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Buffyverse Novels #70
Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel: Cursed
ANGEL VS. SPIKE
Sulking around the Slayer in Sunnydale, the vampire Spike has often run into demons intent on punishing him for throwing in with the White Hats. But when there are hints of a more organized campaign dedicated to vanquishing the vampire with a chip in his head, Spike sets off on the trail of whoever's put a hit out on him.
Meanwhile, in the City of Angels, the vampire with a soul finds that the search for a mystical object is tied to his days as the vicious Angelus. Then Spike -- his former partner in carnage -- arrives in L.A. Each nursing a grudge, and with the specter of Buffy in both of their (cold, dead) hearts, the two vampires reluctantly work together...until their torturous past catches up with them!
Sulking around the Slayer in Sunnydale, the vampire Spike has often run into demons intent on punishing him for throwing in with the White Hats. But when there are hints of a more organized campaign dedicated to vanquishing the vampire with a chip in his head, Spike sets off on the trail of whoever's put a hit out on him.
Meanwhile, in the City of Angels, the vampire with a soul finds that the search for a mystical object is tied to his days as the vicious Angelus. Then Spike -- his former partner in carnage -- arrives in L.A. Each nursing a grudge, and with the specter of Buffy in both of their (cold, dead) hearts, the two vampires reluctantly work together...until their torturous past catches up with them!
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
823 people want to read
About the author
Mel Odom
282 books273 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
aka Jordan Gray
Mel Odom is a bestselling writer for hire for Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, Gold Eagle's Mack Bolan, and Pocket's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel book lines. His debut SF novel Lethal Interface made the Locus recommended list . The Rover was an Alyx Award winner. He has also written a scientific adventure of the high seas set in the 19th century entitled Hunters of the Dark Sea. He lives in Oklahoma.
aka Jordan Gray
Mel Odom is a bestselling writer for hire for Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, Gold Eagle's Mack Bolan, and Pocket's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel book lines. His debut SF novel Lethal Interface made the Locus recommended list . The Rover was an Alyx Award winner. He has also written a scientific adventure of the high seas set in the 19th century entitled Hunters of the Dark Sea. He lives in Oklahoma.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 8, 2023
This is a little disappointing because the packaging is quite misleading; it's branded as a Buffy/Angel crossover, but Buffy doesn't really have much of a part in the story, other than being the object of the boys' obsessions. Also, it's touted as a Spike/Angel team-up, but that's not much of it, either. There are two separate storylines, and they don't converge until the concluding chapters. On the other hand, there are some very nice flashbacks to the original 19th century Angelus days. On the third hand, there's a note on the copyright page that reads: "Historian's Note: This story takes place in an alternate continuity during Buffy's fifth and Angel's third seasons," so when they preface the book with a warning that it's not canon.... There are some clever quips and scenes, but the novel is 440 pages long and would have been better at maybe half of that.
June 28, 2017
5 stars
Nice to have Angel and Spike as the main characters in their own book. It was very good. Hope Angel and Spike will be able to become friends one day.
Can't wait to read more Buffyverse novels!!!!
Nice to have Angel and Spike as the main characters in their own book. It was very good. Hope Angel and Spike will be able to become friends one day.
Can't wait to read more Buffyverse novels!!!!
November 1, 2019
I can't resist a novel set in one of my favourite TV worlds, but I felt this one fell slightly wide of the mark. It was a fun and entertaining read - I loved the idea of the origin of the Gypsy band and their bid to return home. It also has the best named baddy ever - Chavula Faa. Great name that I found myself muttering every so often in a awed whisper!
But it's definitely marketed wrong. Despite all the hype on the cover blurb, Spike and Angel do not really join forces. At least, not until the very, very end of the book and only, sort of, by accident. Spike's character just didn't ring true either - something about his voice and his continually lighting up cigarettes, felt very unlike the character we've come to love from the TV show.
But, overall, an ok read and an enjoyable-ish incursion back to the land of the Slayer!
But it's definitely marketed wrong. Despite all the hype on the cover blurb, Spike and Angel do not really join forces. At least, not until the very, very end of the book and only, sort of, by accident. Spike's character just didn't ring true either - something about his voice and his continually lighting up cigarettes, felt very unlike the character we've come to love from the TV show.
But, overall, an ok read and an enjoyable-ish incursion back to the land of the Slayer!
Read
May 14, 20234 stars for most of the flashbacks, I actually enjoyed the rather gruesome backstory of the Fanged four. It was bloody, but well written.
