New Faith novel, "Go Ask Malice" positively reviewed by Sci-fi-Online.
The novel by Robert Joseph Levy has only recently been released. It also has four glowing reviews from people on Amazon.
The book is also out in the UK (for Amazon page see here.
Now I maybe biased because I'm a massive fan of Faith's character, but I thought this was a superb read, the best Buffyverse novel I've read in several years. It avoids the continuity problems of so many Buffyverse novels and instead bravely paves some interesting continuity of it's own. As far as I could see there were no contradictions with Buffyverse canon (the one possible exception being that the book states that Faith's 17th birthday is December 14th 1997, which makes her about one month older than Buffy - I always got the impression Faith was younger than Buffy, is that right? But maybe that's just because she acted immaturely).
I previously said on Whedonesque that Pocket Books were not making it's Buffy books adult enough. Well they proved me wrong in this case - the book features very dark themes, and as might have been expected Faith's past contains a great deal of sex and violence.
This is not a light read by any means, and one of my friends who read it, disliked it for being too miserable. However the events in Faith's life before she arrived in Sunnydale.. which eventually led her down the dark path she took in Buffy Season Three, were never going to be a "happily-ever-after, candy mountain place where all our dreams come true".
It's too bad that many fans who might have really appreciated this novel won't read it because of bad experiences with past Buffyverse novels. But that is Pocket Book's fault for allowing so many of the Buffyyverse novels on the shelves without adequate quality control.
I just hope this and Blackout sell well so that Pocket Books can see they don't have to try to do the impossible and recapture the magic in a bottle that was "Buffy" onscreen. Spotlighting on one character, IMHO, really seems to be the way that Pocket Books should be going. I'd be pleased if they can continue to greenlight more books that expand on the mythology, and reveal more about our Buffy peeps, especially ones that did not get explored as much as they could have during the shows' runs (a Giles novel anyone?).
July 07 2006
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[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2006-07-07 17:32 ]
Buffyfantic | July 07, 10:23 CET
They got her birthday right as per "Five by Five" but going by that review it sounds like Giles's parentage may go against Tales of the Vampires. Then again, trying to figure out family trees makes me nauseous.
Jackal | July 07, 10:36 CET
paxomen | July 07, 10:59 CET
Jackal | July 07, 11:09 CET
Liking the positive reviews. I don't usually read the Buffy books but shall give this one ago.
Also cheers for bringing to attention that article about Buffyverse canon. It's got info on lots of interesting Whedonverse tidbits like "Corrupt". But I'm very sad to see that Muffy the Vampire Layer along with some other high quality films ("Buffy the Vampire Layer" and "Muffy the Vampire Slayer") have all been ruled uncanon.
robocod | July 07, 11:24 CET
yourlibrarian | July 07, 11:25 CET
I too, had always thought Faith was the younger slayer. But I guess age never can really tell the maturity of someone in this field of work. I had also gotten the impression Faith went to Sunndale looking for Buffy, not just running blindly , but that is such a minor thing in a big sea of plenty.
I thought the part about where this dairy was found and the stalking of one of the objects found with it was particularly both intresting and funny.
Donna Troy | July 07, 11:56 CET
From the synopsis: Enter Diana Dormer, a Harvard professor and representative of the Watchers Council who has come to tell Faith of her destiny, to train her, to prepare her for what is to come; Faith is the Chosen One.
This implies that Faith wasn't told there was another slayer (until later). Why not? Of course, Kendra and Buffy weren't told either, so there seems to have been a consistent policy on the part of the Watchers Council to keep the slayers (and their watchers) ignorant of each other.
EDIT: I couldn't resist--I've just ordered it.
[ edited by tichtich on 2006-07-07 19:08 ]
tichtich | July 07, 11:58 CET
And I doubt those are stories a watcher tells another slayer. Nor was Faith researchy girl.Thought I guess she could have heard from a demon snitch or hanging out in a demon bar. Maybe eavsdropping on a COW phone call.
I am thinking a Watcher would not want a Slayer to focus too much on her death or the fact that if she dies another is called right away. It would make the slayer careless. I don't think all Slayers had a death wish. Watchers want to be the Slayer's whole world. Like with Kendra. Talking about past Slayers would only make them real people not history and bring up questions about fault.
Donna Troy | July 07, 12:14 CET
(spoilers follow for those who havn't finished the book) Faith was trying to go to Sunnydale to meet Buffy. On page 231, she trys to buy a ticket to Sunnydale, but she doesn't have enough money and can only get to New York. She must have spent the whole summer and beyond running from Kakistos from place to place, ultimately aiming to arrive in Sunnydale (which she does in "Faith, Hope and Trick")
Dalton | July 07, 12:27 CET
paxomen | July 07, 13:06 CET
As an aside, keeping the Slayers in the dark as much as possible seems pretty consistent with the Council's past actions. Makes sense not to want the super-powered hero types to get together just in case they decide to go it alone (the Council's clearly a bit nervous about the Slayers actually thinking for themselves and getting out from under their thumb - see for instance 'Checkpoint' - though I guess with some reason - see for instance 'Damage' ;).
Saje | July 07, 15:51 CET
themayor | July 07, 16:20 CET
I just wanted to thank Dalton for posting this and everyone for their kind words. This book was a blast to write, especially because I first started watching Buffy beginning with Season Three (well, actually with the Season Two finale, which was more like a "what the hell is going on and why haven't I been watching this show" kind of thing), and Faith was immediately my favorite character; I've always had a special place in my heart for her. Writing in her voice was daunting and humbling and I can only hope that you find I've done her justice.
rjl | July 07, 18:06 CET
It makes me wonder if you are this good with such broken characters like Faith, what you could do with someone like Xander.
Donna Troy | July 07, 18:36 CET
fanbuoyant | July 07, 23:10 CET
Funny, I always thought that Faith was older than Buffy - just goes to show that no set of two eyes will see the same thing the same way!
Hey rjl, thanks for posting! This sounds right up my alley as Faith is one of the few characters that I was fascinated by from the start and I've always been intrigued by her backstory. This is going on my list for sure.
gorramit | July 07, 23:20 CET
the ninja report | July 07, 23:29 CET
[ edited by themayor on 2006-07-08 18:53 ]
themayor | July 08, 11:52 CET
Eric G | July 08, 23:29 CET