Mortal Fear (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by Scott Ciencin (1-Sep-2003) Paperback

Buffyverse Novels #83

by Scott Ciencin

Control Issues Buffy Summers is being run ragged all over Sunnydale these days. Working from clues some mysterious power is providing her with, the Slayer's chasing down different baddies to gather pieces of a soul sword before it can be reassembled and fall into the wrong hands. While she resents following someone else's orders, at the same time it is oddly comforting to her to have a clear goal, and someone else making all the plans. Without Giles around, and with her relationships a mess, Buffy's at a point in her life where she could use some direction. Her friends are also searching for control in their lives, looking for areas they can excel in -- without magick or destruction. Xander and Willow figure there has to be a better way to get by, to get ahead for a change. But just when it seems as if their dreams are coming true, both are felled by a strange virus that has been sweeping through Sunnydale -- and thus "poisoning" the food supply for the local vamps. With lives at stake, Buffy must broker a truce with the vamps, find the rest of the sword, and locate her mysterious benefactor. All while fending off a rash of vicious attacks from the resident population -- and her friends and family! If Buffy was looking for a goal, she has one survival!

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

Unknown Binding

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Scott Ciencin was a New York Times best-selling novelist of 90+ books. He wrote adult and children's fiction and worked in a variety of mediums including comic books. He created programs for Scholastic Books, designed trading cards, consulted on video games, directed and produced audio programs & TV commercials, and wrote in the medical field about neurosurgery and neurology. He first worked in TV production as a writer, producer and director. He lived in Sarasota, Florida with his wife (and sometimes co-author) Denise.

(Also wrote under the pseudonyms Nick Baron and L.J. Oliver)

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel based on characters and situations from the Buffy television show. A note on the copyright page says it's set in the continuity of the sixth season, but that can't be accurate. It's not one of the better Buffy novels, but it's an okay read if you don't try to make it fit into the established canon. Under the direction of a mysterious being known as Simon, Buffy is on a quest to gather pieces of a scattered mystical weapon to keep it out of the wrong hands. It seemed unlikely that she'd be willing to take orders so willingly, and it all reads a bit like escalating levels of a video game story. Willow and Xander and Dawn are peripherally involved but have their own subplots and problems to pursue. It would have been much more enjoyable at a much shorter length, but I remember some fun bits.

[Sarah (is clearing her shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/12 - It's funny the things you notice when reading a teenage book as an adult.  I haven't read this in at least ten years, maybe longer, and the last time I read it I probably would have given it five stars.  This time around there are some niggling annoyances - not the best editing in the world (also not the worst) and (possibly even worse) some stilted, awkward dialogue - neither of which I noticed at all when I was 16...17...18 (or whenever it was).  When I read this last time I thought it was a fantastic book, with the characters exactly as they were on tv, exactly as Joss Whedon imagined them.  But reading it over the last few days I've noticed that Buffy's dialogue is trying very hard to live up to the show's writers, but not quite making it - her mid demon-killing quips are just not funny like they should be.  Also the demons they've fought, so far, have been so outlandish, so far from what they fought in the show that I'm getting quite annoyed with how far the authors are taking their self-imposed mission to write the weirdest Buffy demons ever.  It's like reading Lovecraft's description for the Elder Ones, where the description goes on for, what seems like, a never-ending paragraph that's all one sentence with lots of commas.  Even after reading the description more than once I really can't get a fix on what Buffy (or Lovecraft's) demons are supposed to look like (while reading Lovecraft I googled Shoggoths and the Elder Ones and found many conflicting drawings of both creatures, which was only minimally helpful).  I'll be reading the paragraph following the description paragraph, where Buffy and the demon are fighting and suddenly the demon will do something violent with an appendage that seems to have come out of thin air, this confusion sends me back to the description paragraph to re-read it and try once again to get a handle on the demon's looks.  This re-reading does not an easy, flowing book make.  To be continued...

I finished this eventually, but wasn't all that impressed with the book as a whole. All I could think of while reading of the damage Dawn and her 'boos' had done to the Summer's house was "how on Earth is Buffy going to pay for the repairs on her student-counsellor's salary?". That was a bit of a flaw in the logic for me, a plot hole if you like. I don't think I'll be reading this one again and one day I'll probably donate it to someone/somewhere more needy.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably the most disappointing Buffy tie-in novel I have read so far. The whole thing was just in a word BAD. The book was overly long and OMG did it drag! I wanted to quit but I hate not finishing books, but it felt like it was never going to end - in a very bad way! The storyline was ridiculous and ill conceived. One of the most annoying thing was it took nearly 300 pages till you had even the slightest clue what was going in. There were stupid references! A girl called Kate Plisken with a snake tattoo - an obvious rip off from Escape from New York! Spells that sounded like something from Harry Poter! Also the historian note at the beginning said was season 6 it wasn't it is very much season 7! All in all one to definitely avoid!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too long. Too many things going on. Plus the writer didn't get some details right (which always drives me nuts) Why not have a crazy fan of the show proof read your story? They would help you get things right...example: Spike has his leather duster, but still crazy. He doesn't get it back in the show till Principal Wood's on their side & Spike is 90% back to himself, in this story he's 50% I'd guess.
just my own opinion, allowed to have it

[Sarah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. Characters were well captured but a few things in the book irritated me. Firstly, set in season 7, not season 6.
Some of Willow’s spells sound like Harry Potter spells. Excrucio?? Come on. That doesn’t sound like Buffyverse witchcraft.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I actually liked the length, but wouldn’t reach for it again.

[Rebecca Morales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute garbage. Dnf.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Ruth Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

another excellent buffy story. everyone is against her so what else is new? but it all turn out good in the end.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was decent, but the book was too long, repetitive, and predictable. The voices of the characters were pretty well captured, but it struck me as a bit forced.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

So i will read anything Buffy, this was a solid one

[Caroline]

fantastic

[♡ Jeri's Book Attic ♡ Jeri the Romance Bibiliophile ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]