3 stars for a good Angel story, i.e. set in the Angelverse and with the Angel Investigations team ( though they were sadly underused)
2.5 stars for the mythology of the story which I kind of liked but which felt a bit rushed through
-100 for shoehorning Spike into the story. He could easily be removed from this and it would have made the book much better. There are no present day interactions between him and Angel until like 350 or so pages into the book, so it didn’t even capitalize off of their chemistry
Spike rant incoming:
This book enhances everything I dislike about Spike as a character. He has no personality. Or sorry, his personality is ”fool for love”, meaning that his entire character is just ”Spike is obsessed with woman X”, then you can choose your own adventure and fill in who woman X is (his mom, Dru, Buffy, or in this book Lyanka)
No matter who you pick Spike remains the same. He is obsessed and his entire motivation to do anything is related to his obsession with woman X.
Sometimes he seems to be motivated in some way by Angel/us but even then it comes back to woman X (Dru, Buffy, Lyanka)
He is the Bella Swan of the Buffyverse, possibly why he is so popular, because he is like a vaccum where the viewer/reader can ascribe the qualities they like onto him and their partner of choosing for him. But he just remains the same stagnant figure (the same with a soul or without a soul, the same with Buffy or with Dru).
I’m so bored with this sad little man. It is like some weird female fantasy of ”romantic” obsession, someone who lives just for you.
I thought this would be an interesting take on the Angel/Spike dynamic but the Spike parts are just ”I wish I could sleep with Buffy/Dru again” on repeat, with the occasional ”mwahaha Angel, I f-ed Buffy”.
I really wish the Buffyverse writers (e.g. new comic and novel writers) would let go of this death-like grip they have on Spike being the bestest of the best character in the -verse. Just let him go, or at least create some new stories where we can escape this trash character and get some actually interesting stories and gosh, maybe even some new characters?
Learn from books like this, Spike is not the answer, he is the dead weight that you need to cut loose.
3 stars for a good Angel story, i.e. set in the Angelverse and with the Angel Investigations team ( though they were sadly underused)
2.5 stars for the mythology of the story which I kind of liked but which felt a bit rushed through
-100 for shoehorning Spike into the story. He could easily be removed from this and it would have made the book much better. There are no present day interactions between him and Angel until like 350 or so pages into the book, so it didn’t even capitalize off of their chemistry
Spike rant incoming:
This book enhances everything I dislike about Spike as a character. He has no personality. Or sorry, his personality is ”fool for love”, meaning that his entire character is just ”Spike is obsessed with woman X”, then you can choose your own adventure and fill in who woman X is (his mom, Dru, Buffy, or in this book Lyanka)
No matter who you pick Spike remains the same. He is obsessed and his entire motivation to do anything is related to his obsession with woman X.
Sometimes he seems to be motivated in some way by Angel/us but even then it comes back to woman X (Dru, Buffy, Lyanka)
He is the Bella Swan of the Buffyverse, possibly why he is so popular, because he is like a vaccum where the viewer/reader can ascribe the qualities they like onto him and their partner of choosing for him. But he just remains the same stagnant figure (the same with a soul or without a soul, the same with Buffy or with Dru).
I’m so bored with this sad little man. It is like some weird female fantasy of ”romantic” obsession, someone who lives just for you.
I thought this would be an interesting take on the Angel/Spike dynamic but the Spike parts are just ”I wish I could sleep with Buffy/Dru again” on repeat, with the occasional ”mwahaha Angel, I f-ed Buffy”.
I really wish the Buffyverse writers (e.g. new comic and novel writers) would let go of this death-like grip they have on Spike being the bestest of the best character in the -verse. Just let him go, or at least create some new stories where we can escape this trash character and get some actually interesting stories and gosh, maybe even some new characters?
Learn from books like this, Spike is not the answer, he is the dead weight that you need to cut loose.
May 14, 2025
Cursed is a solid Buffyverse read, especially if you're into the complicated mess that is Angel and Spike’s history. The book really leans into their past—flashbacks with Darla and Drusilla are great—and shows how much baggage these two are still dragging around. Angel’s scenes with baby Connor are surprisingly touching, and there’s a lot of emotional weight to how he deals with the consequences of his Angelus days.
The book kind of sets itself up as a big Angel/Spike team-up, but they don’t actually cross paths much until the end, and even then, it’s more like an awkward run-in than a real partnership. Still, seeing them in the same space again—with all the tension and mutual resentment—is pretty fun.
