Coyote Moon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Author: John Vorholt

First Published: 1998

Pages: 176 

Ebook Publisher: Simon Pulse

Ebook Date: Sept. 2017

I was so impressed with the first Buffy YA original novel, Halloween Rain that I couldn't help myself and jumped almost immediately back into the Buffy-verse and try out the next original story to be published by Pocket Books in January 1998, Coyote Moon.

This one is set between the conclusion of  Season 1 and the start of Season 2 of the television series, albeit with a non-canonical reference to Buffy having spent the summer in Sunnydale rather than in Los Angeles with her father as shown on TV.

There are some notable exceptions. This book does not feature vampire-with-a-soul, Angel, in any way other than references to him being Buffy's boyfriend; and Cordelia Chase has a very minor part in the proceedings. I initially thought that Buffy's Watcher, Rupert Giles was going to be a no-show as well, but he does eventually play an active role in the drama that unfolds.

Coyote Moon centres around a carnival that has arrived in Sunnydale during the summer. Apparently it has become a regular feature, visiting the town for many many years. Both Xander and Willow are keen to go and sample the delights of the fair, but Buffy is less convinced and considers the whole thing a bit childish. Her friends tell her that the carnival is a great place to mix with others of their own age, and many kids turn up just to show off, or flirt with each other. Reluctantly she agrees to accompany them, seeing as the summer break is about to end and the spectre of returning to high school is looming.

Halloween Rain (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Author: Christopher Golden & Nancy Holder

First Published: 1995

Pages: 118 (163pp)

Ebook Publisher: Simon Pulse

Ebook Date: Dec. 2017

Sometimes you just need a fast, fun, satisfying read that doesn't tax your brain too much and can be consumed over a weekend or less. I had a hankering for precisly such an experience so plumped up £2.99 for the eBook of Buffy the Vampire: Halloween Rain by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. It was perfect - a real blast from start to finish, full of the vim and vigour that the television series exhibited.

A Buffy book first appeared in 1992 - but this was only the novelisation of the original movie from that same year starring Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer and Luke Perry, with Kirsty Swanson as the eponymous Slayer. Following the success of the television series, it wasn't long before paperbacks began to appear on bookshelves. And for fans, it was a surprising combination of novelisations of the TV episodes, as well as original novels. Many fans highly praise the novelisations - and quite rightly. Some of them expand upon the broadcast versions very well. But for most of us, with re-runs and streaming services so readily available, it is original fiction that draws us in to buy tie-in paperbacks. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer books have been written for both the young adult market as well as the mainstream market and flourished in both. This is no mean feat, I remember buying these books back in the day for my partner who was a huge fan (she still has an Angel mousemat I bought for her years ago) and there where a steady diet of books up until 2008. Even as recently as 2019 saw a number of books attempting to reboot the franchise with a new Slayer taking over from Buffy.

For those uninitiated, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the story of schoolgirl, Buffy Summers, the last in a line of young women known as "Vampire Slayers", or "Slayers". These young females or "Chosen Ones", are fated to battle against vampires, demons and other such forces of darkness that arise. But Buffy Summers wants to live the life of a normal teenager before learning to accept her destiny. As with all the previous Slayers, Buffy is aided by a "Watcher" (School librarian, Rupert Giles) who teaches and trains her to become a better Slayer. Buffy surrounds herself with her circle of loyal friends who later become known as the "Scooby Gang".