The Wisdom of War: Chapters 4-5

[Buffy Summers]

Discuss these chapters here!

 

[Buffy Summers]

I enjoyed these chapters well enough. But again, the author used "Buffy swore." again. I feel like they need something else to say that is different.

Also, would Buffy really compare the monsters to "Gorgons"? Wouldn't she say "Medusa" if anything?

But the kicker for me was Buffy saying she hated sushi. Hello? Yummy Sushi PJs?!

The Scooby interaction was pretty good, and bringing the Watchers in and seeing them hunting a demon was pretty interesting.

 

[Lyri]

I like these chapters better than the first two, I think there's a little more action going on. I enjoyed the fact that's it two different demons, it adds a different element to it than what we see on the show.

The two women that were introduced in this chapter have been intrigued. Helen is obviously a Watcher - or at the very least, associated with the Council - but I'm wondering about Rosanna, there's something not quite on the up and up about her. I'm pretty sure the grandmother that Helen was talking about was actually a character in Golden's previous stories. I think her name was Marie-Christine Fontaine and I think she was in 'Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids all in a Row' and one of the Tales of the Slayer novels. I think the Slayer's name was Isobel or Eleanor. Can't remember that. But since Spike had a pretty massive role - obviously, lol - in the 'Pretty Maids', I wonder if Helen will have any sort of reaction to Spike.

Speaking of Helen, her attitude towards Buffy bothered me a lot. She came across like a petulant child, upset at not getting her own wayI understand that she's supposed to be new to working with the Slayer, but her demands were outrageous - and they were demands, she didn't ask anything.

But, given her demands and what Buffy and the others found out after she left, it seems like the Council have some other agenda going on, that maybe Travers hasn't told Helen about.

 

[Buffy Summers]

That would be a first

 

[Bluebird]

I liked these chapters well enough but it just feels like more of the same up until the Council gets involved. It reminded me of Checkpoint when they turned up at the shop.
I do like the power dynamic of Buffy vs The Council, so it's cool to see a book on it. My only real criticism is it still feels like a Young Adult novel, which I think the Buffy books suffered from more than the Angel books.

 

[Lyri]

My only real criticism is it still feels like a Young Adult novel, which I think the Buffy books suffered from more than the Angel books.

I think the paper backs suffer from this more than the hard backs. Books like Pretty Maids, The Lost Slayer, The Book of Fours, they all have a different feel to them, like they're a lot darker. I don't know if that's a conscious thing in the part of the writers and the publishers, but it would be interesting to maybe read one of the hard backs next, see if people do see a difference.