Buffy and Angel Book Thread Part 2

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I always tend to stay away from the novels that cover the season stuff. I prefer the books which have their own story to them as it feels like something extra.

Granted there are some tv bits in their for continuity purposes but to have it set in the series just puts me off.
 
I suppose it was a bit much to read, plus the storys for each ep were quite short.

My fav Buffy book would have to be...hmmm...The Book of Fours.

All four slayers together was cool, esp with all the different backgrounds for them.
 
Xander Harris said:
It is. It's AWFUL. I swear, when I read it I want to rip my hair out! I just wanted to know if anyone feels the same way about it.
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Why did you think it was terrible?

I thought it pretty good and a good supplement to watching season 7.

I have to get my ass reading Monster Island...bought it months ago and haven't started it.

Also should re-read the book of fours as I was a bit confused the first time around.
 
Has anyone read Tales of the Slayer v.3? I just saw it on Barnes & Noble.com and it said it contained a story about Buffy's predecessor India Cohen.
 
I've just started reading The Lost Slayer. It feels kinda weird to read Buffy, cause I haven't read any Buffy books before.. (and not a lot of fanfics either..) But it seems good..
 
Oh it is! I think it's movie material...assuming they could assemble the cast. The plot in that book is better than a lot of the episodes.
 
There are many quality Buffy-books, and then there are the ones to just pass the time or get your buffy fix.

I really liked The Lost Slayer, too. I also liked the Book of Fours, The Gatekeeper Trilogy and The Wisdom of War. They were all very interesting. Monster Island was okay, but not my favorite.

I do not like the novelizations, though. I don't want to read what I can already repeat in my sleep from seeing the episodes. I also do not like the comic books very much.
 
By and large, Buffy novels are a horrible, soul eating experience. Buffy never has even a fair impression of a personality and says "like" about four million times a paragraph. Giles is there to set up jokes for Xander, which are always weirdly phrased. Spike speaks like Mary Poppins. Willow then saves the day with a Spell-Ex-Machina, which allows Buffy to break free/ find the Scooby Gang/ find the bad guy. Buffy destroys said bad guy. Book ends abruptly. One exception I can think of is the Chaos Bleeds novelisation, which managed to give everybody a personality, and, shockingly for a novel, got that Faith has more to her than the tough kid act, without over doing her vulnerability or letting the Scooby Gang see it.

Buffy and Philosophy... is good, but occasionally frustrating. I frequently found myself wanting to find the various writers, and yell at them my counter-arguements. However, any book that makes you yell at it can't have been a wasted experience.

The Watcher's Guides are shameless cash ins. They're glossy, purdy and have nice pictures, but the content is desperately shallow, and, in keeping with official merchandise, they refuse to acknowledge a single flaw has ever besmirched the production of a Buffy episode. Which is to be expected, but it's very difficult to take a book seriously after it's suggested that "I" in Team" is a crucial and pivotal episode to the Buffyverse. There are much, much better episode guides out there.

Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy suffers from the same problem. It's essentially a collection of quotes from Joss Whedon. Which is great, he's a really interesting guy, and very funny to read, but we learn nothing new. Everything he has said or done is treated with near-religious reverence. Nothing is ever questioned, and it's an extremely lightweight read. It's worth borrowing or reading for free, but it's a shame that such a naturally fascinating guy, with such an interesting life, is given such breezy treatment.

I've heard that the best guide by far is Dusted, but it's tough to get 'round these parts. Anybody?
 
eponinethen said:
What about the "Watchers Guide" books..? I've seen them everywhere but what are they about..?
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i love these books... i have no1 and 2... there are pics, ep guides, quotes... lovely! i find them usefull and nice to have(not everyone might agree 😉) but i think they are... and there is behind the scene pics and interviews... and alot of fun buffy stuff...

as of Buffy books i only have one, and the 2 watcher guides... i bought WG no2 and the book in England when i was there in marh 2001.. i was like 17. the book is called; eturned to chaos.. and it seems pretty interesting ...
 
I still think it's very weird to read Buffy. Cause it's not like a "normal" novel, and it's not something to make a movie of, but it feels like something in between.. Cause you're always picturing the places you've seen in the show, of course.. and, I don't know.. There's nothing "new", since the characters are the same and the writers aren't allowed to change them in any way, they're just trying to keep everything the way it's supposed to be.. and that's when you succeed, if it is just like the show.. but a novel and a TV show isn't the same.. I mean it doesn't really work to try to write a novel like a tv show. And it's really hard to write about characters that someone else has created, and still write deep meaningful things.. Cause when you write you have to use a lot of yourself, your own things, thoughts, ideas and so on.. Which the writers aren't really allowed to do here.. They're just trying to re-create what Joss created, or make more of what he created..
(But that's just thought cause I haven't read a lot of Buffy books.. since I used to be almost against them (cause of the reasons above)..)
 
Well Keep Me in Mind sounds like a High School one, which is bad because we aree on the whole college thing or post Joyce.

The Suicide King does sond a bit iffy but I will still get them both just the same as I am a Buffy NUT! 😀

The Casefiles 2 is coming ut soon as well 😀 YAY! Gotta get that.
 
Tales of the Slayer volume 4 extract

Extract from Undeadsville by Michael Reaves.

New York City, 1952

Vampire

The hunger.

It is the first thing - the only thing - you know. It fills you, defines you, consumes you. It flows like molten pitch through your bloodless veins, through the still, icy chambers of your heart and the dark conduits of your brain. It illuminates you, uplifts you, propels you.

It is you.

For the entire story, please open link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/buffystuff/talesoftheslayerfour_extract.shtml

BTW, what does Extract mean?
 
I just recently got the Watchers' Guide Vol. 1 and 5 Seasons of Angel: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writes Discuss their Favorite Show.

Both seem really good so far, especially the latter.
 
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