bought this book on a whim, having been a fan of the show for a while now. I thought the stories got better as the book progressed. The first was okay; I thought it was written like mediocre fan-fiction and used too many cliches. The second story was better, but could still use some work. The third story was the best and kind of awesome. It was well written and the humor was pretty similar to that of Joss Whedon's, IMO. Although I read the first two books included in this volume earlier this semester [before the blog], I wanted to talk about the third one as I just read it. Portal Through Time by Alice Henderson, I thought, was the best of the three offerings Volume One presented. It had the most complex plot (devotes to the Master were attempting to go back in time to kill slayers in order to change the slayer timeline and prevent Buffy from ever coming into power so as to allow the Master to rise), a deeper meaning (about the importance of history and how one seemingly small and unimportant event can forever change the entire world), and it contained the best use of language and vocabulary. Plus, Angel wasn't only just mentioned in this story; he was actually present (as was Angelus, too). And there were smoochies. Doesn't that always make a Buffy story better? ;-)The second of the first two books from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Volume One that I previously skipped was by Arthur Byron Cover, and it pitted Buffy against her famed nemesis The Master again. In this story, The Master collected spirits from 17th century Salem to infiltrate the bodies of those close to Buffy, hoping that the spirits would re-enact the last events of their previous lives which were a series of actions that led to a ritual to raise the ultimate evil. Although I felt that this plot was developed more than the previous book, both of them lacked that certain Buffy-esque feel. There was a lack of metaphors with deeper meaning to the supernatural mysteries, and the dialogue was not as quick and zippy as it was on the show. With that said, though, speaking as someone who writes for the fandom, Buffy is not an easy show to emulate. For basic, beginner Buffy the Vampire Slayer stories, especially for those of the younger spectrum of YA readers, these would be good books to introduce the genre (and Buffy characters) with, I think.Although I've already discussed the final novels in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Volume One, the first was entitled Coyote Moon and was much simpler plot wise, I felt. By John Vornholt, the story focused upon Buffy discovering that a traveling carnival was really a cover for a pack of shape shifting coyotes looking to offer human sacrifices in order to rise their former boss who died in 1895. (Through shape-shifting, they were able to drastically prolong their lifespans.) With the help of her watcher, Giles, Buffy was able to save Willow and Xander and prevent the were-coyotes from succeeding with their diabolical plan.
What do You think about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1 (2010)?
Very good book! Reminded me so much of the show and how much I miss it!
—Logan
Can't read no more too much conversation not enough storytelling
—Boop
