Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blooded

Buffyverse Novels #22

by Christopher Golden, Nancy Holder

Chirayoju, a vampire of Chinese lore, and Sanno, the legendary Japanese Mountain King, have been locked in deadly battle for centuries. Literally. An ancient curse imprisoned the spirits of these two warriors in an antique sword.

Until the sword arrives in Sunnydale.

Freed by accident, Chirayoju searches for a host body that will allow him to continue wreaking havoc amoung the living and the dead.

Now Buffy's on the trail of this legendary vampire...a bloody trail that leads straight through the heart of the Buffy-Xander-Willow triangle.

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

278 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN has been called “the king of the horror-thriller.” The New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning storyteller has made his mark in many mediums, as a writer of novels, screenplays, animation, audio dramas, and comics, and as an editor of landmark horror anthologies. His work has been published in dozens of languages around the world. Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Audie Award, he has been nominated for others, including the British Fantasy Award. His best-known novels include Road of Bones, The House of Last Resort, All Hallows, and his latest, Carry Me to My Grave. He lives in Massachusetts, where he watches too many movies and eats too much chocolate.

Reviews

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder perfectly capture the tone and feel of the fun television series, which melded that crazy social quagmire that was high school for the most of us, with vampires and other assorted ghouls attracted to the Hellmouth. In Sunnydale, a pretty teenage girl named Buffy, with help from her Watcher, Giles, and her friends, Willow and Xander, battled the forces of evil while trying to navigate those treacherous and tumultuous waters of high school. Everyone’s seen the show, so no further recap of the basic premise is needed.

What I found great fun about Blooded is that every voice and character rang absolutely true to the series, without a false note detected anywhere along the way. At certain moments throughout the very good story, we get a glimpse into the thoughts of each character, and they fit perfectly with the people we know. If you loved Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles and Cordelia, and of course, Angel, you’re almost certain to have fun reading this one. There’s action from the get-go as the book opens with a big fight at a movie theater, but soon settles into the story-line of a high school field trip to a museum that, because it’s Sunnydale, goes way, way wrong.

Willow cuts herself on a sword which has bound Chirayouju, a powerful and ancient Chinese vampire, and Sanno, the Japanese Mountain King. They were bent on destroying each other, and the backstory of what happened is parceled out nicely as Willow becomes, well, very un-Willow-like. As Giles and Buffy try to figure out what’s happening, it goes from bad to worse. When Cordelia seems the voice of reason, you know it’s bad. Sanno finds a host in Xander, and Buffy must figure out a way to keep them from killing each other, and possibly destroying much of Sunnydale in the process. Finally, Chirayouju vacates Willow and takes over Buffy, and things get even more complicated.

It’s a lot of harmless fun, woven around the personalities of the characters we came to know so well over the years. Reading it now, it’s both nostalgic and enjoyable on an entertainment level. Overall, this was a blast, and just the right kind of read for a palate cleanser, or just a comfort read. Very fun, and nicely done!

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back then, when I read this novel, I enjoyed it a lot since it has all the feeling of being "watching" a Buffy TV episode. The narrative and plot in the book would easily become an episode in the TV series. Maybe some "sins" were some inaccuracies, since this novel is supposed to be set in the early times of the Third Season, but just to name some of "missing" things is that you don't have Faith in the story and there isn't any reference or explanation, she just "don't exist" in the plot. However, this is normal when you have novels written in the middle of an "active" TV series, since between seasons there are changes in characters, some interrelationships are different from one season to another, etc... but you have to understand that these novels are commissioned like with 6 months prior to its publishing and when the authors know how is the "current" season, it's too late or too messy to add those changes to the already plotted story. So, in those case, you have to be sympathetic with the struggles of these authors who are doing their best to entertain us with tie-in novels of our favorite TV series. About the plot here, it's a wonderful one and exploiting paranormal stuff from different sources than the ones used on the TV series. Buffy got in the middle of a millenial battle of a powerful Chinese vampire and a mighty Japanese god. But, if that wasn't enough trouble, she also has to find a way to control this long battle without sacrificing the lives of her dearest and closest friends. Highly recommended to any Buffy fan.

