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Buffyverse Novels #92
Queen of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by Nancy Holder
No vacation. No benefits. And the only retirement is an early death.With the closing of the Hellmouth and the awakening of hundreds of potential slayers, Buffy Summers thought she had overturned the Slayer's self-sacrifice and earned herself a much-deserved break. But the thrill of victory is short-lived. The Forces of Darkness are not ones to graciously accept defeat, and the collective rage unites disparate and powerful parties more eager than ever to reclaim dominance.Willow's magickal distribution of the slayer essence left girls across the world discovering their latent power. Giles races to reorganize the now much-needed Watchers Council, and the Scoobies relocate to Europe. And there in Rome, Buffy is drawn to the Immortal -- a charismatic, if inscrutable, figure. But then comes word that a number of the fresh slayers are being coerced to join an army of slayers -- governed by the mysterious "Queen of the Slayers," an awesome evil determined to claim the intoxicating slayer essence for herself.Xander is sent to Africa to learn more about the origin of the slayer essence. Instead, he returns to report that, alarmingly, there's not enough good in the world to counteract the overabundance of evil, and that the deciding apocalypse is drawing much too near. Alliances are formed and loyalties betrayed as it comes down to slayer versus slayer, leading to an ultimate battle of champions -- from Buffy's past and present. And then an unimaginable gift arrives...
Paperback
First published May 31, 2005
11 people are currently reading
860 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Holder
352 books2,408 followersNancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling author of the WICKED Series, has just published CRUSADE - the first book in a new vampire series cowritten with Debbie Viguie. The last book her her Possession series is set to release in March 2011.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
June 1, 2022
Queen of the Slayers is an original Buffy novel that starts out right as the television series ends. It's a hopeless and thankless undertaking, because no matter what Holder does with the story, there are going to be myriad fans raving that she got it all wrong. Buffy fans were among the most vocal and passionate, right up there with Trekkers. It's not a well edited book, and feels rather rushed in places, but it's all right... a fun continuation of the story. She references a lot of odds and ends from Angel as well as from Buffy, and I thought she did a fine job of capturing the characters' voices. Have you ever been to Cleveland? The Browns have been a disappointment since 1964...coincidence? Probably not.
March 21, 2012
As a hardcore Buffy fan I couldn't stand this book. The writing Is horrible. She randomly plants word-for-word lines from the show in it and it's super obvious. Instead of getting into the character's heads and writing in their voices she lifts lines from random episodes to fill her bizarre storyline. I've read better fan fiction on lj!
December 20, 2024
Queen of the Slayers is the best Buffy book I have read. Nancy Holder keeps all the characters true to the way they were portrayed in the series, which, as a major Buffy fan, I thought was very important. The story picks up exactly where the show ended, with Buffy and the gang having shut down the Sunnydale Hellmouth. It incorporates some of the plot from season 5 of Angel, so it has excellent continuity. It features all the characters we know, plus some new ones, with a great 'big bad.' The storyline is compelling, with all the twists and shocks you would expect from Buffy.
To any Buffy fans, I would strongly recommend this, as I think it is the best complement to the series and is a must for those who need to know what could have happened if the show had continued another season. For non-Buffy fans, this wouldn't be the best book to start with, as it contains information relevant to the series, so you might find yourself a bit lost.
This is my favorite Buffy book by far. Nancy Holder, who is already known among Buffy fans for writing several other Buffy books, has written an amazing book that I just couldn't put down.
To any Buffy fans, I would strongly recommend this, as I think it is the best complement to the series and is a must for those who need to know what could have happened if the show had continued another season. For non-Buffy fans, this wouldn't be the best book to start with, as it contains information relevant to the series, so you might find yourself a bit lost.
This is my favorite Buffy book by far. Nancy Holder, who is already known among Buffy fans for writing several other Buffy books, has written an amazing book that I just couldn't put down.
January 9, 2025
*posts 10-year-old review*
November 11, 2021
Not enough "hoot", and where's the "nanny"?
If I could sum up my impressions of "Queen of the Slayers" into a single word, then "disappointing" would fit the proverbial bill just fine. However, I'm going to go into more detail than that.
There are few things that irritate me more than a disappointing book. I'm a very picky, choosy reader. Most of my non-fiction reading involves books that are tied into existing media properties, like "Star Trek", "Star Wars", and "Doctor WHO", and that's simply because I like to read stories that contain a few characters with whom I am already familiar. There's a lot of comfort there, assuming that the characters are translated well in the process. That's one of the problems with this book, and I'll get into that a bit later.
Now, to set this whole deal up, "Queen of the Slayers" gets going right after the events of the Buffy series finale, "Chosen", in which Willow has created an army of Slayers by activating all the potentials on Earth in the hopes of defeating the armies of the First-Evil, and in the ensuing battle, the Hellmouth is destroyed, taking the whole town of Sunnydale with it. It is interesting to note that Holder takes the scooby gang down a few paths that I myself took them when I set up my post-Chosen RPG storyline. The re-building of the Watchers Council, the effort to train the new Slayers, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn in Europe, with Faith and Robin in Cleveland. However, she does a few things differently than I would have, some are pretty good, and some not so much.
First-off, Holder's prose seems a little disjointed and fractured, as if a selection of several short-stories had been smashed together. Its like Holder had all these notes about the plot points, but couldn't quite make the various brainstorm sessions flow together smoothly. Some of the transitions are a bit jarring, as a lot of things that should have been described in some detail are merely glossed over, and some are just skipped entirely.
However, there are worse literary crimes afoot.
Holder introduces a score of new villainous characters, and they all seem a mile wide and an inch deep. Each and every one of them seems to be full of sound and fury signifying nothing, because they don't get fleshed out properly, nor do they seem to do all that much. One of the great strengths of both Buffy AND Angel was the fact that even the villains were typically well-rounded and interesting, especially the Big-Bads. However, we see very little of that type of depth here. Part of the problem lies in the fact that we have not one, not two, not three, but SIX major big-bad types. Thus, each one suffers because there is very little time to devote to them. Janus in particular suffers because of this, and much is made of the fact that the troublesome Ethan Rayne served him, but Ethan himself never appears. Not only that, but she gets her mythology quite wrong where Janus is concerned (Hint: He's a Roman God, not a Greek one), and that's just inexcusable.
