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Buffyverse Novels #18
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Carnival of Souls
SOMETHING WICKED EVIL THIS WAY COMES.
There's something troubling about Professor Caligari's Traveling Carnival. Perhaps it's that no one can recall the arrival of its hard-to-miss caravan of old-style wagons, countless performers, and horse-drawn carts. Maybe it's the creepy calliope music that tirelessly beckons visitors. Let's face it, an enigma that chooses Sunnydale nearly guarantees it's up to more than wholesome family entertainment.
After a visit to the carnival's Hall of Mirrors, a once-shy pair of homely sophomore twins parades the halls of Sunnydale High like diva supermodels on a runway. Intuiting the twins' abrupt personality change as more than a self-confidence boost, Buffy -- joined by Angel, Giles, and the rest of the Scoobies -- decides to investigate the suspicious carnival firsthand. But soon it's apparent that the price of admission is higher than she imagined. Those who enter the carnival's attractions exit...changed. Each of the gang soon shows extreme displays of vice. Willow is wracked with envy. Cordelia's greed consumes her. Xander unleashes his gluttony. Angel reveals a lusty new persona. And a dark anger rises in Giles. But it's Buffy's now-blinding pride that threatens to overpower her, and in the process destroy those she loves....
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Holder
354 books2,407 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 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 6, 2022
This is probably Holder's best original Buffy novel. It's set somewhere around the second or third season, when the original cast was still pretty much together and together, when a traveling carnival comes to Sunnydale... As we learned from Bradbury and Finney and lots of other such folk, that's rarely a good thing. Professor Caligari's Traveling Carnival is depicted quite well, and the trials and doubts and eventual triumph of the Scoobie Gang is well told. Holder got the character voices and traits down pretty well, and it's a fun and entertaining adventure. Grrr...Arrrgh....
April 14, 2019
Review to come.
June 25, 2012
I am a great Buffy nerd and there were things in this book that were not consistent. Yes, it bothered me that the author said "a wiggins" instead of "the wiggins". Also, I am pretty sure that Buffy wouldn't know a "lorry" if she got hit by one. I did like the story and Nancy Holder, overall, did a good job keeping the characters "in" character. I just don't have it in me to give this book more than 2 stars... If I could do 2 and a half I would...
March 7, 2013
I loved this book! Reading it felt just like watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really wish it had been made into a real episode. It was a fantastic idea that was very well executed.
Some of the characters were a little out of character at points, and I wish we had found out a little more about Claire. But I really liked this novel. As a huge plus, there was lots of Giles. Giles with kittens, no less. Awesome.
Some of the characters were a little out of character at points, and I wish we had found out a little more about Claire. But I really liked this novel. As a huge plus, there was lots of Giles. Giles with kittens, no less. Awesome.
December 28, 2015
My not-so-secret shame: I cannot resist Buffy & Angel. This one was about as cheesy as one would expect. I've read better amateur fan-fiction on-line.
May 13, 2020
Even though this is the second evil carnival Buffy novel I have read in as many weeks, I was excited to see the trope pop up again. Most of my favorite horror stories have something to do with traveling shows, be they carnivals/fairs, circuses, or old school "freak shows." There's an atmosphere to those places in real life that makes them fascinating settings for supernatural horror. In reading the plot for this story, my brain went to a season 2 Torchwood episode in particular, entitled "They Came From Out of the Rain," in which the souls of a carnival barker and his human mermaid assistant "Mrs. Pearl" went around stealing souls from people in Cardiff and storing them in jars and feeding off of them. Out of all four seasons of Torchwood, that episode remains my absolute favorite and the main reason for that is the history involved (there's a lot of talk about the old traveling shows and how the birth of motion pictures put them out of business) and because of the creepy factors brought on my carnivals/traveling shows themselves. I spent quite a bit of time while reading this adventure (and while reading Coyote Moon) ruminating on what it is about carnivals that makes them such great vehicles for a scary story. I came to the conclusion that, in addition to the stranger comes to town aspect, there is this transience to them that is dangerous in its appeal. Carnivals/traveling shows are there one day and gone the next with nary a trace left behind, and there's, I think, a primordial fear that runs that humankind that, if we're not careful, we'll be swept away without a trace too.
