Queen of the Slayers

[SpikedBuffy]

"Queen of the Slayers"
by: Nancy Holder


Introduction to the storyline:

Excerpt from the back of "Queen of the Slayers"
With the closing of the Hellmouth and the awakening of hundreds of potential slayers, Buffy Summers thought she had earned herself a much-deserved break. But the thrill of victory is short-lived. The forces of darkness are not ones to graciously accept defeat, and the collective rage unites disparate and powerful parties more eager than ever to reclaim dominance.

Willow's magickal distribution of the Slayer essence left girls across the world discovering their latent power. Giles races to reorganize the now much-needed Watchers Council, and the Scoobies relocate to Europe. And there, in Rome, Buffy is drawn to the Immortal - a charismatic, if inscrutable, figure. But then comes word that a number of fresh Slayers are being coerced to join an army of Slayers governed by the mysterious "Queen of the Slayers," an awesome evil determined to claim the intoxicating Slayer essence for herself.

Xander is sent to Africa to learn more about the origin of the slayer essence. Instead he returns to report that, alarmingly, there's not enough good in the world to counteract the overabundance of evil and that the deciding apocalypse is drawing much too near. Alliances are formed and loyalties betrayed as it comes down to Slayer versus Slayer, leading to an ultimate battle of champions - from Buffy's past and present. And then an unimaginable gift arrives...

Now, come on, I dare you. Read that and not want to read this book.

:)

What are you're thoughts on this book. Originally considered the 'season eight' of Buffy, now contradicting that of the comic season, how do you view this book?

[The Chosen]

I got this for my birthday about a year ago. I thought it was so cool how Nancy Holder tried to depict what a canonical season eight would have been like. I'm glad she did, because it introduced us to things we will see in the actual season eight. The army, yadayada. I really enjoy her writing style. Although Faith "whooped" and said "Yo" way to many times.

But I honestly can say I skipped over many of the parts about the bad guys. And I did really like Belle. I think I liked her so much because of her name. Belle. Belle! I like that name, I guess.

Great book. Worth a read. I consider it an alternate timeline. Like the Wishverse! (Not the Wishverse.)

[Angels baby101]

I actually loved this book although like The choosen... I kinda skimmed the bad guys parts lol... I was more interested in Buffy and them lol.

I thought it was interesting about how nancy had the Immortal double cross Buffy and the part at the end i loved the ending sorta... was kinda really really sad to almost made me cry lol.

It was such a great book though makes me wanna read it agian... gah now i gotta go to borders for a new Buffy book lol

[TabulaRasa]

I thought it was great. I think tho that chapter five was a wee bit too long. The Antonio introduction chapter, I do believe that was 5, coulda been 6 I forget now. But otherwise I was excited to read something that took off right after season 7.

[Buffy obsessed fan]

I love this book, it's my favourite book of ALL time. I haven't read it in a while though, and when I did read it, I hadn't seen season seven yet, so I had basically no clue what was going on, now that I HAVE seen season seven, it makes a lot more sense. Some parts of this book were a bit hard to get a hold of, but all in all, it's a great book :]

[Nabila]

Nancy Holder loves slayers, but Buffy holds a special place in her heart. This is why she is my favourite Buffyverse novelist, along with Christopher Golden.

I had to start with the author because the tone of the book always reflect the feelings of the author for all the characters. And Holder writes Buffy with an almost reverent approach. She stays true to what Buffy represents, and her heart ,as in one of my favourite passages of Buffy in the last chapter of this book.

The four Champions stood poised for battle. The odds were unbelievable, and yet they prepared as if the fate of the world depended on defying those odds. The blue woman and the dying man were strangers to Buffy, but she would do anything, give anything to save them.

That's our Buffy.

And the ending is almost a whisper.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer raised her face to the dawn.
She was different, again. Not the same as all the other slayers. Again.
She touched her abdomen, closed her eyes, and communed with heroes.
She said to them, I will see you again.

The final chapters mostly made me teary-eyed. I love this book for the respect it gave our beloved characters, and for the great adventure of the exciting, dark times and places, and the villains that lived there.

I never expected to meet the Borgias in this book. Horrible people.

This book felt unfinished though. It is begging for a sequel. The Immortal, Ornella, and the Legion of Three are still on the loose. The casualties were all slayers from both sides. That's not fair. Those villains need to die. Preferably in the most horrid way.