[Kaila · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started this book but I don’t think this was it. I loved Buffy when I first watched it and I hoped this would recapture what I loved about it. I did enjoy exploring the characters and their dynamic relationships again, i think there spirit was captured really well. I didn’t, however, enjoy the plot nor the way the characters treated one another, especially the women. I forgot how horribly sexist and nasty some of these conversations and depictions were, especially relating to Cordelia and Xander. I just didn’t enjoy reading about this. I also just found the book quite boring. I think I’ll just stick to the TV show next time I want my Buffy fix. This wasn’t the worst thing that I’ve read, but it did leave a lot to be desired.

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Das Blutschwert" ist der 5. Band der "Buffy" Buchreihe. Es handelt sich um eine fiktive Geschichte, die nicht in der TV-Serie vorkommt. Sie spielt wohl zu Beginn der 3. Staffel. Das passt leider nicht so gut zusammen. Willow ist da doch schon viel selbstbewusster und hat bereits ihre Hexenkräfte entdeckt. Davon wird im Buch leider gar nichts erwähnt. Das finde ich nicht stimmig, deswegen muss ich auch leider einen Punkt abziehen.

Ansonsten gefällt mir die Geschichte wirklich gut! Das mit dem Vampirzauberer und dem Bergkönig ist sehr originell, die Rückblicke und Stellen aus den Wächter-Tagebüchern sind richtig interessant. Von mir gibt es daher gute 4 Sterne. Für echte Buffy Fans lohnen sich die Bücher meiner Meinung nach auf alle Fälle!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dipped my toes again in the Buffy tie-in books. Let's get reviewing.

"It was over, but not way over, like, say, Keanu."


Ahhh. Well, we know from the show that Buffy introducing other cultures and races in the show was kinda problematic. So, how well does the novel introduce some aspects of Chinese & Japanese lore?

Well... it's hard for me to say from my western white POV. I would love to see a review from someone diving into that side of things but for me, it just seemed very standard fare as to white people writing Asian cultures.

The characterization of the Scoobies seemed to get better as the book went on though. Granted, I'm not Xander's #1 fan but some of the dialogue he has here is very misogynistic. Like p h e w, Xan. Chill. That 'cheap hussy' you keep referring to is the girl you keep making out with. Count your blessings and shut your mouth. Cordelia wasn't portrayed well in this either but I started to see the character I fell in love with on the show shining through as the book continued. And Willow. My baby Willow. I enjoyed Willow's development in this so much and her reactions seemed spot on as a natural response to trauma after she was mugged by 2 mortals early on in the book. The self-blame. The anger. My sweet Willow.

Overall, I'd say it was a 2-star read. It was okay. I don't expect brilliance from the tie-in novels, just a fun read into the world I know well and it can be ultimate comfort reading for me. So, yay. I was comforted.

"Hey, look, at least you’re not Daphne. Now Daphne was useless."

[BookLoversLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I'm like a magnet with mass market tie-in fiction, a bizarre phenomenon that feels like it only existed between 1995 and 1999. Buffy was a TV show; if you were a teenager in the 90s you could just watch it. Did people miss the show so much after the season ended that they needed books to get them through the summer? Ok sure, sounds like I would have done the same. Or I would have recorded the show on VHS.

This one is surprisingly good for what it is -- the beginning was really more like four stars -- but the ending drags on for so long, and everything else is mostly a cliche. The book's worst sin is that it stereotypes the characters in a way that the show specifically avoids. The show doesn't paint Buffy as a tragic heroine, or Willow as a lonely nerd, or Xander as a golden boy. So to see it happening in the book felt very clumsy

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better Buffy novelizations, a third-season adventure mixing Chinese mythology with the existing infrastructure of the show. The characters personalities and voices are well captured, adding verisimilitude to the feeling that an interesting episode is being summarized rather than something outside of the canon. The stakes are high...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: This review assumes that you have watched the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer –at least up until Season 3.

The pleasure of these novelizations based on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer is that if one thinks of them as “episodes” of the show, then there are some as yet “unwatched”; there is new territory to discover and delight in with our favorite characters. The failing of some of these is that they retread areas already explored on the show, or that the dialogue is trying too hard to mimic “Buffy-speak” and does not capture the convention completely. Also, it is sometimes difficult for written fight scenes to deliver the same action-y suspense as those in the visual medium. Fortunately for this episode, the failings are few and the successes great.

First, the bad: the book supposedly takes place early in the third season of Buffy. Angel has returned from hell, he’s back to “normal” and everyone is aware of that. Xander and Cordelia are in a relationship (of sorts), so this is prior to the events of “Lover’s Walk” but after “Revelations.” These two episodes aired back-to-back, a week apart, and at this point (in the show) Xander and Willow were already sneaking around together, which decidedly not the case in the book. Also, Faith does not appear at all in the novel. This bothered me a little while reading, even though I haven’t watched through the show in some time and it took some research to pin down the timing. Someone who had viewed Season 3 a little more recently might have been more bothered than I was. (Update: Apparently, this book was written before much of Season 3 aired, so it appears the authors were given some clues as to what was to come, but not all the information. In that case, well done.)

The good: Well, it’s bonus Buffy. Also, the characters remain true to type. The motivations, attitudes and personalities are spot-on. This is not always the case with these novelizations, so kudos to Holder and Golden on that. These two authors are the most prolific BtVS tie-in writers, so they absolutely should have the characters down, but this was written in 1998, while the show was still airing, so presumably pretty early in their careers.

Props should also be given for developing a completely new, yet still plausible storyline. The Scooby Gang takes a field trip to Sunnydale Museum, which is hosting an exhibit of ancient Japan. Willow becomes mysteriously infected with the spirit of an ancient Chinese vampire who had been battling a Japanese god when both were trapped inside a sword. There are some super-neat flashbacks to the original Japanese battle (which could have been labeled as such; it was not always obvious we were entering flashback mode. Just sayin’), and some satisfying contact with other Watchers as well as excerpts from a former Watcher’s journals. I like encountering those things in the novelizations, as flashbacks were some of my favorite parts of both Buffy and Angel. The history and richness of its mythology and background is part of what makes it great. Also, even though Spike killed a Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, the show did not delve much into the fertile garden of Eastern mythology and demonology; there is much material there to explore.

Any Buffy fan would probably enjoy this book, if not too hung up on chronology and continuity and just took it for it was. An additional romp in the world of the Greatest Show Ever to Air.

[Marloes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool book. I read this before I watched the tv series so I didn't fully understand the story, and who Buffy was and what her relationship with the other people in this book was, but I still liked it, and it made me want to watch the tv series.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read this since it was first released so re-reading this was very nostalgic for me and fun to read :)

Some inconsistences I noticed:

Blooded is set during Btvs S3 sometime my guess around episodes 7 -10 as the Scoobies know about Angel's return from the Acthala's hell dimension, other than Xander's continued antagonistic verbal comments seems pretty normal but the others were I guess too forgiving.

I can perhaps understand Willow but Cordelia and Giles, the latter especially seems pretty friendly towards Angel, which feels out of character considering the recent events of Angelus tormenting Sunnydale however, the tension seems to be forgotten and seemingly resolved (unlike the TV series where it remains to be tense).

Where was Faith?? and Oz was barely mentioned either. I found it a bit odd that there was no mention of Faith, as she played a crucial role in S3 onwards, and yet in this novel, it's like all the characters have forgotten her existence.

But I can't help but think how cool it would've been to have Faith in this novel, instead of the final fight between a possessed Buffy/Chirayoju and Xander/Sanno, it could've been between the two slayers who were possessed by the ancient vampire and demon respectively?

But I guess, one reason, perhaps, the writers already had envisioned Buffy/Faith's complicated arc on the show that we all know and love and felt like it would, feel repetitive or too much foreshadowing, who knows?

But let's move on to the good stuff, shall we? I still had a blast reading this! Christopher and Nancy capture the voices and personalities of the characters extremely well.

I liked the inner turmoil that Willow was going through in this novel, the emotional dilemma of feeling powerless and trying to find herself after being attacked by muggers and not wanting to be in that position again, to be empowered and feeling of being ashamed of what happened that was out of her control, leading to Willow's possession of an ancient vampire who ends up being locked in battle with Sanno, The Mountain God, who possesses Xander and the two fight, which was brilliantly written.

It was great to see Willow in the end become more comfortable in her own skin, finding acceptance of her strengths and her role within the Scooby Gang and that she does have value within the group.

It's always fun when authors explore different cultures within the universe, this time:

Chirayoju, an ancient Chinese vampire, and Sanno, a Japanese Mountain King, have been fighting for years. Their spirits were imprisoned in a sword by a curse. The sword arrives in Sunnydale and while viewing the Japanese exhibit at the museum Willow becomes possessed by the spirit of Chirayoju and Xander, later on, becomes possessed by the spirit of Sanno. Buffy must figure out a way to stop the two spirits without killing her own friends. During the final battle, when the fight takes an ugly turn, Buffy must also keep her own spirit alive.

I loved reading the flashback scenes, back to the original battle and the mythology that continued to expand in Buffyverse in a fun creative way. Definitely would recommend this for any Buffy fan!

[Stefy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m on to the longer(ish) books now and this one was a little better than the last two.

It felt like a bit more time was taken to get the plot laid out and seen through. But again it was a very non Buffy centric book and focused mainly on Willow and Xander. I suspect they must be favourites of Nancy and Christopher.

The story was pretty good with some cool flashbacks. A little gory and a bit violent in places which was a little shocking. I don’t remember reading it that way the first time round.

I liked that Angel was more in this book and reading a little from his perspective.

Still not enough for a 4 star but it scraped by enough for a 3 at least

[Jonathan Currinn (Good Star Vibes) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me longer to read than I expected. Usually these Buffy books get read in 1-3 days, but this stretched me to a full week.

The reason has to be the writing style. During Buffy's fighting scenes very long sentences are used failing to bring up tension and describes exactly what she is doing. This makes the novel prodding and slow and fails to capture my attention.

However the authors Christopher Golden & Nancy Holder have got characterisation down to a T. What with all the characters involved, normally it is very difficult to capture the essence of all the characters, but yet they have managed to do this effortlessly and kept me reading on. The hardest character, I have found in the Buffy books I have read, is Giles as most of these novels fail to incorporate his British accent and the words he says. However this book stands out, and every time Giles talks, I'm always thinking: yep, Giles would definitely say that in this situation.

The storyline was a little on the complicated side since Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder had to make up their own Japanese myth. Which was hard to keep up with.

Overall a great novel that was one that I kind of liked to leave on the side often than not.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had a copy of this book since it first came out in August 1998, and it was one of my favorites back when the tie in books were coming out on an almost monthly basis. I must have read it at least 20 times between the ages of 11 and 14.

Does it hold up?

For the most part, yes. There is one major logistical problem with the book, (and I will get to that), but as for the plot, it works really well. I don't know a lot about Chinese and Japanese mythology. I know some Japanese ghost stories, but that's about it. So, I remember as a preteen finding all the random little tidbits about Japanese demons and such really interesting because it wasn't like anything I had come across on United States television or in any of my books on paranormal phenomena. This was my introduction to creatures like kappas and etus and the Japanese ideas about patron gods for specific cities. (I would later learn this idea was shared by Greek and Roman city states as well, but at 11 years old, I didn't know much about any of these things.) Nancy Holder, one of the two authors of this book, spent some of her formative years living in Japan and so a lot of the culture she learned while there has worked its way into the story.

For instance, this story is the first of Holder's books to talk about seppuku or being "blooded." This is the samurai method of suicide that is used to preserve honor in the face of the utmost disgrace and defeat. You stab yourself in the bowels and then one of the people you hold in highest respect -- your most trusted pupil, if you were a teacher or the one who has bested you in battle -- will chop off your head. It was considered the highest dishonor to not have your head chopped off. (It was also one of the most painful ways to die.) This is the first book she wrote in the Buffyverse that talks about this ancient rite of the samurai, but it's not the last one. She delves into it even more in Tales of the Slayer, Volume 3. And she may do it another time in one of the books set in a later season. (We'll see when I get there.) Obviously, stories from ancient Asia (especially Japan) mean a lot to Holder and I think she treats the Japanese culture especially with a lot of respect. And while the Chinese representation could have been better, it does make sense that the Japanese would make it so that only Chinese people could be vampires. That does sound very on brand. And we're not given a lot of time with the flashbacks to Ancient China to get a real feel for that empire, so I wouldn't say it's *bad* representation of China. It's just that we don't get any representation of the country outside of our villain, the vampire sorcerer Chirayoju.

The book's strongest selling point for me is the character work here. The voices are SO on point. Xander's humor and Buffy's quips, and Cordy's cattiness (but still her ability to care), and Giles looking after all of the teenagers (including Xander, which warmed my heart so much to see.) There have been other books by these two where the characters do something drastically OOC, but not here. Everyone is on point and their actions in the fight scenes are fully described, which made it so much fun to read. Because the fight scene became something you *could* actually see. Even if what I saw in my mind's eye felt distinctly anime-esque.

The pop culture references were also great. I do think it dates the novel quite a bit. I mean, who growing up nowadays is going to understand that reference to Dr. Green from ER? I got it cos I used to watch that show with mom every week and Dr. Green was my favorite character on it -- we won't talk about how badly I cried when that character died -- but if I was a young person picking this up now? I'd have no idea. I might get the Dawson's Creek reference via cultural osmosis, but probably not the obscure medical drama note.

What doesn't hold up so well with this book is a logistical problem. Namely, that it was written while s02 was still in production and released between s02 and s03 and is meant to be set in early s03. But none of the emotional beats for anything post s02 make sense within the context of this book. For one, it assumes that s02 would end before the end of Junior Year because it's stated numerous times that SATs are "next year" and Oz is a senior, but Willow isn't. Things like that. Which would place this during s02. However, Miss Calendar is dead, and Angel has his soul back and Giles and everyone else is totally fine with him. And Buffy's mom has no idea that Buffy is the Slayer.

As anyone who has watched the show knows, none of this adds up AT.ALL. After Angel returned in s03 (during which Senior Year has officially started), none of the Scooby Gang, outside of Buffy herself, felt safe around Angel for quite a while. And Giles in particular took Buffy to task over Angel coming back into their lives after 1) killing Ms. Calendar, and 2) torturing Giles for nothing more than Angel's own sick pleasure, and 3) trying to end the world. It's obvious that this was written sometime before the airing of Becoming Parts 1 and 2 because if Holder and Golden had seen them beforehand, the Angel situation would have been tackled very differently.

Also Willow doesn't know any magic in this, and as of the end of s02, she has gotten quite good at it.

Yeah, if you look up when this book is set chronologically, it is always listed as s03 story insert, mainly due to being post-Angelus. But it really doesn't belong there. This is really more of an alternate universe late s02 story where they managed to give Angel his soul back before he pulled the sword out of Al Franken (to quote Buffy herself.)

It doesn't really make the story any worse than it would be otherwise. But it is distracting when you're trying to place it within the show's larger canon. So just be aware that it doesn't logically fit anywhere into the visual timeline.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book an extra star for all the Buffy and Angel moments, otherwise parts of the book were boring and difficult to get through. But the Bangel love saved it for me and kept me going to finish it

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting. It reminds me why I'm paranoid about touching sharp blades.

[Cal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watching Demon Slayer while reading this made it a bit more bearable oddly enough.

The story itself was okay, I guess? I wasn't angry at the plot, but the writing left a lot to be desired. Cordy and Xander in this book might as well have been the Inspo for S4E18 "Where the Wild Things Are." (fyi, I hate that episode). Also, the over use of "Oriental" and "Hussy" were god awful. A few characters also felt out of character. Yes, I understand this is a non-canonical book. However, I still hold expectations for those who are considered knowledge based authoritative figures within communities.

The book takes place between S3E07 "Revelations" & S3E08 "Lover's Walk"

Cordy per usual with these novels was shoved in the usual corner of mean girl. Despite the fact in this one she held more of a part, the Scooby Gang / Slayerettes .... *cough* Xander *cough* still comes across as the worst. Did I mention how many times Xander uses Hussy? Namely towards Cordy? Who he is necking with the entire first half of the book? It wasn't until the later half that we start see the Cordy that we know.

*incoming continuity rant*
Which honestly them sneaking around in the first whole half of the book doesn't make sense anyways considering their sneaking around happened from S2E and only lasted episodes until S2E15 "Phases" when they start Openly Dating. The next episode we get S2E16, has them breaking up, only to get back together at the end of the episode. They are still openly dating and NOT hiding it until S3E08 When Cordy officially breaks up with Xander after having caught him and Willow cheating. A secret relationship that began in S3E5 "Homecoming".

Also, secondary thing. Buffy and Angel were basically only making out in the first half of this. To the point, things got REALLY bad before Buffy stepped in. Which, I can rant about another time, but it feels off. In this segment of continuity Buffy and Angel are staying away from each other. At least, they are trying. They kiss passionately in S3E07 "Revelations" but quickly step away. Their whole dynamic in this season is fighting to stay away from each other because of what happened with Angelus. For reference, in Season 3 Buffy only discovers Angel has returned in E04 "Beauty and the Beasts" she opts to keep this secret. Also, she has a boyfriend...who breaks up with her in the next episode 05 "Homecoming". Despite that, Angel is hidden from everyone until E07 "Revelations" which causes turmoil amongst the group. The next episode, Buffy sets her foot down and tells Angel at the end to leave her alone unless he can tell her he doesn't love her. Of course by Episode 10 they are back together. Mostly. They break up again for the final time, never getting back together.

Anyways, it was mostly fine. There was a lot of re-using or at least nods to past canon events, as well as potential hints to upcoming episodes. (ideas for "Something Blue" popped up in here). As I said, the second half was actually solid, but getting to that portion was just...egh. Oh well, let's see where the next one takes us!

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blooded takes place during Season 3 of Buffy. I guess it would be between episodes 7 and 8, but it doesn’t really fit in with what happened in the show in those two weeks as Buffy and Angel are very affectionate to each other with PDA and everybody is fine with it, which isn’t the case with episode 7 as everybody’s upset Angel’s back and still alive. That’s not really fixed either by episode 8, however at the end of that episode Xander and Cordelia split up, ditto Willow and Oz, and they’re all still happily together here. Season three mainstays Faith and Oz are virtually missing here also, and both were major players during these episodes.

So, we’re off to a bad start on making sense within the show. Honestly, I was probably going to give this book two stars before figuring out where it fits in continuity, but that issue drops it down to the rare one star read. The idea was OK for a Buffy book, with Willow getting possessed by a Demon (and eventually Xander and Buffy too). The problem was the demons were pretty boring, and the multiple flashbacks to Japan where they were confronting with each other did nothing for making the story more interesting.

Nancy Holder has written several of these books, and while I admire her use of violence to try and take advantage of the medium beyond what was allowed on the WB Network, sometimes these stories don’t make sense within the realities of the show. Xander getting hospitalized and requiring a blood transfusion and Buffy getting impaled with a sword are things that would make their parents get involved with their lives/extracurricular activities. Particularly with Willow’s rebar incident in episode 8 where this apparently takes place immediately before. I can only imagine the Harris, Summers and Rosenberg families would think their kids were part of a fight club given the copious hospital bills and permanent scars incurred this week by three best friends.

[Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is sometimes a problem with tie-in novels that this is a perfect example of, they try to do a bit of predicting of where things are going to go, and surely they get some information from the series runners, but unfortunately, either through misinformation or being too ambitious, the story that comes out ends up not really fitting.

Blooded is set during the third season of Buffy, and it came out between the second and third seasons, the writers had to have written this somewhere in the middle of season 2 and clearly knew that Angel got his soul returned at the end of season 2, but clearly none of the details around the story, so it just seems that it was all a really fun affair, Angel got his soul back and they all went back to being palls. It was a much more complicated affair, and the light way this touches on that just makes it feel like it isn't in canon.

As a story it's pretty fun, pitching a possessed Willow against a possessed Xander, it draws on Nancy Holder's knowledge and life experience in Japan to give it a new twist as a cursed Japanese sword comes into play. There are some problems in tone, again because it was written earlier in season 2, with Cordelia being a much more insufferable person than she is by season 3, and getting her sniping wrong, Buffy and Cordelia weren't really calling each other whores... that just feels wrong. Still, entertaining stuff.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before the Black Witch.

Before the White Godess.

Willow Rossenberg was just your average  geeky redhead, powerless and defenceless, wanting to be more.

That is until she is possessed by an ancient evil that has been awakened to reek havoc on Earth.

Blooded was very similar to the episode Inca Mummy Girl. Set at the Sunnydale Museum, Willow accidentally releases the entity of Chirayojuan, an Ancient Chinese  Vampire, who almost conquered the world a millennia ago

Now Buffy and the remaining Scoobies need to find a way of defeating the Ancient Vampire wearing Willows body like a meatsuit without killing their friend in the process.

This was an absolute delight to read. The author captures the essence of the show perfectly. It could have easily been included as an additional episode of season 3.

4 / 5

[Emma Lambe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just what I expected from a short book like this. Quick, easy and fun. Being a big Buffy fan I have owned several Buffy books for years as there’s so much out there. This is based around Willow being mugged and then feeling insecure in comparison to her slayer best friend. Wanting to being able to defend herself she touches an ancient Japanese sword out at a museum on a school trip and that’s when the ancient vampires powers flow int her body. Careful what you wish for willow because now you’re super powerful with a demon overpowering you!
The characters dialogue felt true to the series and was easy to picture them really saying that and behaving the way that they would in the show. The sarcasm and the quirky quips is what made it stand out more so than the story. I enjoyed it enough to continue with the other books I own. Maybe when I want an easy, don’t have to think about book.

[BooksAndFrogs (Mervi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few rows up the aisle, Giles cracked his heavy cross across the head of the vampire Buffy had thrown into the seats. As she watched, her mentor staked the vamp in fine style for a guy who was fortysomething going on seventysomething and, well, not the Slayer. Still, Giles knew his stuff. Knew enough to teach Buffy more than the average red-blooded American high school girl ever needed to know about fighting vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness.
But, hey, who wanted to be avarage, anyway?

Friends don't have to be alike to be friends. And in a team fighting ancient evil, all kind of talents are needed, as Willow is about to learn.

After each read Buffy novel I keep thinking that I need to re-watch the series, especially now.
R.I.P. Anthony Head (20 February 1954 – 1 June 2026)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely the best in the series so far - presumably because it was published that much later, it feels like the characters are more developed and true to the characters we know and love.

The story itself was fun, but I found it relied quite heavily on the history, which was fine but hard for me to get on board with. I also found that possession was an interesting storyline, until the final battle was essentially two characters who we didn't know, possessing characters we know but aren't really "there".

But the overall tone, style, and characterisation was really enjoyable, and actually makes me look forward to reading more in the series.

[Sohxpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the most engaging of the BTVS novels I have read so far. I really enjoyed the elements of Chinese and Japanese vampire lore, I wouldn't mind reading more about the respective lores. It was an entertaining read. The characterisations were pretty decent, it felt fairly true to the show. The banter between Cordelia and Xander was spot on. I think Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder may be my favorite TV tie-in authors.

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Buffy, my guilty pleasure! Japanese vampire sorcerer inhabits the body of Willow only to duke it out with the Mountain King, Sanno who inhabits the body of Xander. Will Buffy and Angel save the day? Of course!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. 4.5 stars, think I read this wrong chronologically though, Xander and Cordy are still together. Loved the history aspect and the involvement of Giles & Angel. An original story. Would recommend.

[Halcyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik denk dat dit één van de mooiste covers is van de Buffy-boeken die naar het Nederlands vertaald geworden zijn vroeger.

In dit verhaal krijgt Buffy af te rekenen met een Chinese vampier en een Japanse Bergkoning, die bezit hebben genomen van Willow en Xander. Tezamen met Giles, Cordelia en Angel probeert Buffy haar vrienden te redden vooraleer ze er allemaal het leven bij laten... En het was close.

Zeer nostalgisch voor wie de tv-serie van vroeger kent. Eén van de betere vertaalde verhalen.

Veel leesgenot!

[Charisa Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been fun reading about Buffy and friends since the show ended. This one was one of the better stories

[Loucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quel plaisir de lire une histoire inédite !

[Jess]

Awesome. This takes me back to childhood and I love. Not as good as the episodes and the writings simple but I do still live Buffy