And its not just the villains who suffer because there are so many of them, but Holder simply uses too many characters. Its hard enough to deal with the enlarged main cast we were left with at the show's end, but Holder opts to introduce even more characters, some new, and some old. The whole book seems terribly crowded, much like the Summers' house in the show's final season.
Another big problem lies in Holder's use of "The Immortal", a character whom was teasingly introduced in the Angel episode "The Girl in Question". The Immortal wields a great deal of power and influence in the episode, and yet is never seen. The author pretty much wastes the character, and thus destroys any air of mystery or real allure the character had. And that's a real shame.
And while I'm on the subject of Angel, Holder also ties the events in her novel into events depicted in season 5 of the series. Andrew's arrival in LA in the episode "Damage"? Check. Spike and Angel's jaunt to Rome in "The Girl in Question"? Check. However, these things are pretty much glossed over. The first instance, in particular, warranted some more musing on Buffy's part than we actually get. Most annoyingly, the events of "Shells" are totally skipped, which baffles me. Why did Holder go to such lengths to tie things into the final season of Angel, but yet miss such a pivotal event? I have no answer for this particular quandary. And lest I forget, the climax of the novel ends up tying itself into Angel's final episode, "Not Fade Away", and I have to say I don't like what Holder did with that at all. However, that's probably more of a personal preference issue than anything.
While I'm on the subject, Holder does some things that I found absolutely ridiculous in a book that ties into Angel. Over the course of the book, Cleveland is an absolute mess due to the increasing activity of the Hellmouth there, and the city is pretty much evacuated. Not only that, but we have cataclysmic weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and all sorts of other chaos that builds up to the book's finale. This struck me as odd, because you'd think that events of this severity would have attracted the attention of team Angel. Granted, by the time things get REALLY bad, Angel is making his moves against the Circle of the Black Thorn, but still, its just a bit much for a story that pretends to take place in the same shared universe.
Oh, and lest I forget (because I very nearly did), the climax of this book is more than just a touch lackluster. It seems very, very rushed and rather anti-climactic. For a book that really builds to an apocalyptic end, it sure doesn't deliver what it promises, and I really, really hate that. A strong ending could have helped save this book. Instead, the weak ending helps doom it.
Lastly, some of the characterizations and dialogue just don't ring as true as they should, and that's more than just a little bothersome. There are flashes of the wit and charm that we Buffy-fans know so well, but they just aren't enough to make up for everything that is wrong with this book.
Before I wrap it up, some other reviewers pointed out some things that I should mention for the sake of fairness. 1) This is a "young adult" novel, and that certainly places its own set of restrictions on the content. And 2) this is indeed a licensed book, and we have no clue what demands were made of Holder in terms of what she did with the characters. Both of these factors should be taken into account, and fans under the age of 20 will probably enjoy this title more than someone of my age would. And there were some moments that were enjoyable, and a couple of instances where I chuckled at a line that was truly funny. Also, despite its shortcomings, the book was hard to put down. If it wasn't for that flat ending, the book would have netted three stars instead of just two.
To sum it all up, I really think that Holder's reach exceeded her grasp in this particular instance. She creates some big events that seem lackluster because they seem to be writ small-scale. I'd have some real reservations about reading more of her Buffy works in the future.
If I could sum up my impressions of "Queen of the Slayers" into a single word, then "disappointing" would fit the proverbial bill just fine. However, I'm going to go into more detail than that.
There are few things that irritate me more than a disappointing book. I'm a very picky, choosy reader. Most of my non-fiction reading involves books that are tied into existing media properties, like "Star Trek", "Star Wars", and "Doctor WHO", and that's simply because I like to read stories that contain a few characters with whom I am already familiar. There's a lot of comfort there, assuming that the characters are translated well in the process. That's one of the problems with this book, and I'll get into that a bit later.
Now, to set this whole deal up, "Queen of the Slayers" gets going right after the events of the Buffy series finale, "Chosen", in which Willow has created an army of Slayers by activating all the potentials on Earth in the hopes of defeating the armies of the First-Evil, and in the ensuing battle, the Hellmouth is destroyed, taking the whole town of Sunnydale with it. It is interesting to note that Holder takes the scooby gang down a few paths that I myself took them when I set up my post-Chosen RPG storyline. The re-building of the Watchers Council, the effort to train the new Slayers, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn in Europe, with Faith and Robin in Cleveland. However, she does a few things differently than I would have, some are pretty good, and some not so much.
First-off, Holder's prose seems a little disjointed and fractured, as if a selection of several short-stories had been smashed together. Its like Holder had all these notes about the plot points, but couldn't quite make the various brainstorm sessions flow together smoothly. Some of the transitions are a bit jarring, as a lot of things that should have been described in some detail are merely glossed over, and some are just skipped entirely.
However, there are worse literary crimes afoot.
Holder introduces a score of new villainous characters, and they all seem a mile wide and an inch deep. Each and every one of them seems to be full of sound and fury signifying nothing, because they don't get fleshed out properly, nor do they seem to do all that much. One of the great strengths of both Buffy AND Angel was the fact that even the villains were typically well-rounded and interesting, especially the Big-Bads. However, we see very little of that type of depth here. Part of the problem lies in the fact that we have not one, not two, not three, but SIX major big-bad types. Thus, each one suffers because there is very little time to devote to them. Janus in particular suffers because of this, and much is made of the fact that the troublesome Ethan Rayne served him, but Ethan himself never appears. Not only that, but she gets her mythology quite wrong where Janus is concerned (Hint: He's a Roman God, not a Greek one), and that's just inexcusable.
And its not just the villains who suffer because there are so many of them, but Holder simply uses too many characters. Its hard enough to deal with the enlarged main cast we were left with at the show's end, but Holder opts to introduce even more characters, some new, and some old. The whole book seems terribly crowded, much like the Summers' house in the show's final season.
Another big problem lies in Holder's use of "The Immortal", a character whom was teasingly introduced in the Angel episode "The Girl in Question". The Immortal wields a great deal of power and influence in the episode, and yet is never seen. The author pretty much wastes the character, and thus destroys any air of mystery or real allure the character had. And that's a real shame.
