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Buffyverse Novels #37
Return to Chaos
Buffy encounters Druids bent on returning the world to the Old Ways.
304 pages, ebook
First published November 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
About the author
Craig Shaw Gardner
152 books134 followersCraig Shaw Gardner was born in Rochester, New York and lived there until 1967, when he moved to Boston, MA to attend Boston University. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Broadcasting and Film. He has continued to reside in Boston since that time.
He published his first story in 1977 while he held a number of jobs: shipper/receiver for a men's suit manufacturer, working in hospital public relations, running a stat camera, and also managed of a couple of bookstores: The Million Year Picnic and Science Fantasy Bookstore.
As of 1987 he became a full time writer, and since then he has published more than 30 novels and more than 50 short stories.
He also published under these pseudonyms:
Peter Garrison
He published his first story in 1977 while he held a number of jobs: shipper/receiver for a men's suit manufacturer, working in hospital public relations, running a stat camera, and also managed of a couple of bookstores: The Million Year Picnic and Science Fantasy Bookstore.
As of 1987 he became a full time writer, and since then he has published more than 30 novels and more than 50 short stories.
He also published under these pseudonyms:
Peter Garrison
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 29, 2017
Everything is better with druids!
DRUIDS R' US
Druids is like chocolate in horror stories...
...everything is better with them on!
Four druids come to the good ol' town of Sunnydale with an offer too good to refuse...
...they offer to make a spell able to close Hellmouth, and in that way Sunnydale will be a normal town again without the scourge of vampires, monsters and other forces of darkness!
Giles, obviously is skeptical about it, but Buffy is considering it since, after all, if those druids can really pull it off...
...Buffy will be able to have a normal life again.
However, Sunnydale is having a busy paranormal tourism season! Since the druids aren't the only new arrivals to the town, but also two powerful vampires, Eric & Naomi, with a vampire army to back them up and with an odd and dangerous obsession on Cordelia.
DRUIDS R' US
Druids is like chocolate in horror stories...
...everything is better with them on!
Four druids come to the good ol' town of Sunnydale with an offer too good to refuse...
...they offer to make a spell able to close Hellmouth, and in that way Sunnydale will be a normal town again without the scourge of vampires, monsters and other forces of darkness!
Giles, obviously is skeptical about it, but Buffy is considering it since, after all, if those druids can really pull it off...
...Buffy will be able to have a normal life again.
However, Sunnydale is having a busy paranormal tourism season! Since the druids aren't the only new arrivals to the town, but also two powerful vampires, Eric & Naomi, with a vampire army to back them up and with an odd and dangerous obsession on Cordelia.
July 17, 2022
This is another Buffy adventure that's set in the third season framework of the television show. (Wow, that was some busy year.... maybe there was some demonic time-stretching going on?) A group of Druids comes to Sunnydale and offers to help Buffy solve her problems... things are rarely as easy as they sound... New World Order is rarely a good thing... The book feels a little padded, with too many references to events from the show that aren't necessary. I thought Willow, Giles, and Xander were quite well written, but Cordelia, Oz, and Buffy seemed a bit off. It's not a bad story, with a few clever bits and a satisfactory conclusion. Must've been a Tuesday.
November 8, 2013
I was really disappointed in this book! Being a big fan of Buffy, I have come to expect a lot from the additional novels and this one was a sincere let down!
There were too many characters and it was hard to keep track of who was who and whose side people were on. My second annoyance was the storyline itself, although all Buffy fans know that the far fetched or plain weird shouldn't be discounted this one just seemed to lack anything interesting enough and instead offered confusion and vagueness as a way to tell the story! It felt like the author didn't really know the characters either or their quirks, this was reflected in the unrealistic dialogue that takes place and dynamics between characters. For example Oz being really chatty or Cordelia being really forgiving and understanding! I won't go in to the characters of Naomi, Bryce and Gloria because they were awkward to read and badly written!
The whole book felt unauthentic and lacked passion, there are better Buffy the Vampire Slayer books out there and I urge you to read them and only turn to this one as a last resort!
There were too many characters and it was hard to keep track of who was who and whose side people were on. My second annoyance was the storyline itself, although all Buffy fans know that the far fetched or plain weird shouldn't be discounted this one just seemed to lack anything interesting enough and instead offered confusion and vagueness as a way to tell the story! It felt like the author didn't really know the characters either or their quirks, this was reflected in the unrealistic dialogue that takes place and dynamics between characters. For example Oz being really chatty or Cordelia being really forgiving and understanding! I won't go in to the characters of Naomi, Bryce and Gloria because they were awkward to read and badly written!
The whole book felt unauthentic and lacked passion, there are better Buffy the Vampire Slayer books out there and I urge you to read them and only turn to this one as a last resort!
January 30, 2023
One of those books where you feel like the author probably never watched the show.
This book was ok. The druids bored me to death and I felt like the subtitle could’ve been ”aren’t teenagers stupid”
Example 1: Oz thinks that it would be great to get rid of his lycantrophy because then he could take MOONLIGHT WALKS WITH WILLOW. Look Oz is a pretty deep guy in the show, even as a teenager I am pretty sure he’d be eager not to be a werewolf mostly because NOT being a werewolf would mean that he wouldn’t risk killing other people three days out of the month. But sure, sure, moonlight walks by all means.
