The Angel Unseen: Burning Bk. 1 (Buffy/Angel Crossover)

If it weren't for the little details this would be a great book, it probably still is, I'm just a perfectionist.


Not Worth The Paper It's Printed On   March 10, 2002
 2 out of 7 found this review helpful

I like Buffy The Vampire Slayer ... that I reviewed the series 1 DVD box set so positively is evidence of that. I like Angel, admittedly nowhere near as much as Buffy, but I still like it as it, being a spin-off, is set in the same universe as Buffy and adds to the overall story and interest in the Buffy universe. I also like the idea of crossovers where a particular scenario is crossed with another one in what is usually, or should be I feel, an attempt to investigate what will happen when that is done ... much like we have done with our Star Trek vs. Babylon 5 crossover series ("Enterprise In Babylon"). Certainly I feel a "crossover" should cross two different scenarios to even merit the title.

It was with that in mind that, when visiting a book store in Canterbury, I picked up this book and wondered exactly how a "crossover" could be written when there isn't a great deal to cross?

The book, as a story, seemed competently enough written but I nevertheless failed to enjoy it. Sure it had vampires, fights, some witticisms and a fairly cohesive story line but that, when writing something that has already been demonstrated as excellent is not enough. It needs to reflect the real characters in the series, their humour, their smart-aleck teenage quips, the insight into teenage angst the series (to my mind) so accurately portrays and unfortunately this book doesn't.

Quite why the authors decided to call this a "crossover" series is beyond me as, with Angel being a direct Buffy spin-off and set in the same "Buffyverse", there is very little of interest that can be explored ... all the story does is bring two sets of characters that already know each other well into a single story line.

So the book is not really a crossover but is reasonably competently written ... I say competently but it is not written excellently. I have read a fair number of fiction books in my life, most of them science fiction, some of them humorous, some of them horror and even a few that are spin-offs and I would be willing to recommend many of them for various reasons ... unfortunately this book isn't one of them.

Not only does the story inadequately reflect the characters I have come to know and love in Buffy & Angel TV series but the author's also play a rather nasty trick on their readers.

By around a third of the way through the book I was becoming restless and losing interest, by halfway through I wanted to read something else, anything else and the only things that kept me going were the fact that I wanted to review the book and needed to complete it to do so fairly and that IK wanted to see the storylines, such as they were, brought to a conclusion, I wanted the 't's' crossed and the 'i's' dotted, I wanted the story bought to a reasonable conclusion.

But even that small mercy was denied me ... as I started stubbornly into the final chapter I began to realise that there were simply too many different aspects of the story to bring together and I began, instead, to wonder which would be concluded and which wouldn't? The answer, I am sad to say, was none ... the book is not a complete story and all of it's thread lines are apparently to be resolved later.

This both surprised and disappointed me ... nothing was intimated on the cover to suggest this (though I realised it was part of a trilogy), it was a book and by rights it should have had some of its components brought to a conclusion. Sadly this was not to be so, the one possible saving for the book, the authors chose to deny its readers.

I'm sorry Nancy, I'm sorry Jeff but not only will I not be recommending this book (and by implication its sequels) but I would not be willing to part with any more of my hard earned monies to subject myself to more of your work.


Buffy and Angel take on magical monsters and an L.A. gang   November 19, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Buffy and Angel do not learn that they are in a crossover story until fairly late in "The Burning," the first book in the "Unseen" trilogy by Nancy Holder and Jeff Mariotte, which is to be expected since there are two more books to go (Yes, I did not start the first book until the third one was published because I do not like to wait for the next volume). It is the summer after the downfall of the Initiative and Buffy and Willow are trying to help Salma de la Navidad, a fellow student at UC-Sunnydale, who is upset that her brother Nicky has disappeared. From this rather simple beginning the Slayer becomes involved in a case involving magic and gangs as well as invisible monsters. Meanwhile, in L.A., Angel is working on a case that he thinks involves poltergeists, but which really involves supernatural abilities, corrupt cops and the Russian Mafiya. When Buffy discovers that what is happening in Sunnydale has its roots in L.A., she visits Angel's turf. Only at the very end of the book does our unhappy couple finally discover the two cases are related, which is about where you would expect the connection to be made given this is a trilogy. Actually, the subplot involving Cordelia and Wesley dealing with a group of young girls who are vampire wannabes is more interesting at this point. Of course there is even a hint that this all links up with the main plot lines as well.

The strengths of "The Burning" as the opening volume in this trilogy are as follows. First, the mystery appears to be big enough to give Buffy, Angel and the rest of the gang plenty to do. Second, the evil this time around is magic rather than vampires, which is nice because it gives Willow more to do. The best new character in the novel is Dona Pilar, the bruja of the Navidad family who has some opportunities to take our red-headed wicca in training under her wing. Third, the large number of Hispanic characters work well, not only because it introduces some nice mystical elements into the Buffy mythos, but also because there is a large Hispanic population in Southern California which really deserves to be represented by more than the Inca Mummy Girl. Fourth, the story gets Buffy out of Sunnydale. I have always been in favor of Buffy road trips, especially after "The Ghost Roads" trilogy. I know L.A. is only a hop, skip and a jump for the Slayer, but new turf is new turf. Finally, I love it when Buffy uses the name "Anita" as a cover. Nothing like a good homage to make my day.

The main problem with "The Burning" has to do with the relationship of the main characters. Riley is edgy about Buffy and Angel, Buffy is edgy about Angel and Cordelia, Tara is edgy about Willow and the known universe, etc. Yes, most of this makes sense at face value, but there is a sort of tentativeness to all this angst. These feelings get repeated over and over again without anything really happening and I think I know why. The major problem for dealing with the relationships on "Buffy" and "Angel" is that things are so fluid on the show that by the time one of these novels comes out, things can be radically different. By the time "The Burning" came out, Riley was long gone. This sort of forces the authors of these books to tread water with the characters since you cannot really create any epic moments between them because they are reserved for the two television series. So when Buffy is miffed with Angel because he does not drop everything to come help her as soon as she shows up in "his" town, it comes across as motivated more by plot concerns ("Buffy is mad at Angel in Book 1, but then they make up in Book 3") than true characterization. However, Holder and Mariotte have set up some solid elements to be explored in the rest of the trilogy, which is enough to justify four stars at this point. Now we shall see what happens next in "Door to Alternity." True, Holder is co-writing this trilogy with someone other than Christopher Golden, but she is still the finest belly dancer writing Buffy books today.


Guess which two books are next on my wish list...   November 17, 2001
If you buy The Burning then make sure you buy the other two books in this series, because I didn't put this one down untill I had finished reading it, I am now pining to find out what happens in the next instalment.

If like me you have only started watching Buffy in the last couple of series then you will be happy as this book is set between series 4 and 5, so the scooby gang is complete with Riley and Tara, and Angel's buddies include Cordy Wesey and there is even a brief reference to Gunn. Nancy Holder and Jeff Mariotte have proved themselves to be great novelists within the Buffy/Angel genre independently, and together they have yet another success on their hands ( incidentally, if you are expecting Buffy and Angel's reunion to be explosive then BE PATIENT! The authors really make you wait.)


Takes a while to get into   August 26, 2001
I like the book but it does take quite a while to get into. As the reader has to flip between Sunnydale and L.A it can get quite confusing in places. I like the fact it has been set after season 4 and the whole crossover thing is a good idea. All in all I suggest any avid Buffy/Angel fan should read it.