Add in to that the number of missing persons that get reported in a town after a traveling entertainment goes away and well... they're just asking to be part of urban legend. Willow addresses this briefly in the book when she mentions the "Run-Away-and-Join-the-Circus Syndrome." If you feel out of place in your small town, there's the thought that you can team up with other misfits who feel homeless and make money while doing it. Heck, Melissa Manchester wrote a whole song about it.
Anyway, you have a carnival that steals people's souls by tempting them with one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Atmospherically, and in terms of plot, this was a great novel. Even better is that Buffy doesn't save the day! The Slayerettes do -- every single one of them. Yes, even Cordelia is more involved in the world saving than Buffy is. This book was written after even Angel the Series had ended and so in this novel we see early strains of the eventual heroine Cordelia would grow up to be. As a Cordelia stan through and though, this was really happy making for me, especially after numerous books of her being written somewhat stereotypically Mean Girl.
The reason I only gave it three stars was mainly due to my annoyance with the lack of remorse any of the gang showed about everything that had happened. Giles not only summons a greater demon that kills a bunch of Sunnydale people, but almost does it a second time in as many hours for no other reason than to cause a diversion. After all this, at no point does he seem upset that choices he made while under the influence of Anger led to innocent people's deaths. That is EXTREMELY OOC for Giles (and would be for any of them.) Even while Giles acknowledges that there were greater powers at work, he would totally have been self-flagellating for a long time afterward. Also, what happened to Ethan Rayne's girlfriend? They left her in the school at the hands of a mob, but we're not told if she got away or...what? Way to drop the ball there, Holder.
And I get that Buffy was all about Angel in this point of the series, but she also still had a head on her shoulders. After all her friends save the day (including her life), not once does she congratulate them. Her only thought is making out with Angel? Seriously, get some priorities. In fact, the main thing she does is make fun of Cordelia with Willow after Cordelia is singularly responsible for saving Xander's life and...well, all of them.
If it wasn't for the last 10 pages or so, this would have been four stars. But the OOC epilogue just completely threw me out of the story.
Add in to that the number of missing persons that get reported in a town after a traveling entertainment goes away and well... they're just asking to be part of urban legend. Willow addresses this briefly in the book when she mentions the "Run-Away-and-Join-the-Circus Syndrome." If you feel out of place in your small town, there's the thought that you can team up with other misfits who feel homeless and make money while doing it. Heck, Melissa Manchester wrote a whole song about it.
Anyway, you have a carnival that steals people's souls by tempting them with one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Atmospherically, and in terms of plot, this was a great novel. Even better is that Buffy doesn't save the day! The Slayerettes do -- every single one of them. Yes, even Cordelia is more involved in the world saving than Buffy is. This book was written after even Angel the Series had ended and so in this novel we see early strains of the eventual heroine Cordelia would grow up to be. As a Cordelia stan through and though, this was really happy making for me, especially after numerous books of her being written somewhat stereotypically Mean Girl.
The reason I only gave it three stars was mainly due to my annoyance with the lack of remorse any of the gang showed about everything that had happened. Giles not only summons a greater demon that kills a bunch of Sunnydale people, but almost does it a second time in as many hours for no other reason than to cause a diversion. After all this, at no point does he seem upset that choices he made while under the influence of Anger led to innocent people's deaths. That is EXTREMELY OOC for Giles (and would be for any of them.) Even while Giles acknowledges that there were greater powers at work, he would totally have been self-flagellating for a long time afterward. Also, what happened to Ethan Rayne's girlfriend? They left her in the school at the hands of a mob, but we're not told if she got away or...what? Way to drop the ball there, Holder.
And I get that Buffy was all about Angel in this point of the series, but she also still had a head on her shoulders. After all her friends save the day (including her life), not once does she congratulate them. Her only thought is making out with Angel? Seriously, get some priorities. In fact, the main thing she does is make fun of Cordelia with Willow after Cordelia is singularly responsible for saving Xander's life and...well, all of them.
If it wasn't for the last 10 pages or so, this would have been four stars. But the OOC epilogue just completely threw me out of the story.