Example 2: Buffy meets the druids and after barely half a conversation with one of them all she can think about is kissing him. (It even ends with them kissing - him never to be heard of again - while Cordy and Xander have the umptenth fight of the book in the background. Like this is some lame sit-com. You could practically hear the laugh track)
Also, when is this set? Supposedly it is in season 3, but the previous book had Angel and this one only mentions him. So this feels like it is before his return, yet it mentions he has returned and it is after a book where he is well embedded with the Scoobs again. Sure, not confusing at all. Clearly they tried to pretend Angel just wasn’t around for two weeks so Buffy could have insta-love with a new guy, but honestly that felt really forced. (And shouldn’t she be with Scott at this point? This is why the books written AFTER the show are generally better)
No Angel is an immediate minus for me, but if the books were more consistent, it wouldn’t have bugged me as much.
The positive: It has some backstory but doesn’t get bogged down by it like Blood & Fog did.
By the end I thought the Naomi-Gloria-Bryce-Cordelia plotline was a lot more fun than the main druid plot.
Something to read if you - like me - suddenly get the mood to read through this entire series. Otherwise, easy pass.
This book was ok. The druids bored me to death and I felt like the subtitle could’ve been ”aren’t teenagers stupid”
Example 1: Oz thinks that it would be great to get rid of his lycantrophy because then he could take MOONLIGHT WALKS WITH WILLOW. Look Oz is a pretty deep guy in the show, even as a teenager I am pretty sure he’d be eager not to be a werewolf mostly because NOT being a werewolf would mean that he wouldn’t risk killing other people three days out of the month. But sure, sure, moonlight walks by all means.
Example 2: Buffy meets the druids and after barely half a conversation with one of them all she can think about is kissing him. (It even ends with them kissing - him never to be heard of again - while Cordy and Xander have the umptenth fight of the book in the background. Like this is some lame sit-com. You could practically hear the laugh track)
Also, when is this set? Supposedly it is in season 3, but the previous book had Angel and this one only mentions him. So this feels like it is before his return, yet it mentions he has returned and it is after a book where he is well embedded with the Scoobs again. Sure, not confusing at all. Clearly they tried to pretend Angel just wasn’t around for two weeks so Buffy could have insta-love with a new guy, but honestly that felt really forced. (And shouldn’t she be with Scott at this point? This is why the books written AFTER the show are generally better)
No Angel is an immediate minus for me, but if the books were more consistent, it wouldn’t have bugged me as much.
The positive: It has some backstory but doesn’t get bogged down by it like Blood & Fog did.
By the end I thought the Naomi-Gloria-Bryce-Cordelia plotline was a lot more fun than the main druid plot.
Something to read if you - like me - suddenly get the mood to read through this entire series. Otherwise, easy pass.
January 25, 2017
The Good: Is about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and friends.
The Bad: Writing quality is inconsistent, action scenes are pretty good, but most of the character interaction feels flat. Repeated unnecessary referencing of things that happened in the show.
Overall: An average read, but if you're jonesin' for some Buffy, it is some Buffy.
The Bad: Writing quality is inconsistent, action scenes are pretty good, but most of the character interaction feels flat. Repeated unnecessary referencing of things that happened in the show.
Overall: An average read, but if you're jonesin' for some Buffy, it is some Buffy.
December 22, 2022
Overall, I really felt underwhelmed by this novel as this story takes place at the beginning of season 3, sometime after Buffy was accepted back into Sunnydale High, Angel is mentioned and acknowledged as returned from hell though he doesn't make an appearance and Faith is absent so my guess this story takes place before Faith, Hope, and Trick.
Storywise did not capture my interest, the plot was a bit all over the place and a snoozefest!
The main villains were boring and underwhelming, almost comical. What threat did they pose? Nothing really, since they were easily defeated which was dull and lackluster.
Some of the characters felt a bit out of character especially Buffy, Cordelia and Oz.
What bothered me the most was when would Buffy move on so quickly from Angel to another guy after the drama she went through with Angel and to be all ga-ga over another bloke so soon?! yeah right, not buying it, almost abit of off putting to have Oz being all chatty since he's known to be the silent type, only speaking when something relevant or important to say or more likely when Willow is involved. What's next I wonder? Suddenly Xander and Angel are best buds? yeah nah!
So far this is my least fave Buffy novel, there are much better thought Btvs/Angel novels out there with a well structured story than this.
Storywise did not capture my interest, the plot was a bit all over the place and a snoozefest!
The main villains were boring and underwhelming, almost comical. What threat did they pose? Nothing really, since they were easily defeated which was dull and lackluster.
Some of the characters felt a bit out of character especially Buffy, Cordelia and Oz.