Which of the villains did you hate the most? I hated them all but I hated Ornella the most because she was a slayer, and a very shallow person. I should hate the Immortal more because he betrayed Buffy, but he was just a businessman. And a coward. I thought that was why he waved to Willow. He must be thinking: Nothing personal cara, it's just business.

The Immortal may have turned out to be a disappointment eventually but I still chuckle at this line of thought from Buffy when they first meet

Like the dream, the thought came unbidden: The Immortal is a hottie.

I have read the S8 comics, not all, of course. I liked it but I feel this book is a better new beginning for S8. It's not about the scope, it's the story.

[punkypower]

Just finished QotS.

I really enjoyed the book overall. I felt she stayed true to the characters.
I tore through it, trying to see what would happen next.

That said..warning, warning, rant ahead! [and a spoiler for Angel]

why the fork did she have to ruin the Angel finale for me? ARGH! Here and there, I have been spoiled on pretty much all the deaths of the series, but I thought I could go into the finale unspoiled (well, except for the deaths of Lindsey and Wesley, which I found in the titles of threads). Now, even that's taken away from me. grr, grr, and GRRRRR!!!!

sorry, not trying to be a downer. :o

[untouched]

Well, I pretty much found that bad guys stuff boring and wanted to skip it at first but then I got used to them, and I liked the idea of Italy and all that.
I think she managed pretty well everything that we learned that was happening to Buffy in Angel season 5 and I liked the book in general cause it was the closest I had to a season 8 at the time. But that Angel and Spike thing - okaaay then lol

[Cangel]

Well, this skipping through the bad guy sections seems to be a more or less universal thing...I did it as well.
Other than that, I liked the book though. Of course at the time I read it I hadn't seen most of Angel, so I was utterly confused from stuff like the blue haired woman. Welcome cluelessness.
Maybe I should read this book again in the near future; last time I read it I was in Russia and had nothing else to do, so naturally I just finished it wayyy to fast and now I don't remember too much anymore.

[pernilleborup]

I have ordered the book and also Spark and burn, but I haven't gotten them yet.. But as soon as I do.. I order Spike and Dru, pretty maids :D

[untouched]

I ordered Heat a while ago but I haven't started reading it yet, just the first pages. Can anyone tell me if it gets interesting? lol
And I'm thinking of ordering Spark and Burn too.

[hazzard]

i'm reading queen of the slayers right now. i think it's quite good, and i'm glad it sticks to canon. i have not skipped any "bad guy parts," apparently contrary to everyone else haha.

[pernilleborup]

I am almost done.. I skip the bad guys part...boring stuff there XD

Like the Spuffiness Buffy has going

[untouched]

I can't see if there's Spuffy or Bangel in this book, I mean... SERIOUSLY? lol
I really need to discuss that with someone

[pernilleborup]

Buffy does think a lot 'bout Spike.... Not much Bangel in it.. Suits a good book :D

[untouched]

Wait till you get to the end ;)

[pernilleborup]

I've pre-read the end.. I do that with books. :O

[untouched]

haha that's no fun
But anyway, isn't it weird? And VERY, VERY wrong? lol

[pernilleborup]

So very very wrong!

And unreal...even for the Buffyverse...

[pernilleborup]

Just finished it :D

Must admit, I have a soft spot for the Anya and Tara moments

[Tranquillity]

I hated this book with a fiery passion. That was not Buffy; it was a cardboard cutout pretending to be Buffy! Baddies were lame, The Immortal was ikky and the ending was weird and cringe-worthy. Sorry to bring my poor opinion to the thread but this book gets my blood boiling - as much of the Buffy/Angel fiction does, unfortunately.

[hazzard]

i just finished this book, and i liked it better at the beginning than towards the end. the end was a little confusing and cheesy and the attention to the characters and their personalities and traits wasn't as good as the plot got thicker. so my rating is that queen of the slayers is ok. it has some good moments and interesting bad guys, but overall it was a little bit of a letdown. i started immortal and it already seems much better to me.

[sweetescape]

I actually read this book before seeing any of the Buffy seasons. But weirdly i had caught the final episode of season 7. I picked it up purely because i needed something to read and was in a rush. Personally having not seen any of Buffy i liked the book it got me into watching season 1 of Buffy just to see how it all started. Which got me hooked!
But having watched all of Buffy and Angel now i think that the ending isn't right it was just to weird...but the start of the book was good and i would be tempted to read other Buffy novels because of it.