November 18, 2020
Similarly to After Image, Carnival of Souls takes place during season two of Buffy, sometime after “What’s My Line” (Episodes 10) and before “Surprise” (Episode 13). Kendra is mentioned at one point, so it’s got to be after Episode 10, and I spot a quick reference to Ted, so I’m going to say specifically between episodes 11 and 12. Cordelia and Xander are kissing in secret, Willow’s idealizing Jenny Calendar, and Oz, Spike and Drucilla are all MIA.
Against that backdrop, a traveling carnival comes to Sunnydale. That’s enough of a set up in early seasons of Buffy to predict exactly what’s going to happen. It turns out the carnival has demonic origins and is really set up for the purpose of harvesting souls. There’s a new bad guy responsible who goes by the name of Caligari, and another one that’s recognizable to fans of the show from Giles past. In addition there are some other important characters that are either good or bad named Vaclav and a French dude that may be a dog.
**Slight spoilers follow*
The interesting spin Holder puts on the haunted carnival is that its effect on its victims mimic the seven deadly sins. The result is some people get hooked on food, others become greedy for specific items, others become super horny or angry at anybody else, etc. Holder does a nice job of assigning different sins to each of the Scooby gang. Buffy’s in particular made a lot of sense, and Cordelia had one more of the more adventure story arcs.
The appearance of Ethan Rayne was fun as an idea, but it didn’t really go anywhere to make his inclusion worthwhile. The payoff involves the return of Ripper and a summoned demon, but based on Giles’s sin that same result could have been achieved without Rayne’s involvement. There’s also a level of destruction to Sunnydale that seems hard to rectify with the norms of the tv show. A main character’s residence burns down, a giant demon is visible to many. **End of Spoilers**
It’s always a tough line to straddle in these books of making high stakes for the characters but telling a story that doesn’t clash with the tv show. A lot of this book straddled the line really well. There’s a dramatic moment with Cordelia in a retail store that I didn’t see coming. All the people who play the carnival games take a pretty dark and violent turn, going beyond what you’d see in a show but fitting within the world the books take place in. A high school student bludgeons his mother to death with a flashlight. There was enough here that I found interesting that the clichéd moments and stuff that seemed too big to take place between episodes was forgivable.
Against that backdrop, a traveling carnival comes to Sunnydale. That’s enough of a set up in early seasons of Buffy to predict exactly what’s going to happen. It turns out the carnival has demonic origins and is really set up for the purpose of harvesting souls. There’s a new bad guy responsible who goes by the name of Caligari, and another one that’s recognizable to fans of the show from Giles past. In addition there are some other important characters that are either good or bad named Vaclav and a French dude that may be a dog.
**Slight spoilers follow*
The interesting spin Holder puts on the haunted carnival is that its effect on its victims mimic the seven deadly sins. The result is some people get hooked on food, others become greedy for specific items, others become super horny or angry at anybody else, etc. Holder does a nice job of assigning different sins to each of the Scooby gang. Buffy’s in particular made a lot of sense, and Cordelia had one more of the more adventure story arcs.
The appearance of Ethan Rayne was fun as an idea, but it didn’t really go anywhere to make his inclusion worthwhile. The payoff involves the return of Ripper and a summoned demon, but based on Giles’s sin that same result could have been achieved without Rayne’s involvement. There’s also a level of destruction to Sunnydale that seems hard to rectify with the norms of the tv show. A main character’s residence burns down, a giant demon is visible to many. **End of Spoilers**
It’s always a tough line to straddle in these books of making high stakes for the characters but telling a story that doesn’t clash with the tv show. A lot of this book straddled the line really well. There’s a dramatic moment with Cordelia in a retail store that I didn’t see coming. All the people who play the carnival games take a pretty dark and violent turn, going beyond what you’d see in a show but fitting within the world the books take place in. A high school student bludgeons his mother to death with a flashlight. There was enough here that I found interesting that the clichéd moments and stuff that seemed too big to take place between episodes was forgivable.
July 3, 2023
Oh, fellow shippers, here I am to tell you they nothing is sacred in the Buffy-verse… this book will have you know that Angel and Clem walked, so that Spike and Clem could run! ;)
This is a s2 book written after the series ended, which tend to be some of the best books in the BtVS book series. Here one gets Clem, a Doublemeat palace mention, oh and Ethan Rayne.