What bothered me the most was when would Buffy move on so quickly from Angel to another guy after the drama she went through with Angel and to be all ga-ga over another bloke so soon?! yeah right, not buying it, almost abit of off putting to have Oz being all chatty since he's known to be the silent type, only speaking when something relevant or important to say or more likely when Willow is involved. What's next I wonder? Suddenly Xander and Angel are best buds? yeah nah!
So far this is my least fave Buffy novel, there are much better thought Btvs/Angel novels out there with a well structured story than this.
June 16, 2023
It was just okay. Has the same tone and lingo of the TV series, however, much cheesier. I think the Druid storyline wasn't bad and I kept thinking of True Blood with the main male vampire in this story being named Eric. I'd much to prefer to watch this as a Buffy episode.
October 16, 2020
So....I’m rating this one the worst of the Buffy books this season. Sorry Scoobies followers, it was just really dumb. Druids show up In Sunnydale in the form of teenage boys. They are here to save the world with Buffy’s help....again. However, a Druid vamp has other ideas. I think I’ll put the Buffy books on hold for a week and try something fresher.
August 23, 2023
Another "adult" Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel, this one brings Druids to Sunnydale, druids and something else that tags along with them. The novel injects some new romantic interest for Buffy at a time when her relationship with Angel is going through a rocky patch, right at the start of Season 3 in the TV series timeline.
It's an ok novel, but not a great one, the best part is really the integration of the young druids in the Scooby Gang dynamics, but the overarching danger to the world that they must defeat is by no means as exciting as those more mundane relationships. That is, however, a bit the point of Buffy so there's nothing particularly wrong with that.
No great reveals about characters or great insight into them, this is more of an adventure which could be a lost filler episode, strictly for the fans who can't get enough of Buffy, but even then there are better novels.
It's an ok novel, but not a great one, the best part is really the integration of the young druids in the Scooby Gang dynamics, but the overarching danger to the world that they must defeat is by no means as exciting as those more mundane relationships. That is, however, a bit the point of Buffy so there's nothing particularly wrong with that.
No great reveals about characters or great insight into them, this is more of an adventure which could be a lost filler episode, strictly for the fans who can't get enough of Buffy, but even then there are better novels.
May 18, 2022
It's another fine book, really. It felt like there was a 'main' plot with the Druids and Eric, that needed to be padded out so they added a very thinly-related secondary plot with Naomi and Cordelia. The main plot was quite interesting, but the subplot with Cordelia just felt unnecessary and dragged on without really going anywhere.
There were also several occasions we got insight into Xander, and.... look, I'm not a huge Xander fan at the best of times, but having to read multiple times about how he wished he could be stronger, and wished he could look after Buffy, and how much he wanted to make out with Cordelia, it just felt a bit too.... macho for my Buffy tastes.
There were also several occasions we got insight into Xander, and.... look, I'm not a huge Xander fan at the best of times, but having to read multiple times about how he wished he could be stronger, and wished he could look after Buffy, and how much he wanted to make out with Cordelia, it just felt a bit too.... macho for my Buffy tastes.
April 22, 2023
This was definitely my least favourite of these stories so far. It was hard to follow - there was too much going on and one of the characters spoke in 3rd person which was very weird and made it harder to follow.
It was nice being back in this world and with these characters following a monster of the week - but being so hard to follow took away the enjoyment
It was nice being back in this world and with these characters following a monster of the week - but being so hard to follow took away the enjoyment
May 11, 2023
Druids arrive in Sunnydale. Xander and Oz are impressed with them right away but Giles and Buffy aren't so sure. A former High School rival turned vampire commandeers the will of Cordelia and Willow creates a computer program to predict future apocolyses.
March 10, 2022
I read this. :-/
April 29, 2024
3.5 stars. Loved the whole Druid aspect and Bryce. Got a little confused with Naomi but overall really interesting story.
November 7, 2024
Truly an enjoyable read! He captures the characters voices extremely well and it made me not want to put it down. The quick read face true AO3 fanfic vibes and I DIG it! Plus, love druids.
July 26, 2008
The ending happened abit to fast for me. It confused me alittle bit. Too much was figured out and resolved too fast. I was happy that Buffy only got the guy for a few minutes at the end, happy that she couldn't keep him. But thats just me mad at Buffy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2016
Not one of the better Buffy books but still enjoyable. This go around there are Druids and a new vampire in town. Are the Druids there for good or evil? The Scooby Gang has to figure out who is on whose side.
May 9, 2017
standard buffy book. although it seems the author was almost trying to cram two story lines in one book, but it works.
February 25, 2019
Can't get enough Buffy
November 16, 2014
I think I may have read. Check out again and re-read.
June 12, 2016
The whole gang is in this novel. The world as we know it may end. And there are Druids!
March 18, 2012
I read this so long ago I can't do a true review but I do remember enjoying it.
March 28, 2017
So, Willow and Giles are working on a computer program designed to predict what disaster will hit Sunnyvale next. It makes several scary predictions, as a group of Driuds appear in town.
I enjoyed revisiting the Scooby gang, but found it a rather so-so story. There are two many references to things that occurred in the past.
I enjoyed revisiting the Scooby gang, but found it a rather so-so story. There are two many references to things that occurred in the past.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews