Ghost Books

This book is a must read for any true horror fan. Its by far one of the best books ive ever read, A true page turner from start to finish.

This is not my kind of reading,it was very graphic, but it was a very good book. It held my attention from beginning to end. At the end of the book I wanted to know what happen to the people in the book. I was amazed that I finished it. The writer has a gift I hope he continues to pursue his writing, and in the future I hope to read something less graphic.

Wow, what a read!! My mind is still reeling from the wonderfully sadistic and twisted plot. The Author brings to life the darker side of obsession/love and all the other quaint emotions we wee humans experience in our pathetic struggles for happiness.

Wow, what a read!! The author portrays a full range of emotions and makes the characters feel as if you know them personally. You will experience their gains and losses as if you were one of them. The book will keep you on the edge till the very last page. I personally had to put it down and take a break from it in order to regroup my ravished senses. A must read for any Steven King fan or any one that is attracted to the darker side of reality.

I have a problem. I love vampire short stories. I'm not gothic or even (overtly) weird, but I am well on my way to having read every scrap of vamp short fiction ever written. So profit from my mis-spent youth, and buy this collection because it is by far the best of the best of what this genre has to offer.

There literally is something here to suit every taste. Other reviewers have been kind enough to list individual stories and how the various pieces are organized, so I will not repeat their work. Suffice it to say, even authors you think you know will surprise you.

I read Salem's Lot (the novel) and was not the least bit scared or even impressed, yet Stephen King's short story based on the same novel gave me chills and had me sleeping with the covers over my head. Tanith Lee delivers my favorite story in the anthology with a poignancy and beauty uncommon to the genre, and Anne Rice writes a superb gothic romance with more quality than even her earlier works.

More than the novel, the short story allows the reader of vampire fiction an undiluted taste of each author's true talent that leaves you more scared, more satiated, infected and thirsty for more.

Thirty tales of vampire fiction, from the classical blood sucker to science fiction monster to the comic relief. From such great authors as Anne Rice and Stephen King, to interesting choices such as Woody Allen and Hanns Heinz Ewers, and authors I love such as Tanith Lee and Richard Matheson (who are also great), we get a ton of vampire literature. If there is a style of vampire story you like this is the book to get and the best part is if you discover a new author who pushes your buttons you can go find their works. And if they don't push your button you have 29 other stories to make you happy.
Read! Feast! Enjoy!

I great collection of modern vampire stories. Several of the stories are actually chapters from longer novels, which only entices the reader to read those novels too. Wonderful read, but with the lights on!

This novel brings together works of so many amazing talented writers: Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Tanith Lee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Algernon Blackwood, Joyce Carol Oates...just to name a few! Be on the lookout for "Count Dracula" by Woody Allen; whether you love him or hate him, this short story is a hoot!

This one lets you sink your teeth into some quick, sometimes chilling, sometimes humorous, sometimes just plain weird vampire stories. It will also introduce you to some incredible authors, and I bet you'll race to buy more of their works. Wolf breaks down this collection into categories: The Classic Adventure Tale; The Psychological Vampire; The Science Fiction Vampire; The Non-Human Vampire; The Comic Vampire; and The Heroic Vampire. Horror and vampire fans will recognize some of these stories (King's is an excerpt of SALEM'S LOT) from other novels or collections. But this one is a tasty treat (yes, all puns intended) that I found delightful!

The poetic description of sadness at the heart of this short novel is very moving.

Within the pages of this book, Tisma has brought to life a small part of the world which, at the time, was sadly caught between the clash of two ideologies that were slowly descending, like dark clouds, upon Europe - communism and fascism. The consequent racial suspicions, which leave no one untouched, are real: Hungarians, Jews, Serbians, all are caught in the ideological swirl which, as we know, had devastating consequences for the people of the region: pogroms, the invasion by Arrow Cross Hungarians, the murder of communists (Blam's sister)...

The novel also delves into the unconscious of violent retribution, something which, as we have learned in recent years, only leads to the perpetuation of violence. Mr. Tisma must have had the wars that raged throughout the 90s in mind (i.e., Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina) while he was writing his novel. (The precariousness of the region, of which we are all aware, is in part the result of a failure to put the past behind, to let go, to forgive.) The dream-like scenes, where long-dead friends of Blam's pay their executioners in kind, are harrowing.

A short novel about a region of the world whose history we unfortunately know too little about, and but one tiny chapter in the book of horrors that were visited upon the European Jewish community.

