Book of the Dead

Buffyverse Novels #90

by Ashley McConnell

Wesley has been a compulsive reader since childhood, with a particular fascination for the unusual and the arcane. It's an addiction like any other -- he craves books, loves them, can't live without them. So when a former colleague comes to town and invites him to a highly secret auction of rare occult texts, how could he resist? Unknown to Wesley, his colleague has sworn to avenge his father's death -- a death which has something to do with the theft of priceless books from the Watcher's Council. And Wesley himself has a stroke of luck; after which things take a sudden turn for the worse. He buys a box of old books which just happens to contain one of the most famous books of magick ever collected. The Red Compendium is known for the way in which it completely absorbs all those who read it -- and Wesley is no exception. Soon he finds he can no longer put it down...

Genres: Young Adult, Vampires, Paranormal, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Fantasy, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy

297 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 27, 2004

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an original tie-in novel to the television show Angel, the spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's set somewhere during the fourth season, though the continuity is shaky... if one finds such things too bothersome it's always okay to think of it as an alternate timeline adventure. It's a Wesley-centric story and focuses on book collecting and the alure of old and esoteric volumes, so I was quite fond of it. It's nicely written, with some good quips in the dialog. It's not The Red Compendium, but it is a fun story, good for Angel fans and bibliophiles alike.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The blurb on the back had me thinking this was going to be a really good Angel book. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce was always one of my favourite characters in the series and I was looking forward to having take the lead. Unfortunately, the best thing was the blurb overall this book was very poorly executed.

I actually have a feeling that this author has not actually watched the TV show or if so not a lot of it. The characters were okay and had the correct inflictions but one of the main issues for this book for me was how it fit into the timeline of the show. This book was all over the place! The front of the book says "Historian's note - this book takes place in the fourth season of Angel".
When the book started it made references to how both Wesley and Angel felt bad after what had happened with Connor and Holtz and that they were gradually starting to work together and trust each other again. Now this makes sense, because that is Season 4. Darla had Connor in early season 3 and then Wesley stole him middle of season three with Justine leaving Wesley for dead after slitting his throat. Then Connor returns with Holtz and the season 4 finale is left with Angel at the bottom of sea from Connor. In the season 4 premiere Wesley rescues Angel which is the start of them trying to rebuild what they had and carries through the season.

But then later in the book, Wesley takes Adrian to Caritas to be read by Lorne. But Caritas was destroyed by Holtz in the middle of Season 3 by Season 4 Lorne is permanently living with the team at the Hyperion Hotel! Also, there was references made to Lilah and Wesley which indicated they weren't together - namely that she had to use her goons to break into his apartment to get the book! This should have been unnecessary, by Season 4 they were sleeping together and Lilah could have gone to her apartment herself and stolen the book - no muss no fuss and much more stealthy and Lilah.

This for me was very irritating. It was like whenever the author needed something to take place they just added it - not taking into consideration whether or not it was correct within the timeline of the show or if it was realistic for the character. This is bad researching for a tie-in novel which is going to be read by people that actually do watch the show.

The storyline was just not good, it tried ineffectively to use some of Wesley's history as a watcher. Again, showing how erratic the references where, it was it mentioned, the destruction of the Watcher's library, now this happened in final season 7 of Buffy which would have matched the timeline of Season 4.

By the time I hit the end of this book I was just glad it was over and I was really annoyed at how badly it was done.

Avoid unless you want to get annoyed.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to go back and visit with the crew at Angel Investigations - the story line felt a little familiar, but it was still enjoyable.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wesley is surprised when a former classmate, Adrian O'Flahrety, shows up for a rare book auction. At the auction, Wesley spots a find in a junk box, the Red Compendium, full of powerful spells. He buys the box and settles in to read his new book, when he is sucked into the pages. He must survive the demon Bookwyrm long enough for the others to get him out.

[Crusader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first TV series novelization I read and I was pleasantly surprised. It made for a fun read and actually reads very much like a TV episode. Don't expect complex plots or character development. Good for a quick, fun read.

[Stephen Mcafee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, it invoked the show so well for me, it's the first of the Angel books I've read, and if they all do as good a job as this does of portraying the characters it won't be the last!

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just liked the cover.

[Gene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good concept, but the writing was a little uneven - a couple of scenes just didn't flow right.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original