Chosen

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Novelizations #13

by Nancy Holder

BIGGEST BADDEST BUFFY OF THEM ALL

The First has come to Sunnydale and set its sights on taking down the Slayer. On the side of the White Hats: Buffy, Xander, Willow, Anya, Dawn, Giles, Spike, Faith, Angel, and an assortment of young, innocent, untried Potentials.

In this season-spanning storyline, Buffy Summers will learn about the primeval origins of her own strength, and have the opportunity to train those would succeed her. And as the forces of evil find their way back to the Hellmouth - where it all began - the Slayer will uncover what being the Chosen One is all about: Power.

She's laid down her life - literally - to protect the people around her. This girl has died, two times, and she's still standing. You're scared, that's smart. You got questions, you should. But you doubt her motive, you think Buffy is about the kill...then you take the little bus to battle. I've see her heart - this time not literally - and I'll tell you right now she cares more about your lives than you will ever know. You gotta trust her. She's earned it." - Xander, "Dirty Girls"

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

672 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Nancy 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.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a novelization of the entire seventh (and final) season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each of the twenty-two chapters is a summary of an episode of the show. It's a long book, 668 pages (and one wishes that they'd dropped the page count by two for aesthetic reasons!), but still seems sparse in the character and descriptive departments because there's so much plot and dialog to summarize. It's a good compendium, with little deleted and nothing much added, but the writing feels somewhat rushed, as if they were trying to get the book on the stands the day after the final episode aired... wait, that is what they did. The big problem is that it's the single worst copy-edited or proof-read book I've ever picked up from a professional publisher. I try not to hold problems like that against the book itself because neither the poor manuscript nor the author has any control over such things, but in this case it made the story almost impossible to follow in several instances.

[Jesse Parks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love that it was so close to the actual 7th season, but did this book go through editing? Grocery story, Don't get all crabbing? Easy errors to catch but these and plenty more were left throughout the book. It honestly took so much away from the book.

[Tamara Epps]

This book is not worth reading if you've seen series 7 of Buffy. All it is, is literally what is on the screen written down and not particularly well. Barely adds anything and much is lost without the emotions shown at all. A waste of time and a big disappointment.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very frustrating! This book is so full of typos and errors that it makes me wonder if it was ever edited. Seriously, you can't miss that many! Crabbing instead of crabby? Many of the quotations are gone. Wrong words were used in abundance and many of the seasons greatest lines were totally omitted or changed. You're not doing Buffy justice!

Season 7 is one of my favorite seasons with some of the best episodes of the entire series and this book really botched a lot of them! Very disappointed!
It was still cool to reread through it, but all the inconsistancies really put a damper on things. It had so much potential, but things seemed very rushed and as a result, a poor product. Still giving it 3 stars only because it's Buffy.

[Nikki LB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Buffy season 7 so obviously I like the plot but this book was a disappointment. My biggest issue is that it isn’t well written. There are so many grammatical errors and incorrect words. Sometimes characters are mixed up too in terms of who is in a scene or who says what. As I know that story pretty well I could work out who the author should be referring too but all those errors were distracting. If you didn’t know the story well you might be pretty confused. This book reads like it hasn’t been proof read at all.

I was also hoping that it would include more internal dialogue to let you into the characters thoughts. There was a little bit of this but not as much as I would have liked. Had it contained more it would have been a really worth while read for a Buffy fan.

[Deena Scintilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a true Buffyphile and enjoyed this book based on the TV show, BUT it needed serious editing because there were SO many typos, misspelling, etc. that until I decided to just look over them, they were a huge distraction. It seemed hastily written.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is essentially a novelisation of the seventh and final season of Buffy. I actually re-watched this season not that long ago so it is fresh in my head. Overall it was a very good adaptation, Nancy Holder has written a few Buffy/Angel books either alone or as collaborations and it shows as it was done very well. Each chapter was based on an episode with the overall storyline being the "big bad" of the season The First. This meant the early chapters were quite short as not happened related to that in the earlier episodes but they were done well enough to give you a feel for them. The further on the bigger the chapters got. So it was basically a condensed version of the season. I really enjoyed it and for me it was spot on giving the right feel for the characters.

My only problem was one which has been mentioned by other reviewers which was all the typos! The proof reading for this was done badly and there were quite a few spelling mistakes which started to get a bit annoying. This is why 4 stars not 5.

Overall though if you enjoyed season seven of Buffy there is no reason why you shouldn't like this book.

[Jorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentially a recap of the seventh and final season of Buffy. It’s a great read if you’re a fan of the series. I do remember a few added things/details. Specifically in the final chapter of the book that stuck out that I had wished they’d added to the series finale. All around a nice escape and trip back down the Buddy verse memory lane.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buffy has always been one of my favourite fandoms. Humor, fantasy, and horror in one.
This book encompasses all of that.
It is essentially Season 7 in book form, so if you've recently watched Buffy, this book won't be too exciting.
Unfortunately, it is poorly edited and full of spelling and grammatical errors.