The Book of Blam is a wonderful book and an important book. It recounts the events during the Holocaust period in what is now Serbia. After reading this and Tisma's Kapo, he has a style of writing that is unlike most writers that I have read from Eastern Europe; concise, flowing storylines and easy to read. His story has been told many times before but there is something to Tisma's writing that makes Genocide appear as normal to these killers as washing their hands or going for a walk. His is a voice of reason in Novi Sad, a city with little tolerance then and now. After the events in the Balkans during the recent past, sad to say, not much has changed.

This is the literary equivalent and then some of the photographic essay "A Vanished World" and Anne Frank's diary in 1950, had she survived. And an all too useful exploration of how survivors of the abyss might look at the world. I can't say I'm looking forward to reading Tisma's other work, but read it I must.

In the past several weeks (April, 1999), Nato bombs dropped two of Novi Sad's bridges into the Danube River. This excellent novel, written by a man who experienced the human or inhuman tragedies of Novi Sad in the 1930's and 1940's helped me get a feeling for this city. The book appears to fill a gap in what can be found in ordinary U.S. public libraries.

This book is a very useful source for storytellers. It provides a different look at the triad as well as a lot of good information about how to play members of DNA. I would recommend this only for storytellers and not players. I beleive almost all of the information is not covered in other books which is why I gave it 5 stars.

If you missed the planetary merits and flaws from the first edition player's guide, well they are now back. Along with that, there are other merits and flaws based on the Incarnae that inhabit those planets, as well as a wealth of new gifts, fetishes, and story hooks, including the fulfilling of the child of two metis prophecy. It continues to explain the cosmology of the Garou where Umbra: The Velvet Shadow left off, particularly the Aetherial Realm. It also explains how Garou view the stars and constellations. Overall, a very good addition to the Storyteller's repetoire for Werewolf, or even Mage.

The Book of the Weaver is an excellent resource for the Weaver in the World of Darkness. For once the White Wolf-folks have come off their behinds and written a book that actually compares Mage: The Ascension with Werewolf: The Apocalypse (for instance, a new background: Device!). A good run-down on the history of the Weaver is included (and, for once, from a fairly subjective point of view), as well as a guide to the different fractions that, knowingly or unknowingly, serve the Weaver, which will be most helpful. Some good points on shapechangers vs. technomagick helps put things in perspective, especially about implants. All in all, this book is a must for anyone who pretends to know anything about the Triat and technology in the Garou cosmology, i.e. any Werewolf Storyteller worth mentioning. This book is also recomended for Mage storytellers as well, though remember which game this book is meant for. When WWGS will print The Book of the Wyld is anyones guess, but one can only hope that it will be of the same prime quality that Book of the Weaver is of. This is by far one of the best Werewolf-sourcebooks in a long time.

Man they should have had this book a long time ago the Weaver is just too fascinating a spirit to ignore... While I dislike the villanous slant that they give the Weaver in this book. ( I am a major Glass Walker fan.) I really loved this book it was long overdue and just makes me wonder if they are going to do a book on the Wyld as well...?

It's been ten years and a million stories since I read these books, and I can promise you that you will not find a better horror anthology out there. Books 1-3 changed my life, literally. The stories are so well written, it's almost magical. Book 4 is not quite as good overall, but there are still some great stories.

If you love short horror, pick these up. Don't bother with #5 that just came out. Get the originals.

Joe R. Landsdale, the master, does it again. It takes brilliance to know brilliance. These people can write. Some of these stories actually made me physically uncomfortable. Try to get it if you can.

The "Borderlands" Series is the best dark fiction writing I have ever read. Really skirts the edges and pulls no punches but without the traditional horror cliches. Nothing goes bump in the night but after reading these stories a simple bump won't even phase you anymore.

I have read all four of the Borderlands collection and will say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is not only the scariest stuff out there, but also cutting-edge fiction at its finest.

The stories presented in each collection are intelligent, extremely well-written, and creepy to the extreme. Those who enjoy the standard psychopathic killer yarn will not find what they're looking for here. Instead they'll find a type of horror that takes a time-honored genre and breathes new life into it. Simply outstanding.

My children, ages 6yr and 9year, girl and boy, have loved these stories. They make travel in the car a pleasure!! The adventures are current and give great opportunities to discuss plot, character development, and climax. They are also well written and recorded beautifully!

