New Spike Book, Bloody Fool For Love by William Ritter

[Priceless]

Brittany Rubiano at Disney Hyperion has signed author William Ritter (Jackaby) to pen the first book in a new line of Buffy the Vampire Slayer YA prequel novels focusing on fan-favorite characters. Bloody Fool for Love features notorious vamp Spike as he plans the ultimate heist to win back his paramour Drusilla during turn-of the-century London. Publication is scheduled for summer 2022; Lucy Carson at the Friedrich Agency sold world rights.

 

[Foxy]

I wonder how they are going to make Spike 'likeable' before Buffy in a YA novel. I might pick this one up, but I'd much rather want an adult novel which explores the psychology of him and Dru.

But we will see. The cover looks nice though!

 

[Faded90]

I wonder how they are going to make Spike 'likeable' before Buffy in a YA novel. I might pick this one up, but I'd much rather want an adult novel which explores the psychology of him and Dru.

But we will see. The cover looks nice though!

I think with it being YA they’ll heavily romanticise both Spike and Dru

 

[Buffy Summers]

Sounds interesting- I like prequels.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Hopefully it's a story about how he lost and found his nose again.

 

[Taake]

That’s cool, I’ll be checking this out!

 

[nightshade]

Could be good, and I hope it does well so we can have others, a Darla or Darla and Angelus one would be great too.

 

[Priceless]

There is a little video that goes with the book, but I've not been able to upload it. It's really cute and plays on Spike's love of cats.

 

[Stake fodder]

I just finished this and liked it pretty well. It's my first-ever Buffy novel, so I can't speak to how typical it is. It takes place in 1901 London, after the Angel-less Whirlwind has returned from China, and are trying to pick up the pieces of their un-lives. I liked that the author looped in actual historical events (that Stonehenge stone that fell in 1900 wasn't such an accident after all), mentioned demon types we've seen in the show, and even gave a brilliant backstory to one of Drusilla's beloved possessions.

Ultimately, I thought it was more plot- than character-driven. I couldn't consistently hear Spike's voice saying the lines, and he wasn't as centered in the story as I would have liked. Darla is off on a sub-plot for a lot of it, and doesn't seem very distinctive as a character when she does appear. Drusilla is mostly an afterthought, beyond being the reason Spike seeks the "McGuffin", a magical relic Dru desires. I wanted more about Spike and Dru's relationship than we got. Still, it was an entertaining, quick read, and the characters behaved consistently with their early BtVS personalities.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else read this, and what they thought of it!