Spike's voice is mostly there, though sometimes it feels a little off—like he’s lighting a cigarette every five seconds and trying too hard to sound cool. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it pulled me out of it now and then.
The storyline involving the Gypsy clan and the mystical object is interesting, and it’s handled a bit more thoughtfully than the show did (which, let’s be real, isn’t saying a lot, but still appreciated). The pacing could’ve been tighter—the book runs a little long—but there are enough good character moments and flashbacks to make it worth the time.
It’s not canon, and it knows it, but as a side story? Definitely enjoyable. Not perfect, but a nice return to a world I always love visiting.
The book kind of sets itself up as a big Angel/Spike team-up, but they don’t actually cross paths much until the end, and even then, it’s more like an awkward run-in than a real partnership. Still, seeing them in the same space again—with all the tension and mutual resentment—is pretty fun.
Spike's voice is mostly there, though sometimes it feels a little off—like he’s lighting a cigarette every five seconds and trying too hard to sound cool. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it pulled me out of it now and then.
The storyline involving the Gypsy clan and the mystical object is interesting, and it’s handled a bit more thoughtfully than the show did (which, let’s be real, isn’t saying a lot, but still appreciated). The pacing could’ve been tighter—the book runs a little long—but there are enough good character moments and flashbacks to make it worth the time.
It’s not canon, and it knows it, but as a side story? Definitely enjoyable. Not perfect, but a nice return to a world I always love visiting.
June 19, 2019
Overall not a bad story but it lost a star from me because I was expecting and looking forward to Angel and Spike joining forces and they don't even team up until page 390 of this 440 page book. The book cover and description is really quite misleading. There's a fair amount of Angelus and Spike flashback stories but that's not what I was reading the book for.
June 13, 2021
A solid Buffy tie-in novel with good characerisation of Spike and Angel and some great flashbacks to their heyday together with Darla and Dru. It was very nice to see inside Angel's head as he spends time with baby Connor. The Gypsy characters in the story are handled a bit less problematically than in th show, which whilst only a faint improvement is still progress.
August 3, 2023
Fun addition to the Buffyverse. The author portrayed most of the characters voices really well.
August 18, 2016
3.5 stars in truth but seeing as how Goodreads doesn't have half stars its 3 stars officially. This book is middle of the road for me. I love the scense that take place in the 19th century and with Spike and Lyanka and Spike and Angel. But the individual scense of the two not so much. And despite how I wish the story went the part I really like only took up about 1/3 of the book or even alittle less. And Angel as a whole was a bit to nervious, whinny, and anxsious for my liking. And Spike was stupid obsessive about Buffy. So the problem with the characters and their story arks that make up 2/3 of the book just over shadowed the flashback scense that were magic. And Spike and Lyanka banter that was sarcastic and playful. So it could surpass a middle of the road read for me, despite my utter love for certain part.
October 4, 2011
It's great to see characters crossing over in the novels as well as in the TV series and I've always thought Spike was an amazing character. The scenes with him and Angel in are also good as their shared history and similar circumstances, not drinking human blood albeit for different reasons, add friction to what could otherwise be a boring pairing. I especially like being able to learn more about Angelus' history and the dynamic between him and Spike as they both fought to be the baddest vamps in town. An excellent addition to the Buffyverse by Odom.
May 31, 2013
I didn't like this one at first, but as I started reading it, it grew on me. I am not a fan of Spike and I found him annoying, even in the flashbacks. All in all it was a decent book, but I definitely like more Buffy in my Buffy/Angel crossovers. While there was mention of her and she was in one quick phone call, that was it. It should have been called Spike/Angel.
I did like the flashbacks. It's always interesting to me when the writers create these back stories that we kind of know from the show/comics, but they put their own spin on them.
I did like the flashbacks. It's always interesting to me when the writers create these back stories that we kind of know from the show/comics, but they put their own spin on them.
May 10, 2008
This is the absolute worst media tie-in novel I've ever read associated with any TV or movie fandom EVER. I'm a huge fan of the characters who are central to this story, but there's something about its tone that is just awful. I'm not even sure it's the author's fault. There's just something off about its premise and pacing. I suspect he was given a bizarre story outline and couldn't really do anything with it.
Read
August 23, 2008isbn,original
February 25, 2019
Another cool crossover
August 10, 2018
A crossover between Btvs and Angel, you know you're going to love it!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews