Geek Syndicate Issue 5 | Page 56

Geek Syndicate BOOK REVIEW Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Making of a Slayer Image © Titan Books, 2012 back at the iconic TV series. Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Making of a Slayer explores the origins and history of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – or BTVS for those in the know – and examines the story arcs created throughout the seven seasons of the TV show. AS well as this, the book briefly touches on the continuation of Buffy’s story through graphic novels published since the show’s end. This is a book that is made for either the hardcore fan of the show, who wants to collect anything and everything BTVS related, or those who may need an introduction to the world of Sunnydale. As someone whose interest in the show falls somewhere in between, I found the book to be slightly superficial. Yes, there is plenty within the book to make us feel old – I was nearing the end of secondary school when Buffy died for the second time – but there has been so much examination and exploration of the themes and issues within the show in other books and online and this book barely scratches the surface. Yes, the book is specifically about the making of the show, but the facts and information within it are available on IMD, and more in depth analysis can easily be found with a quick online search. On top of this, there is a sad lack of cast and crew interviews from which a book about the show’s creation would definitely have benefited from. That being said, Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Making of a Slayer is a book that will definitely make those who have seen the show in the past want to watch it again – nostalgia is a powerful tool – but it is too in-depth and spoiler filled for someone who has never seen the show to benefit from it. There are detailed sections on Hush and Once More With Feeling – arguably the two best known episodes of BTVS – which feels as though it is taking advantage of critical acclaim to win over newcomers to the show. The book treads a fine line that does not always work and will leave the reader wanting to return to the show for more detailed answers. In all, Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Making of a Slayer is a light and superficial look at one of the best loved TV shows of the past twenty years. It is beautifully bound and has tons of fantastic images, but it simultaneously leaves too much unsaid. Author: Nancy Holder Publisher: Titan Books Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon and featuring an ass-kicking heroine and her “Scooby Gang” of friends as they fight vampires and other supernatural horrors in their home town of Sunnydale, which just happens to sit over a Hellmouth, celebrates its 15th birthday in 2012. This fullcolour, lavishly illustrated book is the perfect birthday present, with quotes from the cast and crew and behind the scenes tidbits from all seven seasons of the show and beyond. It is hard to believe that it has been fifteen years since Buffy The Vampire Slayer first graced our TV screens, and a full nine years since the Scooby Gang saved the world for the last time. To celebrate this milestone, Titan Books and Twentieth Century Fox bring us Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Making of a Slayer, a hardback book that takes a look 56 Brogan Hayes Rating: GGGGG