And while I'm on the subject of Angel, Holder also ties the events in her novel into events depicted in season 5 of the series. Andrew's arrival in LA in the episode "Damage"? Check. Spike and Angel's jaunt to Rome in "The Girl in Question"? Check. However, these things are pretty much glossed over. The first instance, in particular, warranted some more musing on Buffy's part than we actually get. Most annoyingly, the events of "Shells" are totally skipped, which baffles me. Why did Holder go to such lengths to tie things into the final season of Angel, but yet miss such a pivotal event? I have no answer for this particular quandary. And lest I forget, the climax of the novel ends up tying itself into Angel's final episode, "Not Fade Away", and I have to say I don't like what Holder did with that at all. However, that's probably more of a personal preference issue than anything.
While I'm on the subject, Holder does some things that I found absolutely ridiculous in a book that ties into Angel. Over the course of the book, Cleveland is an absolute mess due to the increasing activity of the Hellmouth there, and the city is pretty much evacuated. Not only that, but we have cataclysmic weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and all sorts of other chaos that builds up to the book's finale. This struck me as odd, because you'd think that events of this severity would have attracted the attention of team Angel. Granted, by the time things get REALLY bad, Angel is making his moves against the Circle of the Black Thorn, but still, its just a bit much for a story that pretends to take place in the same shared universe.
Oh, and lest I forget (because I very nearly did), the climax of this book is more than just a touch lackluster. It seems very, very rushed and rather anti-climactic. For a book that really builds to an apocalyptic end, it sure doesn't deliver what it promises, and I really, really hate that. A strong ending could have helped save this book. Instead, the weak ending helps doom it.
Lastly, some of the characterizations and dialogue just don't ring as true as they should, and that's more than just a little bothersome. There are flashes of the wit and charm that we Buffy-fans know so well, but they just aren't enough to make up for everything that is wrong with this book.
Before I wrap it up, some other reviewers pointed out some things that I should mention for the sake of fairness. 1) This is a "young adult" novel, and that certainly places its own set of restrictions on the content. And 2) this is indeed a licensed book, and we have no clue what demands were made of Holder in terms of what she did with the characters. Both of these factors should be taken into account, and fans under the age of 20 will probably enjoy this title more than someone of my age would. And there were some moments that were enjoyable, and a couple of instances where I chuckled at a line that was truly funny. Also, despite its shortcomings, the book was hard to put down. If it wasn't for that flat ending, the book would have netted three stars instead of just two.
To sum it all up, I really think that Holder's reach exceeded her grasp in this particular instance. She creates some big events that seem lackluster because they seem to be writ small-scale. I'd have some real reservations about reading more of her Buffy works in the future.
May 24, 2012
This book is definitely for fans of the TV Series. In it, we see what happens to our main characters after they've taken down the Hellmouth and Sunnydale becomes a sink hole. After Willow's spell to turn all potentials into actuals, Buffy and her team go in search of these young women to train and prepare them for the upcoming full out war with the First Evil (and all it's minions), but the other side is also recruiting, and unfortunately some of these new slayers are swayed over to the dark side...
And..there definitely is another hellmouth in Cleveland.
And..there definitely is another hellmouth in Cleveland.
June 11, 2018
I fully accept that media tie-ins are basically cynical cash grabs, therefore of dubious literary worth, but this book is bad even for a media tie-in novel. It has NO redeeming qualities whatsoever; every aspect of book is terrible. I wouldn't even recommend this to die hard Buffy fans.
Anyone who misses the show and wants to read stories set after its final episode would be better served scouring the internet for fan-fiction. I can guarantee there is much better material out there than can be found in Queen Of The Slayers.
FULL REVIEW PENDING...MAYBE
Anyone who misses the show and wants to read stories set after its final episode would be better served scouring the internet for fan-fiction. I can guarantee there is much better material out there than can be found in Queen Of The Slayers.
FULL REVIEW PENDING...MAYBE
February 23, 2011
For any Buffy fans this is a MUST read. I almost died when the show ended because i was so hooked. This was a wonderful follow up, Holder stays true to Joss' characters and the book is a wonderful follow up to Buffys life as she leaves Sunndydale and has to rebuild her life and deal with the consequences of the hellmouth closing.
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January 8, 2016
[Quick review from memory until I re-read and re-review at a later date:
Definitely better than those piece of crap comic books they brought out. I don't remember much of the plot, but it's Buffy. C'mon. Four stars though?]
Definitely better than those piece of crap comic books they brought out. I don't remember much of the plot, but it's Buffy. C'mon. Four stars though?]
March 11, 2016
Read this if you have watched all of Buffy and all of angel ONLY it's amazing
February 8, 2024
(Read with caution — a few slight spoilers possible, especially when I list characters who appear in the book.)
I'm a huge fan of the TV series, which must be obvious given I read this book. Honestly, I doubt that anyone who hasn't watched the show would be interested in this novel at all.
The good:
Nancy Holder obviously knows and loves the characters (she is the author of numerous books both fiction and otherwise, dealing with BtVS), and she throws in a wealth of references, call-backs, name checks, random memories, etc. The dialogue, the voices of the characters, and the narration itself all rings true and faithful to the series.
It's a long story: 330-ish pages. Which allows for some development and, well, story. I mention this because I've also read some of the "canon" comic book continuations of the series, and was largely disappointed in those because the stories were too short, simple, and one-dimensional, and the voices didn't always sound right. Plus, sometimes the artwork left me wondering who in the heck was who. Novels are much better than comics.
It picks up right after (RIGHT after) the series 7 finale on TV, and incorporates events in the final seasons of "Angel" that came after "BtVS." So in that way, this novel not only continues the Buffy story, but gives a bit of closure to "Angel", which, as I'm sure recall, ended on a sort of dramatic cliff-hanger.
The bad:
I'd prefer novels set back in the high school or ever college years better, and one main reason is that things were simpler and more exciting then. I'll explain: as the series progresses, the "Big Bad" has to progress as well — the stakes have to rise, and the evil must be stronger and harder to defeat. We saw that in season five where they battled a Goddess (Glory) and in season seven with the First and the uber-vamps.
Of course, this trend has to continue in this book, with the evil getting bigger, stronger, more complex. In fact, there are a number of evil antagonists to deal with. Too many, to suit me. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the early days when Buffy simply dusted a vamp or defeated a demon.
Narratively, the book was something of a hot mess because there were just too many irons in the fire. Too large a cast. I don't think this was Holder's fault: I imagine the story (at least a number of parameters of the story) were dictated to her. Certain things that had to be covered or had to happen, and the author had to craft a story around those points.
To illustrate, as I said, there were 330-odd pages, which sounds like a lot, but divide that up among all the characters (This list of characters may be a bit spoilerish):
Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Giles, Andrew, Faith, Robin, Kennedy, Rona, Vi, Oz, Whistler, the First Slayer, Nikki Wood(!), Tara(!), a large number of other "red shirt" slayers, and several new characters (at least seven evil ones whose names I won't mention, but who all have significant "screen time") and an older monk, a stuffy (obviously) Watchers Council guy. We also get a cameo (no speaking part) by Anya — and Angel and Spike are alluded to several times before we "see" them, along with and Gunn, and Illria (although they don't have any lines either). The only real absences are Cordelia and Joyce (although Mrs. Summers is mentioned several times). Oh, and Riley. Why not? Oh, and Jonathan...
So my point with that list is this: No one, not even Buffy, gets a whole lot of "screen time." Long chapters are wholly devoted to the new evil characters and their various back stories.
Misc. thoughts: I liked Faith here. I think she was well utilized and felt real. Xander had some good scenes too. Giles seemed to me to have been a bit short-changed, but I guess that's inevitable with so many characters and so much ground to cover. Kennedy was much less annoying here than in the TV series (ditto Dawn, even though she was little more than a damsel in distress here). Tara's role is tiny, but significant.
There was a dash of humor, but it seemed below average. Andrew was the "fun" character (comic relief), but he didn't have a lot to do (which I guess is consistent with the series). The overall story was meh. For me, it was more about seeing the characters again than having a great story, I guess. The ending didn't thrill me, but I think that's a consequence of what I mentioned earlier about the inflation of the stakes and the power of the evil. End of the world stuff, of course.
Honestly, the basic story itself probably rates two or three stars, and that's probably being generous, but all the wonderful references were worth an extra star, and just having Buffy and the gang back was wonderful.
Only recommended for true fans though.
Honestly, for my next visit to the world of BtVS, I want to find a good novel set in Sunnydale during her junior or senior year of high school. I'm sure I'd enjoy it far more.
I'm a huge fan of the TV series, which must be obvious given I read this book. Honestly, I doubt that anyone who hasn't watched the show would be interested in this novel at all.
The good:
Nancy Holder obviously knows and loves the characters (she is the author of numerous books both fiction and otherwise, dealing with BtVS), and she throws in a wealth of references, call-backs, name checks, random memories, etc. The dialogue, the voices of the characters, and the narration itself all rings true and faithful to the series.
It's a long story: 330-ish pages. Which allows for some development and, well, story. I mention this because I've also read some of the "canon" comic book continuations of the series, and was largely disappointed in those because the stories were too short, simple, and one-dimensional, and the voices didn't always sound right. Plus, sometimes the artwork left me wondering who in the heck was who. Novels are much better than comics.
It picks up right after (RIGHT after) the series 7 finale on TV, and incorporates events in the final seasons of "Angel" that came after "BtVS." So in that way, this novel not only continues the Buffy story, but gives a bit of closure to "Angel", which, as I'm sure recall, ended on a sort of dramatic cliff-hanger.
The bad:
I'd prefer novels set back in the high school or ever college years better, and one main reason is that things were simpler and more exciting then. I'll explain: as the series progresses, the "Big Bad" has to progress as well — the stakes have to rise, and the evil must be stronger and harder to defeat. We saw that in season five where they battled a Goddess (Glory) and in season seven with the First and the uber-vamps.
Of course, this trend has to continue in this book, with the evil getting bigger, stronger, more complex. In fact, there are a number of evil antagonists to deal with. Too many, to suit me. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the early days when Buffy simply dusted a vamp or defeated a demon.
Narratively, the book was something of a hot mess because there were just too many irons in the fire. Too large a cast. I don't think this was Holder's fault: I imagine the story (at least a number of parameters of the story) were dictated to her. Certain things that had to be covered or had to happen, and the author had to craft a story around those points.
To illustrate, as I said, there were 330-odd pages, which sounds like a lot, but divide that up among all the characters (This list of characters may be a bit spoilerish):
Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Giles, Andrew, Faith, Robin, Kennedy, Rona, Vi, Oz, Whistler, the First Slayer, Nikki Wood(!), Tara(!), a large number of other "red shirt" slayers, and several new characters (at least seven evil ones whose names I won't mention, but who all have significant "screen time") and an older monk, a stuffy (obviously) Watchers Council guy. We also get a cameo (no speaking part) by Anya — and Angel and Spike are alluded to several times before we "see" them, along with and Gunn, and Illria (although they don't have any lines either). The only real absences are Cordelia and Joyce (although Mrs. Summers is mentioned several times). Oh, and Riley. Why not? Oh, and Jonathan...
So my point with that list is this: No one, not even Buffy, gets a whole lot of "screen time." Long chapters are wholly devoted to the new evil characters and their various back stories.
Misc. thoughts: I liked Faith here. I think she was well utilized and felt real. Xander had some good scenes too. Giles seemed to me to have been a bit short-changed, but I guess that's inevitable with so many characters and so much ground to cover. Kennedy was much less annoying here than in the TV series (ditto Dawn, even though she was little more than a damsel in distress here). Tara's role is tiny, but significant.
There was a dash of humor, but it seemed below average. Andrew was the "fun" character (comic relief), but he didn't have a lot to do (which I guess is consistent with the series). The overall story was meh. For me, it was more about seeing the characters again than having a great story, I guess. The ending didn't thrill me, but I think that's a consequence of what I mentioned earlier about the inflation of the stakes and the power of the evil. End of the world stuff, of course.
Honestly, the basic story itself probably rates two or three stars, and that's probably being generous, but all the wonderful references were worth an extra star, and just having Buffy and the gang back was wonderful.
Only recommended for true fans though.
Honestly, for my next visit to the world of BtVS, I want to find a good novel set in Sunnydale during her junior or senior year of high school. I'm sure I'd enjoy it far more.
September 4, 2017
Surprisingly for me this was actually one of my least favourite Buffy novels.
It started off well, directly after the events of the last episode of Buffy, with the survivors of the final fight leaving Sunnydale in the school bus they escaped in. After dealing with some shapeshifters in the desert the group gets split and the story for me went downhill.