It also has a pretty fun plot that lends itself to pretty intense chaos as the Scoobies are all infected by the seven deadly sins which has Cordelia so consumed by greed that she commits a violent robbery, and Giles… oh Giles, he is infected by rage and summons a demon to kill Buffy, while Angel just wants to make with the smoochies with Buffy and Miss Calendar, oh and some poor guy bludgeons his mom to death, yikes!
Fun facts from this book
Sunnydale has 12 cemetaries
Buffy smells like vanilla (fanfic writers already knew this)
Angel and Giles were ready with two kittens to feed Clem with for information (at least Spike was soulless during his kittenpoker days)
Giles is mean to the kitties under his spell, humpf.
Calling high school a ”Gulag” is a bit much, Holder.
Again, Willow being a ginger is associated with magical powers
A Bulgarian gypsy asks if Jenny is of ”Gypsy blood”, she denies this in front of Angel and Willow
Giles’ condo burns down which I don’t like, he has so much rare stuff, books and the like, that it is a pretty big deal, not just a throw away line.
Holder is probably a Spuffy, because in the first 22 pages she has Buffy thinking about Spike three times and he is not in this book
Holder is definitely not a Cangel because she makes a point that even under a lust spell Angel went goo-goo for Buffy and Miss Calendar, but was never attracted to Cordy.
(I’m with you, Nancy!)
All in all, read this in a day and it was fast paced and really fun, it was interesting to see which sins affected whom and to see Ethan there to make bad chaos worse.
A definite recommend to people who like the high school years and want a book without too much magical mythology. It is a carnival, it devours souls, hence Carnival of souls. Plain and simple.
One of my faves, along with One thing or your mother.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2018
I enjoyed this book. The storyline was pretty good. The carnival was creepy and it made for a good book.
However, it was good, not perfect and there were a few things about it that made me have not knock off a star.
Xander/Willow weren't quite right and Nancy Holder though she has written quite a few Buffy/Angel novels was off on her Buffy vocab, particularly with her use of "the wiggins"! I also thought that Xander would not have been that cruel to Willow (even before he was bewitched) saying people were pretty than her etc as they had been friends since childhood.
The other was that there were a lot of references to early season 2 episodes which were spot on, including Eyghon the demon, Giles/Ethan Rayne raised in Ep8 the Dark Age, Ethan Rayne's magic shop in Halloween in Ep 6, Ted who turned out to be a robot in Ep 11, Spike invading the school in ep 3 School Hard.
However, there was one reference "the master sent the three" that was incorrect. The three, refers to the three assassins from the Order of Taraka from the two part episode What's My Line?, in particular the Vampire Octurus that Buffy kills at the skating rink with Angel at the start of the episode. They were actually sent by Spike/Dru as the master was already dead by that point.
Overall the book read well and was a nice quick, easy read and aside from the errors was a good bit of fun. 3.5 stars rounded up to 5.
However, it was good, not perfect and there were a few things about it that made me have not knock off a star.
Xander/Willow weren't quite right and Nancy Holder though she has written quite a few Buffy/Angel novels was off on her Buffy vocab, particularly with her use of "the wiggins"! I also thought that Xander would not have been that cruel to Willow (even before he was bewitched) saying people were pretty than her etc as they had been friends since childhood.
The other was that there were a lot of references to early season 2 episodes which were spot on, including Eyghon the demon, Giles/Ethan Rayne raised in Ep8 the Dark Age, Ethan Rayne's magic shop in Halloween in Ep 6, Ted who turned out to be a robot in Ep 11, Spike invading the school in ep 3 School Hard.
However, there was one reference "the master sent the three" that was incorrect. The three, refers to the three assassins from the Order of Taraka from the two part episode What's My Line?, in particular the Vampire Octurus that Buffy kills at the skating rink with Angel at the start of the episode. They were actually sent by Spike/Dru as the master was already dead by that point.
Overall the book read well and was a nice quick, easy read and aside from the errors was a good bit of fun. 3.5 stars rounded up to 5.
March 1, 2024
Book started out strong for me but then I lost my way a little. Carnivals, clowns, ‘freak shows’ etc are great horror tropes which I do enjoy as I do find them creepy.