[Zosma Leonis · Rating 3 out of 5]

So awful! I mean, so true to Season 7, and in that sense, wonderful, but so awful! Full of typos, and just poorly written (except the dialogue, of course). True blue Buffy fans will love this, but anyone else should steer clear.

[Jessie Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were too many spelling and grammatical errors to give this 5 stars, apart from that I really loved this.

[Carol Townend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the final in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. It places Buffy and her friends in the gripping spotlight of their battle against the forces of evil. The Hellmouth is about to open, and if Buffy cannot defeat it, then there will be devastating consequences for Sunnydale and the rest of the world. In the story, you get to see the characters at their most vulnerable as they face the most terrifying time of their lives.

The first evil is in Sunnydale and it threatens to swallow the town and its residents until nothing is left. It goes after the potentials, threatening to completely eradicate the slayers and it goes after buffy in the evilest ways one could not even begin to imagine. In this gripping story which leaves the reader hooked and wondering what happens next, we see some of our most favorite characters strike victory against the first, and we see some painful endings that leave us choking with tears. Buffy goes on a journey learning about her own strength and the real meaning behind being chosen, but at the same time she must protect the potentials and save the world. Buffy finds out what being 'chosen' is all about, and this story will absorb the reader so much that the reader will not want to put it down.


Overall, a really enticing, gripping story, that gets the heart of blood pumping and adrenaline rushing through both new Buffy fans and old Buffy fans alike.

[Matt Randall · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason, I remember thinking that this book had to have been rushed through the process to get it out in time to coincide with the end of the TV series. I'm not sure if it was the pacing or if it had a lot of grammar errors in it or what, but it just didn't seem up to Holder's usual standards (and she's one of the top Buffy novel writers). Also, the book isn't just a novelization of Chosen--it's really a summary of all of season 7. It covers just about everything from the arrival of the potentials to the final battle. That probably adds to the rushed feeling. While this is a very hefty Buffy book (probably the longest one), it really tries to cover too much ground. I think they should have done a season 7 trilogy instead. That would have given Holder time to really get into the individual episodes and maybe even flesh them out a little more. As it is, this is one of the weaker Buffy novels.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to fit an entire season of Buffy into a book is a tricky thing to do, so no wonder the first episodes get short shrift until the main story arc for the season kicks in. At that point episodes are described in more detail and less of the action and dialogue is glossed over in favour of a few sentences to explain the meaningful conversations that take place. It will never replace watching the actual series but it doesn't do badly. My only big complaint is the poor spell checking that took place before going to print (at least in my edition) whereby every time the word 'the first' had been used it was written as 'The First' denoting 'The First' evil entity even if someone was using the words in another context. Better proof reading required on that edition.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because I did see the entire 7th season that this book was based off of, I was able to watch it happening in my mind as I read it. I very much enjoyed the fact that the author filled in the 'thought' blanks that I assumed as watching the show. The author told what characters were thinking where as watching the show, you had to guess. For the most part, it confirmed what I was thinking when watching the show. There were even a few times when I almost started to cry because the author was able to capture the story so well.

[Kirsty Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you are a Buffy fan this book is great for your collection. however its just a play by play of every episode from series 7, the last and final series. if like me you can't afford to buy the whole box set (which you had to to get series 7 tape or DVD) this book is for you. you can use your imagination to see what is happening in the series and it is as enjoyable as it is watching it on an actual screen too. I love to read it over and over when I want to be reminded of a real vampire but as per usual have lent my set out.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

So awful! I mean, so true to Season 7, and in that sense, wonderful, but so awful! Full of typos, and just poorly written (except the dialogue, of course). True blue Buffy fans will love this, but anyone else should steer clear.

[David Veitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing against Buffy but this really is word for word what’s taken from the show and made to the book. Needed more variety especially Nancy Holder who’s written some golden Buffy books. Opportunity wasted to add a spin on the series.

[Punk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one of them all

[Carrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Bad translation (?) of the episodes. Lots of spelling errors and whatnot. A lot of what the characters said in the show was quoted wrong. Etc. etc.

[Neko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this so long ago I can't do a true review but I do remember enjoying it.

[Tria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good novelisation of season seven of the show, but terribly proof-read.

[Emazura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but in the case of Buffy the show outdoes the books... LOL when does that ever happen

[Takiyah Dudley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Season 7 of BVS word for word, watch the season book not worth your time...

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice retelling of Season 7 of the series but the editing was SO bad. Like, "grind it out and who cares," bad.