Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I came about five years later to the story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I did manage to see the original film on videotape before the series started, but just barely. I offer no excuses other than a mental inability to believe that the story of valley girl meets vampire might have more to it than the usual trashy horror flick. Okay, I admit I was badly mistaken. The dialog was far better than I expected, Buffy's character was complex and interesting, and the film turned out to be both funny and spooky. Nor can one fault Joss Whedon's new take on vampire mythology.I picked up this novelization of the film, the first real Buffy book, to have as a reference. It has been long enough so that I no longer remember the film. I had just read the graphic novel version that retells the tale with Sarah Michele Gellar instead of Kristy Swanson and suspected that it had taken a few liberties with the script (it did). At fewer than 200 pages, the book actually takes less time to read than it does to watch the film. Moreover, I thought it would be fun. And so it was.The plot is now so well known it hardly bears repeating. Girl cheerleads and shops, girl meets watcher, watcher trains girl, vampires try to eat high school, girl kills vampires. The girl is unusual in that, under the disguise of a young woman who makes shallowness an art, we find someone who is unexpectedly bright, has a strong personality and a surprising sense of duty. In fact, the film questions many of our images of Buffy's lifestyle, from geeks to basketball stars, and does it well.Richie Cusick does a great job of turning a script into a novel, which it the difficult matter of turning atmosphere and scene into meaningful words. As I have already indicated, this is a quick, enjoyable read, and is surprisingly hard to put down. I you are an aficionado, or simply want to find out what all the excitement has been about, this is a good book to have.

Okay, the movie was admittedly campy. But that and this book introduced us to Buffy and her destiny. I first received this book in 1994 (long after I saw the movie) and was really psyched to hear there would be a TV show (and more opportunites) for books. Anybody who wants to be introducted to the Buffy series still should start at this book. Although both it and the screen play list her as a Senior (when the TV series debuted, she was a sophomore) it is still worth the purchase. I still read the book to this day and the plot's attraction remains strong.

I just got this the other day, and I couldn't put it down! It's a little better than the movie! Richie is a great author, and if your a fan of hers or the movie, you should get this book!

As usual this is an excellant book. Richie is THE best teen/horrer auther out there and you should definitely read this book.

This book was brill. I read the first chapter and the next and the next, I couldn't put it down. It had an interesting part in every page. I collect Buffy books and I have to say this is one of my faves. The only bad thing is it doesn't have Willow, Angel, Xander, Cordelia or Oz. A must for any Buffy fan.