I could really envision the carnival. Angel was a bit cringy for me though. I liked the 7 deadly sins idea, although I feel like these could have created a better, separate, novel from a carnival.
I could really envision the carnival. Angel was a bit cringy for me though. I liked the 7 deadly sins idea, although I feel like these could have created a better, separate, novel from a carnival.
July 5, 2020
Extremely well written and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
March 5, 2012
Alyssa Santa Cruz
Mrs. Hunter
AIM GH I
March 4th, 2012
Carnival of Souls
“In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.” Nancy Holder writes a fan-fiction story based on the hit television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and gives readers a story using the same characters, but takes place in-between episodes. Published with three other works by Simon Pulse in 2006, Carnival of Souls shows brilliant parallelism with the TV show, great description of setting, and an overall plot that is mind-blowing.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the characters are very distinct in their personalities, and Nancy Holder brings all of their quirks and peeves directly into her plot. The main character in both the TV show and book is Buffy Summers, the one chosen in her generation to be given extra physical strength in order to protect the world from vampires and demons. She is a typical high school student who is pressured with her new duty. When writing her book, Nancy Holder perfectly formed the characters, especially Buffy, to react to the problem as they would in the Television show. The readers who have followed the show are not disappointed in this aspect. In Carnival of Souls, an enchanted fair comes to town with various attractions, and each one gives its riders one of the Seven Deadly Sins. When the six main characters, together nicknamed the Scooby Gang, ride the different rides, they also are cursed with a sin. Nancy Holder distributes lust, anger, vanity, greed, gluttony, sloth, and envy to each character based on their personalities in the show. For example, Xander, who loves food, is given gluttony and stuffs himself sick while Buffy prides herself above others because of her powers when cursed with vanity. Overall, Holder perfectly brings the Scooby Gang into her storyline and gives fans a continuation after the ending of the show, but also makes it understandable for those who have never seen the show.
When a setting is already shown in a television show and an author uses it in a book, it could be hard to make it their own interpretation of the set. However, Nancy Holder adds in an evil carnival orchestrated by a sorcerer which brings the author’s individuality to the setting. The carnival is operated by demons in disguise and Holder develops their fairgrounds to be a perfect trap to keep its victims on the property until they can capture their souls. The Scooby gang arrives to investigate on a Friday, but later learn they unknowingly stayed until Sunday. This sense of entrapment drives the characters deeper into the sin cursed upon them, and you can tell Holder created the carnival to seem like a paradise for that purpose.
The plot of Carnival of Souls is complex and intricate, but based around a commonly known group of traits and altogether the story is amazing. Nancy Holder combines various components of a classic carnival coming to town into the demon filled world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and creates an infinite number of opportunities for a compelling story. This was achieved as she brought in the Seven Deadly Sins to this potluck of creativity. The love interest of the main character in the show, Angel, is cursed with lust, which satisfies the romantic hunger in teenage readers. Also, the father figure, Rupert Giles, is reduced to childish traits with his sin, anger. By doing this, Holder gives some comedy to the story that would have been a bit too serious. These characteristics and more add to the supremacy of the plot and make this book better than most I’ve read.
All in all, Carnival of Souls by Nancy Holder is a remarkable book because of its tie-in to the show, the original setting, and the complexly intriguing plot. Ending with a total resolve of the crisis, but open for new adventures for the characters, and maybe even a possible spin off. I recommend this book to all lovers of the hit TV show, and to those who just like a good book. Fans of corrupted, demon filled plots will also enjoy this story.
