Revenant (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

By the time I finished reading this Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel I kept thinking there was too much of one thing and not nearly enough of another. With all the weaponry the Chinese gang brings to town, you would have to think that somebody else besides Angel was going to be hit by all those hail of bullets (nice touch by Odom having Angel's face get messed up for a while in the story). Guns are a touchy item in the Buffy universe, where only the occasional vampire (Darla in "Angel" comes to mind) bothers to try and shoot it out with the Slayer. This is because it is awfully hard to get close enough to kick somebody in the chest when they are shooting an Uzi at you. That being said, I have to admit I was surprised that Mayor Wilkins was not more of a presence in the story. After all, Sunnydale is his town and has been for well over a century. Consequently, it very hard to believe he and the Dark Forces he serves would not do something about these invaders. Of course, this would open up the opportunity for some sort of temporary alliance, but at the very least the Mayor should be doing a lot more to defend his turf. Despite these caveats, "Revenant" is an above average Buffy novel and I will be interested to see what Odom comes up with the next time around.

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Unbelievable!   May 29, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This book was the very first Buffy book that I read; already being a massive fan of the hit show, I thought that I'd give the books a go. A Chinese gang hits Sunnydale and sparks off racial tension in the town. Naturally, Buffy is worried, but best friend Willow, is even more so. Her new friend Jia Li has been feeling the backlash from the hostility: it's ripping her family to shreds. Jia stays true to her ancient Chinese customs but her brother, the angry Lok, is prepared to throw away his Chinese customs for the modern lifestyle. While Giles and Buffy try to find out who is behind the gang warfare, more tension mounts as Willy's bar is attacked and there is a shooting incident at the local mini-mart. This book is beautifully written by the fantastic Mel Odom, with Angel also featuring in the book. This has to be one of the most tense books in the Buffy series that I have read. This book will have your blood pumping, your heart racing and you on the edge of your seat. Believe me, it'll be hard putting the book down, even to get a little shut eye!


Entertaining and unputdownable!   November 13, 2001
Anna Funnell (anna.funnell@cableinet.co.uk) (Essex, England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This was the first Buffy book I read (following recommendations from people who'd read lots) and as with many TV tie-in novels, I expected it to be pretty pathetic. To my surprise, it was fantastic! The characters are beautifully drawn and really do feel like those we see on the screen, the quality of writing is excellent, and the story kept me on my toes right up till the end. My only criticism: too many pages of fight descriptions - what's over in a few seconds on TV takes far too long to read (and follow) in a book. But that's not going to stop me reading it again...and again...and again...!


Good!   April 10, 2001
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This was a very good original novelisation of Buffy which was made very enjoyable by the extensive character/setting descriptions. The narrative, however, didn't completely satisfy me because it left a few questions unanswered, but on the whole, I enjoyed this book, particularly because it made very good use of Chinese culture.