octavia_cade's Reviews (2.64k)

I read and reviewed the three novels making up this omnibus separately, so just a brief overview here. Two of the stories - Coyote Moon and Night of the Living Rerun - earned one star each and deservedly so. That this omnibus ranks two stars is due entirely to the third story, Alice Henderson's Portal Through Time, which was significantly better and more enjoyable. I gave it three stars, so it dragged the omnibus ranking up by main force.

Honestly, reading this omnibus is not worth the effort. If you like BtVS, you're better off getting Portal individually for a quick fun story. That way you don't have to suffer through the other two.

Significantly better than the two other Buffy tie-in novels I've read recently (although that's not exactly difficult, as both of them were pretty awful). It's also kind of an achievement in a subjective sort of way, as Portal Through Time is, unsurprisingly, all about time travel, which is something that generally doesn't appeal that much to me. But I liked it here, partly because Henderson seems to have gone to some trouble with historical detail (the Civil War section seemed strongest, though my knowledge of that period is minimal so what do I know).

I note that the author has a Masters in folklore and mythology, so that might account for the historical detail and the difference in quality between this book and the other two; there certainly seems to have been more thought put into this one. It's just been written at a higher level all round. Fingers crossed this is the case going forward with other novels from this franchise!

Second Buffy tie-in novel, second one-star rating. Why are they so dire? The series was awesome and scary and witty, the books are... not. They're written at such a low level. Infodump in the middle, idiotic ending. The plot is deeply unconvincing (that's putting it kindly) and full of mistakes - why is Buffy saying that she knows what death is like when the Master is still alive? And the less said about how this book presents the Master the better. I was cringing, and not in a good way.

The tone in this one is the biggest culprit - it's trying too hard to be clever and funny every second sentence, and not really succeeding at either. Buffy herself is straining for laughs every line, like she's been transformed into a one-woman gag machine. TV Buffy was witty, but it wasn't her sole characteristic and it wasn't hammered to death. That low level I was talking about? This book reads to me as if its target audience were 10 year old boys, and reluctant readers at that - this is an audience that needs more books, don't get me wrong, but it's not what I expect from Buffy.

I did enjoy this, just not as much as I expected. The setting was fantastic, very original I thought (have never come across something similar) and I was really interested in the way the two cities interacted, and how the citizenry of both coped with what is really a very odd situation. When I read about the setting in the blurb on the back, I knew straight away that this was a book I had to try. And yet, and yet...

I've spent the last hour or so since I've finished this book trying to figure out why I don't rate this very original, very competent work higher than three stars. And the simple, unkind fact is that, aside from the marvellous setting, there were times I thought this a bit dull, really. Part of that is inescapably genre: murder mysteries do not fill me with the joys of spring at the best of times, and this is no exception. But also it was character, for it seemed to me as if all the character building went into the cities, leaving none for, well, the actual people populating them. Who were a bit bland and cookie cutter - I feel as if I've read all these people before. An hour later, for instance, I cannot remember a single one of their names or identifying characteristics, past basic roles like "cop".

I'm going through my bookshelves at the moment, trying to whittle them down so that some books can be sent off to better homes. I'm keeping this one. I'll certainly read it again... but probably not for a while, and then only for the setting. Which, if I haven't said it enough, is wonderful.

Fun read, if not entirely original with its "Greek Gods are here and having adventures" storyline. Still there's some thought gone into the Mysteries, at least it seems so (knowing pretty much nothing about them as I do, they appeared convincing). I liked Selene a lot, and I really liked her relationship with her brother - that was the heart of the story for me, and didn't get as much attention as I would have liked. In contrast, am really not feeling Theo. I'm sure he's a decent bloke, but I'm just not seeing why Selene would find him so attractive.

Easy, fast-paced read. I really did like the heroine, Millie, who has BPD and is a double amputee besides. I liked her gumption and her level of self-awareness. I can't comment on the presentation of her mental illness as I really know nothing about her particular diagnosis, but it came across as well-researched and thoughtful and I had a great deal of empathy for her.

But fairies just aren't my jam. I keep trying, on and off, but I'm never particularly excited to read about them and Borderline didn't do anything to change that. Not the author's fault, she's just facing an uphill battle with me as audience here. Readers who are into the whole fairy court thing will probably rate this higher.

This was the first Neil Gaiman book I read - many, many years ago - and I remember loving it. I read it again today, and while I think the concept and the execution is still so wonderful, it doesn't have the emotional core that I get from some of his later works.

To start with the good points: I really loved how the city was portrayed in this. Granted, I've never been to New York but I got a real sense of it as a place from this. And the idea behind the story was really interesting.

However, there did seem to be a plot hole. I can't understand why Asterel couldn't see her daughter. I get that it was explained as Sarah not staying two days old forever, and that Asterel couldn't see her older face... but it's not like Sarah was two days old one day and eleven years the next. The change would have been infinitesimal, and if Asterel had been "looking" at her every day she should have incorporated those near-invisible changes the next time she looked at her (which would presumably have been the next day). I mean, I imagine she could see someone she knew if they were wearing different clothes than the last time she saw them, and that's a much bigger change that that between, say, a two day old and a three day old baby.

Alright, so I'm picky. But it seemed a plot hole. And the ending didn't much do it for me... the bait and switch, the sudden onset of extra powers. Also the father... with the best will in the world I couldn't take him or his motivations seriously.

I did like that the dog got a better home, though.

Ok, here's the thing. As always, Hamilton's got a very smooth, flowing style. Her books are so easy to read, I tend to get through them quite quickly! But for all the brownie points that gets, it doesn't make up for the content.

And it's here that I'm prejudiced. I HATE love triangles. Hate them. They fill me with loathing, always have. This book is one giant triangle. Which is super if that's your thing (I know some people love them). If it's not, you'll be less impressed.

I usually try to separate preferences from quality - there have been books I've given high star ratings even though they don't do it for me, but there's a difference between indifference resulting from not-my-taste, and this. Love triangles get a bad rap because all too often every person involved comes off badly - and that's the case here. Anita, Richard, and Jean-Claude have all become emo, love-struck and absolutely insufferable. I don't mind unlikeable characters. They can be very effective. But when I'm finding ALL the characters less likable that's a problem.

I don't want to read about werewolves tearing sheets and screaming because their girlfriend's slept with a vampire. I want blood and creepiness and horror! And when there's such a fabulously hideous and creepy horrifying thing like Sabin about, it's frustrating to see him get such short shrift in favour of a such a banal thing as Yet Another Triangle.

I liked this. I think, from the standpoint of the series as a whole, that it's mostly filler, but I can enjoy filler well enough when it entertains me and this did.

One of the positives of this series for me is the depiction of London, but I didn't mind the rural break. I also thought that, plot-wise, it was a lot more coherent than the last book, which got it extra points. With a different setting comes a different supporting character mix, however. It's safe to say that, likeable as they are, I don't find Beverley Brook and Dominic nearly as entertaining as Nightingale and Lesley.