Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel: Monster Island

Buffyverse Novels #73

by Christopher Golden, Thomas E. Sniegoski

"You never know until you're tested." -- Doyle, "Hero"

Since he arrived in Los Angeles, Angel's mission has been to help the helpless. He has saved countless innocents in his city. However, one escaped his grasp: Doyle, the half-demon who came to Angel on a vision quest. Doyle sacrificed himself and in turn reconciled his internal conflict toward his own demonic heritage, leaving Angel and Cordelia to carry on with the good fight. And fight they do.

But as the group squares off against evil in the City of Angels,

little do they know that back in Sunnydale, trouble is brewing. A shakedown of snitches yields info: Someone other than Buffy has been slaying -- and whoever it is, he or she is strictly after half-breeds, going so far as to lie in wait to attack. It doesn't add up, and the Scoobies are stumped.

But back in L.A. the picture becomes clearer when Angel Investigations is visited by an unexpected guest....

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

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Reviews

[Franki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monster Island is by far my favourite piece of Buffy/Angel related fiction and I could read it over and over again, no problem. My main reason for enjoying it is that I love the Angel tv series (possibly more than I love Buffy!) and, even though this is a cross-over involving both parties, I've always found it much more rooted in Angel itself.
I love the way the book is written- the characters, the scenery, the battle sequences and just the story itself -and cannot fail to be sucked in every time I start to read the first page.
The story follows General Axtius, the father of Angel's fallen companion Doyle, as he leads a Nazi type group of pure-blooded demons in exterminating the half-breeds of all species. His actions are first picked up in Sunnydale before he himself makes an appearance in Los Angeles and Buffy and Angel are forced to put aside the past and work together.
What happens next? Read it!

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, this is a book I had started over 5 years ago. Was more than halfway through but for some reason I put it down and never picked it back up again but I picked it up to finally finish it and it was pretty easy to get back into the story. Kinda.

I am a huge, huge Buffy fan and I need all the books. I had a more than half of them until mom made me choose and get rid of them *sobs*

Anyway, I am usually not one to like the mixed Buffy and Angel into one book but for this one, it worked really well.

I just wish I had read it all from beginning to end to be really able to review it properly. So I will, at some point, pick it back up and read from beginning to end and I will redo a review for it once I finish it.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, best buffy / angel book iv read

[Velvetink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardcover edition

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it's a nice enough Buffy/Angel crossover, but somehow doesn't capture the "voice" of the series and characters as well as many of the other books; there's too much of a rushed feel, and we're told too often that the events are important and world-changing rather than letting the readers see or feel it for themselves. The Willow/Tara relationship is well written, but some awkwardness in the bid triangle. Not bad, but not among the best.

[Mary Jane Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book only intended for die hard Buffy fans. Not sure how it would fit in chronologically. Angel and Cordelia and working in LA. Spike has his chip courtesy of the Initiative. Willow and Tara are together and empowered by witchcraft. A Fascist group of demons is set on an ethnic cleansing plan to eliminate all half breeds. The Scoobies join forces with Angel Investigations to end the threat. Entirely too many demon breeds included in the story but action packed to say the least.

[Elma Algz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge BTVS and Angel fan, this was such a fun book! It reads like a real cross-over episode and I loved seeing all my favorite characters in the universe coming together. It dragged a bit at some parts and probably could have been a bit shorter, but a book that brings you in for one more adventure in the Buffy universe makes it worth taking the scenic route.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main issue I had with this was that the author really couldn't handle all the characters. There was too many. Awesome crossover idea but poorly executed. The dialogue didn't sound like the characters and the story really dragged towards the end.

[chisholm · Rating 5 out of 5]

whoa season six whoa well surprised again but was i really? Probably the only reason I read Buffy season 6 book was because Christopher Golden wrote this book.

[Véronique Laplante Grenier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this book. One of my faves Buffy/Angel books.

[Michael Marshman · Rating 4 out of 5]

really loved this book, being a huge fan of both shows it was nice to have everyone together

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a media tie-in, this book is well done. But, as with most media tie-ins, many of the characters don't feel quite right.

[Maggie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book for anybody looking for the ultimate Tara/Fred friendship we deserved.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few BtVS novels to truly capture the soul of the show. Even though it is not true canon, it postulates events that could have easily been part of the show (crossover movie anyone?). And, as always, Christopher Golden does a phenomenal job of writing the relationship between Willow and Tara, which is arguably the hardest to capture (given the traumatic way in which it ended for fans). One wonders if the writing partnerships between Golden and Amber Benson (co-creators of "Ghosts of Albion") have given him insight. No matter what, it works. (See also "Dark Congress," one of the last licensed BtVS novels to be published.)

[Summer Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for Buffy/Angle fans. I always enjoy when I get to see the cast of both shows mixed together and share an adventure. The story line is also good, and the book is much longer/detailed than some of the shorter Buffy and Angel books that are made for younger readers. But like most cross overs between them, you end up feeling annoyed/sad when it ends because then Buffy goes back to her world and Angel goes back to his. We know from the start that its going to happen since the books cant effect the show, but its still frustrating!

[Ceejay · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you miss the Angel and Buffy TV series,then you'll probably enjoy reading the books about the title characters. This particular novel is well written, and has an interesting plot. The gang from Sunnydale and the Angel crew from Los Angeles join forces to save half-breed demons! I do have a problem with this book. I learned a long time ago that just because a novel is lengthy and hardbound doesn't make it better then a paperback story of average length. This 400+ page story could have shed about 100 pages and lost nothing enjoyment wise. It is still easily worth three stars!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that's what I call a Buffy/Angel tie-in novel! That was brilliant! I really enjoyed that! It was loads of fun, the storyline was great, the characters were done perfectly and the combining of the Buffy and Angel characters working together was really well done! Top draw!

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining.

[A Rae Crownover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic crossover between the two shows. Wonderful callbacks from small story threads on both sides.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my fav buffy books, great angel n buff cross over

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monster Island is a Buffy/Angel novel by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski. It is set in the timeline of Buffy season 6 and Angel season 3.

[Kerra Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am currently reading this book. it is awesome!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My guilty pleasure - I am a Buffy fan/geek!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, a little better than the average

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I understand fan-fic! Man, so enjoyable to revisit these characters (and have the two groups interact!), especially since their characters were so spot-on.

[Shayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but they kept rehashing the main themes. It's definitely made me want to go back and rewatch Angel.

[Rebecca du Maurier · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better Buffy fiction books. Agree with the comments that it captures the essence of the show, but is not a masterpiece of American literature.

[Shamanth · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was toooo bored and ended up reading this book :P ....

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