Mrs. Hunter
AIM GH I
March 4th, 2012
Carnival of Souls
“In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.” Nancy Holder writes a fan-fiction story based on the hit television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and gives readers a story using the same characters, but takes place in-between episodes. Published with three other works by Simon Pulse in 2006, Carnival of Souls shows brilliant parallelism with the TV show, great description of setting, and an overall plot that is mind-blowing.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the characters are very distinct in their personalities, and Nancy Holder brings all of their quirks and peeves directly into her plot. The main character in both the TV show and book is Buffy Summers, the one chosen in her generation to be given extra physical strength in order to protect the world from vampires and demons. She is a typical high school student who is pressured with her new duty. When writing her book, Nancy Holder perfectly formed the characters, especially Buffy, to react to the problem as they would in the Television show. The readers who have followed the show are not disappointed in this aspect. In Carnival of Souls, an enchanted fair comes to town with various attractions, and each one gives its riders one of the Seven Deadly Sins. When the six main characters, together nicknamed the Scooby Gang, ride the different rides, they also are cursed with a sin. Nancy Holder distributes lust, anger, vanity, greed, gluttony, sloth, and envy to each character based on their personalities in the show. For example, Xander, who loves food, is given gluttony and stuffs himself sick while Buffy prides herself above others because of her powers when cursed with vanity. Overall, Holder perfectly brings the Scooby Gang into her storyline and gives fans a continuation after the ending of the show, but also makes it understandable for those who have never seen the show.
When a setting is already shown in a television show and an author uses it in a book, it could be hard to make it their own interpretation of the set. However, Nancy Holder adds in an evil carnival orchestrated by a sorcerer which brings the author’s individuality to the setting. The carnival is operated by demons in disguise and Holder develops their fairgrounds to be a perfect trap to keep its victims on the property until they can capture their souls. The Scooby gang arrives to investigate on a Friday, but later learn they unknowingly stayed until Sunday. This sense of entrapment drives the characters deeper into the sin cursed upon them, and you can tell Holder created the carnival to seem like a paradise for that purpose.
The plot of Carnival of Souls is complex and intricate, but based around a commonly known group of traits and altogether the story is amazing. Nancy Holder combines various components of a classic carnival coming to town into the demon filled world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and creates an infinite number of opportunities for a compelling story. This was achieved as she brought in the Seven Deadly Sins to this potluck of creativity. The love interest of the main character in the show, Angel, is cursed with lust, which satisfies the romantic hunger in teenage readers. Also, the father figure, Rupert Giles, is reduced to childish traits with his sin, anger. By doing this, Holder gives some comedy to the story that would have been a bit too serious. These characteristics and more add to the supremacy of the plot and make this book better than most I’ve read.
All in all, Carnival of Souls by Nancy Holder is a remarkable book because of its tie-in to the show, the original setting, and the complexly intriguing plot. Ending with a total resolve of the crisis, but open for new adventures for the characters, and maybe even a possible spin off. I recommend this book to all lovers of the hit TV show, and to those who just like a good book. Fans of corrupted, demon filled plots will also enjoy this story.
February 24, 2023
Soms vind ik er geruime tijd geen enkele, dan blijk ik ineens met zo'n voorraad te zitten dat ik wel een jaartje zoet ben. Ik heb het natuurlijk over boeken van Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Het blijft één van mijn favoriete series en hoewel de boeken het niveau van de serie meestal niet halen, blijf ik het altijd wel leuk vinden om ze te lezen. Afgelopen zaterdag Carnival of Souls aangeschaft voor de spotprijs van 1 euro en diezelfde dag ineens maar eens beginnen lezen.
Het verhaal is deze keer gesitueerd halverwege seizoen 2 (tussen de episodes What's My Line, Part Two en Surprise) en dat is een tijd waar alles nog relatief simpel leek voor de Scoobies in vergelijking met wat later zou komen. Leuk dat Holder een aantal verwijzingen naar datzelfde later weet te verstoppen (Miss Calendar is afkomstig uit een zigeunerfamilie, er is een militaire unit aanwezig in Sunnydale, …), maar het wordt op den duur nogal een mengelmoes van personages. Ethan Rayne is op zich een interessant genoeg personage om een verhaal alleen te dragen en hij komt er hier wat bekaaid vanaf. Ook Le Malfaiteur, de door Ethan in een hond veranderde Warlock, voelt wat aan als een personage dat maar even de boel moet komen redden. Je had hier evengoed Vaclav voor kunnen gebruiken bijvoorbeeld. Soit, voor de rest een leuke trip down memory lane in ieder geval. Xander en Cordelia die nog niet echt een koppel zijn, diezelfde Cordelia die nog erg oppervlakkig is, de kalverliefde tussen Buffy en Angel, …
Vermakelijk, dat is zeker. Holder weet de vibe van de personages vrij goed te benaderen en zelfs uit te vergroten, al vond ik het niet bij iedereen even goed gelukt, en het plot rond het circus had zo uit het eerste anderhalve seizoen kunnen komen. Ik neig echter meer naar de seizoenen die daarop volgden. Toen vond de serie echt zijn draai.