Some including Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Kennedy, Andrew and Giles go to London to new Watchers Council HQ. Whilst Faith, Robin Wood and some of the remaining slayers go to Cleveland where there is rumour of a new hellmouth activating. Once in London, the gang split again, leaving Giles, Andrew and Kennedy in London, and Buffy, Xander and Willow go to Rome to meet the Immortal. Kennedy then leaves for Cleveland with some more slayers to help Faith.
Once this happens the story gets very disjointed. You have 3 separate fronts and a whole host of different enemies. In Rome, you have Antonio Borgia and his girlfriend Ornella who is a newly activated slayer after the finale. They are in league with Cesare and Lucrizia Borgia who were vampires! You also have the League of three, three hellgods who decided to take over the world and working with everyone else.
In Rome, you have the character of the Immortal, which ties in with an episode of Angel which is also mentioned later in the book. When Buffy finds out that Spike and Angel came to look for her when they were in Rome on a mission for wolfram and hart.
The book also ties into the finale events of Angel with Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria in their final battle against the demons from wolfram and hart.
I was disappointed in this book, more so that Nancy Holder has written a lot of Buffy/Angel tie-ins which have usually been good. But this time there was actually too much going on and it ended up being poor.
It started off well, directly after the events of the last episode of Buffy, with the survivors of the final fight leaving Sunnydale in the school bus they escaped in. After dealing with some shapeshifters in the desert the group gets split and the story for me went downhill.
Some including Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Kennedy, Andrew and Giles go to London to new Watchers Council HQ. Whilst Faith, Robin Wood and some of the remaining slayers go to Cleveland where there is rumour of a new hellmouth activating. Once in London, the gang split again, leaving Giles, Andrew and Kennedy in London, and Buffy, Xander and Willow go to Rome to meet the Immortal. Kennedy then leaves for Cleveland with some more slayers to help Faith.
Once this happens the story gets very disjointed. You have 3 separate fronts and a whole host of different enemies. In Rome, you have Antonio Borgia and his girlfriend Ornella who is a newly activated slayer after the finale. They are in league with Cesare and Lucrizia Borgia who were vampires! You also have the League of three, three hellgods who decided to take over the world and working with everyone else.
In Rome, you have the character of the Immortal, which ties in with an episode of Angel which is also mentioned later in the book. When Buffy finds out that Spike and Angel came to look for her when they were in Rome on a mission for wolfram and hart.
The book also ties into the finale events of Angel with Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria in their final battle against the demons from wolfram and hart.
I was disappointed in this book, more so that Nancy Holder has written a lot of Buffy/Angel tie-ins which have usually been good. But this time there was actually too much going on and it ended up being poor.
September 10, 2020
Queen of the Slayers by Nancy Holder (2005)
This book picks up right after season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ends. The hellmouth is closed and all potential slayers around the world have been activated.
We join, Buffy, Willow, Xander and the remaining survivors of her band of slayers are heading out of Sunnydale after defeating The First. There is never any real respite for our fearless band of demoniac fighters as soon they are faced with multiple evils on the horizon.
Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Xander reluctantly go to Europe at The Watchers Council bequest to discuss potentials and the next big evil. In the meantime, a new Hellmouth has opened in Cleveland and Faith, principal Wood and a few potentials go there to deal with whatever is coming out.
Buffy and gang find out about someone called “the Immortal” in Italy and proceed there with a new potential to determine if he is good of evil and what he has to offer.
In Italy Buffy deals with all the new potentials there calling her Queen of the Slayers and worshiping her as royalty as they struggle to find and use their new found powers. Buffy is less than comfortable with all this attention and tries to focus on Dawn and her schooling trying to make her life as normal as possible.
This book has a number of villains, including some based on villains from humanities past, to demons of course trying to cross over to earth and tear down the walls between dimensions. How will Buffy defeat all these new evils and triumph?
We find Buffy and friends, globe trotting from Africa, to South America in search of magical cures and weapons to help in the fight against evil.
The book brings together pretty much all the people from the buffyverse that aided our gang in the past.
If you enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show and have read any of the novels that have been written you will enjoy this book.
This book picks up right after season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ends. The hellmouth is closed and all potential slayers around the world have been activated.
We join, Buffy, Willow, Xander and the remaining survivors of her band of slayers are heading out of Sunnydale after defeating The First. There is never any real respite for our fearless band of demoniac fighters as soon they are faced with multiple evils on the horizon.
Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Xander reluctantly go to Europe at The Watchers Council bequest to discuss potentials and the next big evil. In the meantime, a new Hellmouth has opened in Cleveland and Faith, principal Wood and a few potentials go there to deal with whatever is coming out.
Buffy and gang find out about someone called “the Immortal” in Italy and proceed there with a new potential to determine if he is good of evil and what he has to offer.
In Italy Buffy deals with all the new potentials there calling her Queen of the Slayers and worshiping her as royalty as they struggle to find and use their new found powers. Buffy is less than comfortable with all this attention and tries to focus on Dawn and her schooling trying to make her life as normal as possible.
This book has a number of villains, including some based on villains from humanities past, to demons of course trying to cross over to earth and tear down the walls between dimensions. How will Buffy defeat all these new evils and triumph?
We find Buffy and friends, globe trotting from Africa, to South America in search of magical cures and weapons to help in the fight against evil.
The book brings together pretty much all the people from the buffyverse that aided our gang in the past.
If you enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show and have read any of the novels that have been written you will enjoy this book.
April 2, 2023
An unsuccessful rush job. Fragmented and bizarre. Forced dialogue and awkward exposition.
I wish I would have just skipped this and all of the Buffy comics. It is clear that the people behind it are not fond of the characters anymore (except Spike, sadly, though why he is popular is a mystery to me) and have no real energy to continue to develop them in a compelling manner. Just because its not on TV doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be care taken with story and characters if you want the verse to continue…
Holder probably could’ve done a better job with more time and a clearer image of where the story was headed. Probably should’ve been a well planned out trilogy or something.
But, ah, well. It was not to be and here I am, having wasted money on this.
I wish I would have just skipped this and all of the Buffy comics. It is clear that the people behind it are not fond of the characters anymore (except Spike, sadly, though why he is popular is a mystery to me) and have no real energy to continue to develop them in a compelling manner. Just because its not on TV doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be care taken with story and characters if you want the verse to continue…
Holder probably could’ve done a better job with more time and a clearer image of where the story was headed. Probably should’ve been a well planned out trilogy or something.
But, ah, well. It was not to be and here I am, having wasted money on this.
May 11, 2022
The Hellmouth in Sunnydale has been closed, but there's still evil to fight. The Cleveland Hellmouth becomes a locus, so Faith and Robin take some new Slayers there. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Dawn go to Rome to find the Immortal, who has been sheltering new Slayers--who then welcome Buffy as their Queen. Also in Rome is Antonio Borgia, a sorcerer under the Immortal who contacts his famous vampire relatives in a Hell dimension. Antonio's girlfriend is also a new slayer and forms an army against Buffy. Slayer kills slayer until the pre-ghost of Buffy's daughter helps tips the balance to good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2024
This book contains the story of what could have been Buffy Season 8, if Season 8 existed. (I know, there are comic books, but you have to draw the line somewhere). It does a good job matching up with the crossovers into the final season of Angel. But without the actors, it's just not the same. They should have made Faith the Vampire Slayer as a follow on (apparently a real proposal at one time.) But it's too late now.
June 30, 2020
What annoyed me most was that this book was written as if the reader hadn’t watched Buffy! When mentioning characters it would give an incredibly basic recap on what had happened to them, watering down their story into a paragraph or so. Making the book slow clunky and not at all interesting for proper fans of the show!
February 4, 2018
To read only if you have seen the finale of Buffy the vampire slayer and Angel season.
A good read for Buffy's fans. I really have missed that show. Love that the book start right after the last episode of Buffy. Would have love to have more interaction between Buffy, Angel and Spike.
A good read for Buffy's fans. I really have missed that show. Love that the book start right after the last episode of Buffy. Would have love to have more interaction between Buffy, Angel and Spike.
May 30, 2018
This book desperately made me want a new season! Full of everything I love from the series, it brought the action up a great amount as well as the character development and story. Overall great for fans of the show!
September 7, 2017
Soon descends into a pretty ridiculous plot that would never have happened on TV!
July 24, 2021
I love Buffy but this book was not great, and I had to give up on it
November 7, 2021
Super boring. Nothing like the Buffy I love and remember.
Read
December 22, 2023Finished reading for now either November 9th or 13th 2023.
August 31, 2025
Following on from the end of the TV series and was highly anticipated by the fandom. I found it enjoyable if somewhat hurried and the ending was complex.
January 14, 2012
Picking up right after the events of "Chosen" (the Buffy series finale), "Queen of the Slayers" follows our heroes as they flee the rubble that was once Sunnydale. The Hellmouth may be closed but the forces of evil are far defeated, far from it. Slayers awakened in "Chosen" are roaming all over the world and the newly reformed Watchers Council is having a hard time rounding them up, with some gravitating toward the mysterious Immortal. The Cleveland Hellmouth, meanwhile, has gone into overdrive as demons and various other hell beasts from all across the dimensions flood into our world to fill the void, tipping the balance between good and evil and tearing reality itself apart. Meanwhile, in the shadows, another slayer is building her own army, ready to destroy Buffy and crown herself as the Queen of the Slayers.
The build up in this novel is fantastic. Buffy and the Scoobys go to Europe to help round up and train the slayers while Faith, Robin and some of the new slayers head to Cleveland to try to stop its Hellmouth from flooding the world. Nancy Holder does a great job of running both threads, while mixing in the history of The Immortal, checking in on the goings on with the trio of hellgods that threaten to destroy this dimension and the evil slayer queen and even keeping tabs on Angel throughout the final season of that show. Holder demonstrates her innate understanding of the characters, staying true to each as only someone who has been with Buffy all along could. The story is great, as are the struggles along the way. The battles between good and evil tend to be glossed over, but to be fair, Buffy was always about the struggle more than the battles.
I tried really hard to give this five stars, but the ending ruined it. It was too deus ex machina and, well, downright cheesy for me. After reading 330 pages or so of drama building up to it, the last few pages of "then Buffy attacked and killed everybody" was pretty disappointing. I also really disliked the solution - especially since a better solution was there for the taking.
*SPOILER ALERT*
We've been shown Angel's final battle in Los Angeles and been told repeatedly that reality is breaking because there's too much evil in this world, outweighing the good. Then Whistler tells Buffy that the Powers That Be are going to intervene. Since LA goes to hell in Angel: After the Fall, why not simply have the fact that Angel took a horde of demons and hellbeasts out of this dimension with him tip the scales back?
*END SPOILER*
There's more than enough here to thrill Buffy fans, even with an unsatisfying ending. Fans of battle fiction may be disappointed, but that was never really Buffy's core demographic anyhow. We have our heroes here, doing what they do best, battling against impossible odds and always having each others backs. THAT is what Buffy has always been about and why she will always be the Queen of the Slayers.
The build up in this novel is fantastic. Buffy and the Scoobys go to Europe to help round up and train the slayers while Faith, Robin and some of the new slayers head to Cleveland to try to stop its Hellmouth from flooding the world. Nancy Holder does a great job of running both threads, while mixing in the history of The Immortal, checking in on the goings on with the trio of hellgods that threaten to destroy this dimension and the evil slayer queen and even keeping tabs on Angel throughout the final season of that show. Holder demonstrates her innate understanding of the characters, staying true to each as only someone who has been with Buffy all along could. The story is great, as are the struggles along the way. The battles between good and evil tend to be glossed over, but to be fair, Buffy was always about the struggle more than the battles.
I tried really hard to give this five stars, but the ending ruined it. It was too deus ex machina and, well, downright cheesy for me. After reading 330 pages or so of drama building up to it, the last few pages of "then Buffy attacked and killed everybody" was pretty disappointing. I also really disliked the solution - especially since a better solution was there for the taking.
*SPOILER ALERT*
We've been shown Angel's final battle in Los Angeles and been told repeatedly that reality is breaking because there's too much evil in this world, outweighing the good. Then Whistler tells Buffy that the Powers That Be are going to intervene. Since LA goes to hell in Angel: After the Fall, why not simply have the fact that Angel took a horde of demons and hellbeasts out of this dimension with him tip the scales back?
*END SPOILER*
There's more than enough here to thrill Buffy fans, even with an unsatisfying ending. Fans of battle fiction may be disappointed, but that was never really Buffy's core demographic anyhow. We have our heroes here, doing what they do best, battling against impossible odds and always having each others backs. THAT is what Buffy has always been about and why she will always be the Queen of the Slayers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2012
There are works of fan fiction, whether posted by amateurs on the internet, or professionally published and officially sanctioned such as this one, that transcend their material, or at least match it in quality. This novel isn't one of them.
This is set after the last season of televised Buffy. In fact, right after the last episode, after that shot of Sunnydale turned into a crater--it starts with the survivors on that school bus trying to put some distance between them and the disaster. It tracks fairly well with what we learned of the aftermath from the last television season of Angel, dealing, for instance, with Buffy based in Rome and dealing with the Immortal while Giles deals with the resurrected Watcher's Council in England. It doesn't fit with the comic book Season Eight overseen and largely scripted by creator Joss Whedon, which because of his involvement is considered canon. That doesn't particularly bother me since I had decidedly mixed feelings about Season Eight. If this book doesn't compare with the best of Whedon's Season Eight in wit or imagination, it also in a lot of ways makes more sense and Holder has a nice way with the characters--they're recognizable, and these are characters I love and so enjoy visiting.
What stopped me two-thirds through the book was that the story I was getting, the glimpses of beloved characters, wasn't worth treading through the truly crappy writing--and editing. I can overlook some not so good writing craft for a story compelling enough, or strong enough characters, but this wasn't doing it for me. There are historical howlers (Spartacus, whose body was never found, has a tomb? Caligula, who classical sources say was stabbed to death, was buried alive? And don't get me started on the Borgias.) And her classical mythology? Janus was a Roman, not Greek God, and she uses the Roman forms of the names of Gods in a Greek context. Worse, there are malapropisms--or at least phrases that I find hard to believe mean in context what I think she meant and just not careful editing (such as when the text has "Rodrigo" when "Cesare" is obviously meant.) Carelessness like this doesn't make me too forgiving when the story and writing just isn't good enough--and this wasn't.
And as I said above--I can very much like pro fan fiction. I thought Robert Levy's Buffyverse book Go Ask Malice and his take on Faith was amazing--so much so it's now part of my personal canon. But I never wanted to do that with Queen of the Slayers--indeed left it unfinished after over 200 pages because I decided life is too short to keep reading a not good book.
This is set after the last season of televised Buffy. In fact, right after the last episode, after that shot of Sunnydale turned into a crater--it starts with the survivors on that school bus trying to put some distance between them and the disaster. It tracks fairly well with what we learned of the aftermath from the last television season of Angel, dealing, for instance, with Buffy based in Rome and dealing with the Immortal while Giles deals with the resurrected Watcher's Council in England. It doesn't fit with the comic book Season Eight overseen and largely scripted by creator Joss Whedon, which because of his involvement is considered canon. That doesn't particularly bother me since I had decidedly mixed feelings about Season Eight. If this book doesn't compare with the best of Whedon's Season Eight in wit or imagination, it also in a lot of ways makes more sense and Holder has a nice way with the characters--they're recognizable, and these are characters I love and so enjoy visiting.
What stopped me two-thirds through the book was that the story I was getting, the glimpses of beloved characters, wasn't worth treading through the truly crappy writing--and editing. I can overlook some not so good writing craft for a story compelling enough, or strong enough characters, but this wasn't doing it for me. There are historical howlers (Spartacus, whose body was never found, has a tomb? Caligula, who classical sources say was stabbed to death, was buried alive? And don't get me started on the Borgias.) And her classical mythology? Janus was a Roman, not Greek God, and she uses the Roman forms of the names of Gods in a Greek context. Worse, there are malapropisms--or at least phrases that I find hard to believe mean in context what I think she meant and just not careful editing (such as when the text has "Rodrigo" when "Cesare" is obviously meant.) Carelessness like this doesn't make me too forgiving when the story and writing just isn't good enough--and this wasn't.
And as I said above--I can very much like pro fan fiction. I thought Robert Levy's Buffyverse book Go Ask Malice and his take on Faith was amazing--so much so it's now part of my personal canon. But I never wanted to do that with Queen of the Slayers--indeed left it unfinished after over 200 pages because I decided life is too short to keep reading a not good book.
January 22, 2011
This has been a super crazy week for me, but I had such a hard time putting this book down. I tried to sneak in some reading whenever I had a chance.
This is a definite must read for any Buffy fan. It picks right up where season 7 ended. Buffy and the gang are in the yellow school bus driving away from the giant creator that used to be Sunnydale. Nancy Holder did a great job continuing the story from there. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone by giving away too many details so I’ll give you a quick little summary to wet your appetite.
The gang is exhausted and looking forward to some much needed rest. Buffy is contemplating about being able to spend some more time with Dawn as she now has a lot of backup. Hardly out of the reach of Sunnydale and they are already back in trouble and having to fight for their lives.
Things go from bad to worse when it seems all demons are majorly upset with Buffy for closing the Hell mouth. Now the hell mouth in Cleveland is going crazy and demons are pouring out of it. If that’s not enough three hell Gods also want to take down our dimension to get even with Buffy and rid the world of her kind, human that is!
I think one of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it tied in nicely with what was happening in Angel season five. They kind of go hand in hand. We learn more about the Immortal, and Angel and Spike going to Rome. We see the other side of the story when Andrew shows up in LA to get the crazy slayer Dana from Angel. It was all pieced together so well. To top it all off, I got to find out what was happening with Oz during this time which I’ve always wanted to know because I just love that boy. He was always one of my favourite characters.
The reason I could not give this book a full five stars is because of the last page in the book. I’m confused and I don’t want to blurt out what it says right here, but I want to know the answer. Nancy left it a little vague, but do you think the test would come back positive or negative? ;op
This is a definite must read for any Buffy fan. It picks right up where season 7 ended. Buffy and the gang are in the yellow school bus driving away from the giant creator that used to be Sunnydale. Nancy Holder did a great job continuing the story from there. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone by giving away too many details so I’ll give you a quick little summary to wet your appetite.
The gang is exhausted and looking forward to some much needed rest. Buffy is contemplating about being able to spend some more time with Dawn as she now has a lot of backup. Hardly out of the reach of Sunnydale and they are already back in trouble and having to fight for their lives.
Things go from bad to worse when it seems all demons are majorly upset with Buffy for closing the Hell mouth. Now the hell mouth in Cleveland is going crazy and demons are pouring out of it. If that’s not enough three hell Gods also want to take down our dimension to get even with Buffy and rid the world of her kind, human that is!
I think one of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it tied in nicely with what was happening in Angel season five. They kind of go hand in hand. We learn more about the Immortal, and Angel and Spike going to Rome. We see the other side of the story when Andrew shows up in LA to get the crazy slayer Dana from Angel. It was all pieced together so well. To top it all off, I got to find out what was happening with Oz during this time which I’ve always wanted to know because I just love that boy. He was always one of my favourite characters.
The reason I could not give this book a full five stars is because of the last page in the book. I’m confused and I don’t want to blurt out what it says right here, but I want to know the answer. Nancy left it a little vague, but do you think the test would come back positive or negative? ;op
April 10, 2010
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Queen of the Slayers. Nancy Holder. 2005. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 1-4169-0241-4.
For fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Queen of the Slayers just might be the answer to your questions regarding what happens after Sunnydale is demolished. In fact, the book starts out just a few hours after Sunnydale becomes a hole in the ground while the survivors are on the school bus driving away, which is what makes Queen of the Slayers immensely exciting.
Queen of the Slayers is really about the chain of events that occur after the destruction of the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. For one, Cleveland's Hellmouth still exists but the Scooby-gang is needed in England, where the Watcher's Council is being reconvened and even more Slayers are coming together. While Faith goes to Cleveland with a team of her own, Buffy has to stay in Europe and deal with evil forces as mass Slayers turn against her.
Nancy Holder will have readers enthralled during the first few chapters as we eagerly cherish reading adventures about Buffy and gang that we haven't been privy to since the television series ended. Unfortunately, Queen of the Slayers is not as exciting and captivating as it first seems. Numerous events are strung together haphazardly and we are presented with mere events versus dialogues and emotions from the characters. The entire experience is detaching, and there are many major lulls with entire chapters devoted to the enemy's histories and schemes. Queen of the Slayers feels like it is written under a quick deadline, and in all honesty I wish I had never found out what happens after the Scooby-gang boards the school bus from Sunnydale.
Following Queen of the Slayers, the lastly written book in "Buffy-verse" is entitled Dark Congress by Christopher Golden. Although I think Golden is talented, I am not interested in reading any more of Buffy sagas, and it is time I put the series to final rest.
For fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Queen of the Slayers just might be the answer to your questions regarding what happens after Sunnydale is demolished. In fact, the book starts out just a few hours after Sunnydale becomes a hole in the ground while the survivors are on the school bus driving away, which is what makes Queen of the Slayers immensely exciting.
Queen of the Slayers is really about the chain of events that occur after the destruction of the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. For one, Cleveland's Hellmouth still exists but the Scooby-gang is needed in England, where the Watcher's Council is being reconvened and even more Slayers are coming together. While Faith goes to Cleveland with a team of her own, Buffy has to stay in Europe and deal with evil forces as mass Slayers turn against her.
Nancy Holder will have readers enthralled during the first few chapters as we eagerly cherish reading adventures about Buffy and gang that we haven't been privy to since the television series ended. Unfortunately, Queen of the Slayers is not as exciting and captivating as it first seems. Numerous events are strung together haphazardly and we are presented with mere events versus dialogues and emotions from the characters. The entire experience is detaching, and there are many major lulls with entire chapters devoted to the enemy's histories and schemes. Queen of the Slayers feels like it is written under a quick deadline, and in all honesty I wish I had never found out what happens after the Scooby-gang boards the school bus from Sunnydale.
Following Queen of the Slayers, the lastly written book in "Buffy-verse" is entitled Dark Congress by Christopher Golden. Although I think Golden is talented, I am not interested in reading any more of Buffy sagas, and it is time I put the series to final rest.
August 22, 2010
Queen of the Slayers is (I believe) the final Buffy novel to be written. Nancy Holder, one of my favorite Buffy writers, does an excellent job here with creating a plot that is actually post-Chosen. The book opens with Buffy and co. escaping Sunnydale on the yellow school bus, and it continues through the Angel series finale. It explores Buffy's relationship with the Immortal, brings in the new Watcher's Council (and yes, they're just as stuffy and British as the last!), and picks up on things that happened in the Angel episode featuring the Immortal and Andrew (I forget the title).
Since this novel does attempt to cover about a year's worth of events, there are some places where events are simply told rather than shown. These events aren't very important, though. I remember one instance that was basically like "Buffy and the others then raced back to the helicopters and returned to Italy." Also, there was one character who seemed to be forced into the novel just for the sake of having a big Buffy reunion, but that's OK, I guess.
Here's one major spoiler: Holder, instead of picking a side in the Spuffy or Bangel debate, takes an interesting third option. In the spirit world, Buffy combines her essence with both Spike's and Angel's, and the three create a magical child who tips the balance between good and evil back to the good side (a child with the essence of three champions trumps three hell-gods). I like that solution--why not let the three of them have a nice threesome so everyone is happy?
Since this novel does attempt to cover about a year's worth of events, there are some places where events are simply told rather than shown. These events aren't very important, though. I remember one instance that was basically like "Buffy and the others then raced back to the helicopters and returned to Italy." Also, there was one character who seemed to be forced into the novel just for the sake of having a big Buffy reunion, but that's OK, I guess.
Here's one major spoiler: Holder, instead of picking a side in the Spuffy or Bangel debate, takes an interesting third option. In the spirit world, Buffy combines her essence with both Spike's and Angel's, and the three create a magical child who tips the balance between good and evil back to the good side (a child with the essence of three champions trumps three hell-gods). I like that solution--why not let the three of them have a nice threesome so everyone is happy?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2015
Not a bad read for someone craving a Buffy fix, but it could definitely use some improvement. I got the impression that the author was working with a tight deadline, or that she wasn't allowed to exceed a certain number of pages, because a great deal of the last half of the book felt rushed. There were many scenes that needed more detail, and a few plot threads that were dropped. I would have liked better characterization of the Immortal as well, especially since he played such a big role. He seemed more of a means to turn the plot in one direction or another than a character in his own right. I also have a couple of big problems with the ending. First, Secondly, the entire book builds up to this major, epic battle, and then when Buffy enters the battle, On the whole, the ending was a real letdown.
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