I purchased this as a gift for my 7-year old granddaughter. It was a hit! She absolutely loved the stories and has listened to them several times already. I guess it is now time to buy more Boxcar Children.

Our doctor recommended that our 9 yar old listen to books on tapes to address audioogical processing issues. She loves to listen to these stories. They are suspenseful and very descriptive. Kids (and adults) can vividly bring the story to life in their mind as they listen. The voices are a little strange at times ( I think the same person acts out each character--differently) but kids don't seem to notice or care. Great for car trips.

These stories from Gertrude Chandler Warner are a wonderful escape into a child right dream world. My children (7 and 8 years old) love them and listen to them over and over again.
I really do recommend them as a great alternative to too much TV and video games. The beautiful thing is that the children can play with something, like model magic, and listen to the stories.
Try it!!!

Awesome! This is the BEST BOOK IN THE SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a must read for preteen monster fans who like action and humor! Otherwise, in my opinoin ,I also recommend the first book.Oh, by the way I don't blame you if your afraid. Because if you're not careful and you just randomly pick a book from the library and it is this one, BE AFRAID,BE VERY AFRAID!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! This series started off great and it has ended up great! I wish it would go on for at least two more books and include The Invisble Man and the Phantom of the Opera. I liked the action and how Bob seemed to grow up in the series. Just when you thought it was safe to watch all those old monster movies again, here come Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Creature, the Mummy, and the Gill Man all at once to try to seek revenge against Nina, Bob, and Joe. I was happy to see that Trey was more involved as well. The battles were cool and the characters were real. I'm going to read the whole series from beginning to end again!

I know they say that all good things must come to an end, but I wish this series would go on. I was thrilled to see that all the monsters come back for one big battle with Nina, Joe, and Bob. The action is non stop. I felt like I was saying good bye to some old friends when I reached the end of the book. The reader will be surprised at what happens and how Nina, Joe, and Bob end up. All six books were great and kept me guessing about things. Too bad it's got to end.

This book was great. It had tons of action and it was a great ending to a series. Or was it? It has a majorly surprising ending (unless you pay really close attention to the book)and it also told a greatstory. The were only to things that I didn't like: 1.It made the Creature look like a God or something, and 2.The Bride of Frankenstein, like in the movie,was only in it in the end, and, also like the movie, she didn't do anything but hiss and shreik at the Creature. All in all,however,it was a great book that I would like to read over and over again. Oh yeah, and I really liked Dr. Pretorius,too. He was a true mad scientist. Larry Mike Garmon is a really talented author, and I wish he would write at least one more book:The Invisible Man. I think that it would be soooo cool if they had to fight something they couldn't see. Thanks for reading,and have a wonderful day.

This compilation of exceedingly well written myths, legends and tales of the unusually creepy is a "must" for those children who truly enjoy monster tales. The short stories run the gamut from twistedly amusing, to multi-cultural (Native American Legend), to very scary. My son listened to the audio tape of this book at least 50 times and never tired it, from a very young age (6 years old) - and because of it's somewhat literary content, it was one his few "kids' tapes" that I didn't tire of hearing over and over and over. CAVEAT: I would not suggest this book or tape for those kid's who are prone to nightmares and/or are at all squeamish. Many of the tales are suspenseful and one or two have downright disturbing content (which, of course, my son thought was way cool). Note that all of the tales involve kids in some sort of peril or dilemma (although there is no real gore or violence). I would compare it's level of intensity to the second or third Harry Potter books. And, like Harry Potter, it is a refreshingly imaginative departure from the standard monster fare. All of the authors are talented writers capable of engaging both kids and adult readers/listeners. It is highly recommended for kids 10 and up who love all things "creepy," and for those younger who are very brave! IF YOUR KIDS LOVE HARRY POTTER, THEY'LL LIKELY LOVE THIS COMPILATION.

What would you do if your brother was a monster? So guess what happens in Bruce Coville's Book of Monsters: Tales to Give You the Creeps! This story is about a kid named Jason. He has a baby brother and he is a monster! That's really creepy to me what about you? My favorite part is when Jason finds out his baby brother is a monster! The full moon turns Little Dumpling hairy and he gets a mouth full of teeth. Even if you are a monster you can be loved and have a family. I don't want to give the ending away, so read the book for more.

So far this book is a bout a kid that has a baby brother. He also thinks he is a real monster. this book is a really cool and I wouldn't want to be in his position right now.

Bruce Coville has gone and brought some of his short stories and other peoples about monsters together. He has some in like My Little Brother is a Monster and his mom finds a little baby on the front step and they take it in. Then the boy sees that it changes in the light of a full moon. Pretty good book, but some of the stories are kind of lame.

Mel Odom presents the reader with an action packed Thriller. Angel: Bruja is an excellent addition to the Angel series. The plot is complex. A gang of vampires is running a 'Meals on Wheels' operation. Stolen game software leads Angel and Doyle to an underground dot.com company complete with demon telemarketers. Cordelia tracks a missing wife. Doyle has a brain draining vision of a young mother in trouble. Kate is searching for a weeping woman in black who is killing cops and children. Mr. Odom weaves them all together into an excellent story, which explores guilt and insecurities. Angel is reminded that while you cannot forget your past you should not live in it. It is not only the lesson he must learn but also teach another if he is to succeed. The book also has a strong sense of family.

I recommend this to all fans of the series as well as readers who enjoy good horror fantasy

I loved this book. So much that I read it in one day. These "Angel" novels keep getting better and better. The way all the separate cases came together in this novel was great. Can't wait to read the next. Highly recommend this novel, especially if you're a fan of "Angel".

A priest is attacked in the cellar of a church and suddenly a new horror walks the streets of Los Angeles. Appearing as a beautiful woman, weeping for her children, she is drawn to scenes of conflict. There, equipped with both incredible strength and magical power, she takes lives with impunity. Especially if those victims are children. On the other side of town, Angel is cleaning up a demonic Internet pornography site when he discovers that a group of L.A. vampires are running a fresh blood delivery service complete with people on tap.

Cordelia finds a paying case for Angel Investigations when she is approached by Adrian Heath, a well known TV producer. His wife has disappeared without a trace and he desperately wants help. And finally, Doyle is suddenly struck with a vision of great danger for a mother and her young son. As all these threads come together Angel finds himself constantly reminded of his own guilt over the murder of his family. To resolve this case he must learn how to make peace with himself.

It is characteristic of the writing of the Angel series and many of the Buffy stories that there be many layered plots. The challenge for the author is to keep all these threads moving without losing control of characterization. No doubt it helps that the main characters are well established, but even so the believability of the novel hinges on how well the other characters are developed as well as the successful management of the plot. "Bruja," benefiting from a very fine author, is a classic example of what a good Angel story should be.

Mel Odom, the author of 4 books in the Angel and Buffy series, several in the Shadowrun series and many others has established himself again as a respectable writer of science fiction and fantasy. He has a natural skill with his characters, an ear for dialog and builds his stories almost effortlessly. In "Brujah" as in many others he manages to sustain a complex plot and completely involve the reader. While the book does make reference to previous Buffy and Angel adventures, there is nothing here that would prevent a newcomer from thoroughly enjoying the tale.

After the funeral of a young boy a priest is attacked by a woman who confesses to having murdered her own son. Meanwhile, Angel Investigations is hired to look into the disappearance of the wife of a big-shot Hollywood producer, Doyle has a vision of a young mother and her son in danger, and Angel stumbles across some enterprising folk who delivery blood to your door (please specify type desired).

"Bruja" is one of those novels where most of the plot threads come together but not all of them are part of the fun filled climax so you are left guessing which one is going to end up being the only legitimate subplot. This works much better than you might think, because the way Mel Odom ends up putting all the pieces together is never obvious. Consequently, "Bruja" is one of the few Angel stories where Angel Investigations ends up doing some good old fashion investigating even if it means the laconic one has to speak in complete sentences for an extended period of time.

Plotting and pacing are two of Odom's main strengths as a writer, at least as revealed in his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" original novels. "Bruja" presents a fairly complex plot and the novel moves from scene to scene and plot thread to plot thread without losing momentum. This time around I especially liked how each of the scenes without the main trio (Angel, Cordelia and Doyle) were fleshed out. There are really no nameless corpses in this book, because vampires leave tiny dust mounds behind rather than corpses and Odom take pains to invest each human life lost along the way with some individuality and significance.

Odom also does a nice job with characterization and in this story he manages to work in some significant reflections from each of the main characters on their families without it becoming formulaic, mainly because the self-examinations come in the context of the developing story. However, some readers might consider the amount of dialogue in this novel to be too much given the main character.