Het verhaal is deze keer gesitueerd halverwege seizoen 2 (tussen de episodes What's My Line, Part Two en Surprise) en dat is een tijd waar alles nog relatief simpel leek voor de Scoobies in vergelijking met wat later zou komen. Leuk dat Holder een aantal verwijzingen naar datzelfde later weet te verstoppen (Miss Calendar is afkomstig uit een zigeunerfamilie, er is een militaire unit aanwezig in Sunnydale, …), maar het wordt op den duur nogal een mengelmoes van personages. Ethan Rayne is op zich een interessant genoeg personage om een verhaal alleen te dragen en hij komt er hier wat bekaaid vanaf. Ook Le Malfaiteur, de door Ethan in een hond veranderde Warlock, voelt wat aan als een personage dat maar even de boel moet komen redden. Je had hier evengoed Vaclav voor kunnen gebruiken bijvoorbeeld. Soit, voor de rest een leuke trip down memory lane in ieder geval. Xander en Cordelia die nog niet echt een koppel zijn, diezelfde Cordelia die nog erg oppervlakkig is, de kalverliefde tussen Buffy en Angel, …
Vermakelijk, dat is zeker. Holder weet de vibe van de personages vrij goed te benaderen en zelfs uit te vergroten, al vond ik het niet bij iedereen even goed gelukt, en het plot rond het circus had zo uit het eerste anderhalve seizoen kunnen komen. Ik neig echter meer naar de seizoenen die daarop volgden. Toen vond de serie echt zijn draai.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2014
Nancy has written some pretty good BTVS books, and some not so good. This was definitely one of the better ones. She's got a good - but not perfect grasp of the characters, not enough to be distracting, but noticeable here and there. The circus was very creepy, and well done. The only thing I'd really say was off was the character of the French Warlock, he seemed almost thrown in at the last moment to fill in some holes. over all, it was a good BTVS story, and would have made a good episode.
June 2, 2013
I loved this one. It takes place during Season 2, but there were some mentions of things that happened in Season 3 (zombie cat). It takes you back to the good old days when there were Buffy, Angel and smoochies, Xander and Cordelia were a "not-couple". Still smooching in closets and cars, not yet public and no Oz. Great quotes and a great story.
With Season 2 being my favorite, it wasn't hard to see why I loved it. Highly recommended from a Buffy fan.
With Season 2 being my favorite, it wasn't hard to see why I loved it. Highly recommended from a Buffy fan.
August 29, 2013
This Buffy book was interesting because of the evil carnival and all of the accompanying elments that attacked the people and the city. As usual Buffy won, but it wasn't easy. The same characters we have enjoyed. A good, quick, enjoyable read.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" and "Wesley's Wars"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" and "Wesley's Wars"
April 25, 2015
Another excellent Buffy The Vampire Slayer novel! The whole season three gang is here,and ready to battle the seven deadly sins. The novel focuses on a visiting carnival. The author has a little tip of the hat to
Ray Bradbury when one of the character says: Something wicked this way comes. Nancy Holder never fails to deliver excellent Buffy books. If you miss the show,read the books!
Ray Bradbury when one of the character says: Something wicked this way comes. Nancy Holder never fails to deliver excellent Buffy books. If you miss the show,read the books!
February 14, 2008
I enjoy reading these books because unlike the show I can be in everyone's head at the same time. This one was an interesting read because not only were the "scoobies" fighting evil but also their own unconscience evils.
November 11, 2007
A good one to read and see how each character battles their own personal demons such as lust, greed, gluttony, etc.
December 14, 2010
Seeing as how long it took me to finish this and that I can't really remember much of it, I'm guessing I didn't find it that great...
April 23, 2017
Nice addition to the buffyverse. Well written and compelling.
October 4, 2011
Takes you back to the good old days of seasons 1-3(ish) classic Buffy if there ever was one.
February 25, 2019
Solid Buffy story
January 1, 2013
Nancy Holder did a good job of making this book feel like an episode of the show. Not perfect, but fun.
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