Buffy: Demons of the HellmouthReview by Paul Fiander
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Author: Nancy Holder
ISBN: 9781783293384 Published by Titan Books Publication date: 4 September 2015 Illustration detail: Colour art and photos throughout |
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Within the world of fiction there are a more than a few places where life expectancy is pretty low for the average Joe. Ones which instantly spring to mind are King Landing and Gotham, but there is one place where you are pretty much going to suffer and that’s Sunnydale. The town with a name as bright as a Buffy smile goes by another name and that’s Hellmouth. The name is self-explanatory and over the years it has paid host to a number of things that go bump in the night from Vampires to Demons and a whole lot more besides. Thankfully though there was a Watcher in the shape of Giles who trained and armed the Slayer aka Buffy Summers both with weapons and knowledge.
Now this book deals with one half of Giles’s role, the knowledge giving side. With a forward by Anthony Stewart Head this books reads like a handbook on destroying all the nasties that Buffy and the Scooby gang ever encountered (during the show). There are 3 main parts the first covers Vampires the second Demons and the third Other Forces of Darkness. Each section is created in alphabetical order much like you would expect from a librarian with a little touch from the gang on occasions in the margins. This almost studious look at the material feels genuine and Nancy Holder has done a great job in mimicking the voice of Giles throughout. Each entry is accompanied by an image of some variety most look like stills from the show but there are also some pencilled drawings. This will help to jog the memory as Buffy did face a lot of baddies in her time. Most entries are one page with the image and text but some are larger. One of these entries is the one devoted to the Gentlemen complete with the eerie Rhyme that was part of the opening to “Hush” my favourite Buffy episode of all time. The rest of the entry is obviously more matter of fact but I love the fact this was left in there to really make you remember the episode. |
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Elsewhere we get our memories jogged by the great and bad of Sunnydale and thankfully Faith has a double page all to herself. with a few nice quips from Buffy in the margins again.
As you can see from the cover image this is a lovely presented book with the pages resembling worn manuscript. It’s a lovely book to pore over and great for any budding slayers out there as within its pages you should be able to find the answer to all of your monster slaying needs. Rhyme about "The Gentlemen"Can't even shout, can't even cry
The gentlemen are coming by Looking in windows, knocking on doors They need to take seven and they might take yours Can't call to mom, Can't say a word You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard. |
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Review copy provided by Publisher