There are some pretty horrific moments in this story and I can legitimately say that Odom pushes it as far as he is willing to go simply because there is a scene where he stops short of something that he clearly thinks would have been going over the line. Odom seems to have done some research on his titular villain, which is a way of saying that if he made all of this stuff up from scratch he sure has fooled me. "Bruja" is a solid "Angel" story and while it does not involve moments of epic significance for the soul laden vampire and his compadres, it does tell a tale that has some special meaning for all of the characters.

Television writing is simply not supposed to be this good. Or at least we have become acclimated to a good deal less even in very good shows. But I am not sure that any other show in the history of television has put together five shows with scripts this strong. In the history of Buffy, these are the episodes in which the show moved to an entirely different plane from all other contemporary shows. Not since TWIN PEAKS had TV seen anything this well written. Seeing these episodes for the first time, I was in complete awe that the Neanderthals running the WB had actually allowed anything this good to hit the screen. These are also significant episodes because in them Buffy started becoming a show that appealed as much to adults as to teens, as the themes and issues became progressively more complex and darker.

"Surprise" was written by Marti Noxon, who had very quickly in her first season on Buffy established herself as one of the best writers on the show. She was not merely good; she was prolific. This is one of the more interesting scripts to compare to the actual show produced. These collections compile the shooting scripts; they are not transcripts of the final product. Usually, one will find slight wording alterations, or small scenes that got excised in the final shooting. Often shooting instructions provide a great deal of insight into what is happening in the scenes. But in this script, there are significant differences between the final result and the script, especially scenes involving Cordy and Xander. The script was much, much too long for the time slot, and heavy editing took place. The story itself, of how Buffy came to lose her virginity to Angel, resulting in his losing his soul, provides the foundation for everything that happens thereafter in both BUFFY and ANGEL. We'll leave aside the fact that the gypsy curse-that because he has a soul Angel lives in torment for his past crimes, but if he achieves a moment of perfect happiness he loses his soul and reverts to the evil Angelus-is a bald and rather dumb plot device. It makes no sense as a curse, and his potentially becoming evil again makes the curse profoundly self-defeating. But so much else is tremendous, I and apparently everyone else cut them some slack on this one.

Joss Whedon himself wrote "Innocence," in which we learn that Angel, after having made love to Buffy, has lost his soul. If the show had been a teen series before, it was not after we see Buffy's boyfriend literally transformed into a monster on the morning after. It's an old adage that bad characters are more interesting than good ones, and it is reproven in the transformation of Angel into Angelus. But not just Angel, but Buffy is transformed as well. I believe the title in part is a reference to Blake's SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE. Buffy loses her innocence as she gains in experience. Willow also struggles with new pain when she catches Xander and Cordelia kissing in the stacks. (By the way, part of the joy of the scripts is reading the directions. As Xander and Cordy begin to kiss we read: "They haben der big smootchen." And when Willow sees them she "has pain on her face like a blush.") In an episode of many awesome moments, one of my favorites is the freshly reborn Angelus killing a streetwalker smoking a cigarette, and then him expelling her smoke out of his lungs after he kills her. That was shot precisely as written.

"Phases" was written by the team of Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, who were also the final script editors on the show until they left for THAT SEVENTIES SHOW. Often in Buffy episodes as strong as "Surprise" and "Innocence" are followed by relatively weak episodes, as if they are trying to create a balance between weak and strong scripts. But "Phases" is a fun, fascinating, and tragic episode in its own right, although it provides a break from the emotional roller coaster of the previous two shows. Buffy never deals with potentially hackneyed subject like werewolves in unoriginal fashion, and that is true here.

Well, others start noticing Cordy and Xander's not-terribly-well-hidden relationship, so Cordy dumps Xander to salvage her social reputation. Marti Noxon produced yet another stellar script in "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered," in one of the funniest shows ever in the series. Because Cordy dumped Xander, he wants revenge by having Amy the school witch (from the first season) created a love potion that would make her love him, allowing him to then dump her. But it backfires and every girl in the school EXCEPT for Cordelia falls her him. After the emotional stress of the previous episodes, the show provides a great deal of comic relief. Great moment: Xander demands that Cordy give back the necklace he gave her as a Valentine's present. She goes to her locker to get it, but discretely takes it from around her neck.

"Passion" by Ty King is simply stunning. The show had often proven it could be funny, and sometimes scary, but there is gothic horror in this episode that can bring a tear to the most hard-hearted. Angel's voiceovers would work perfectly in the final shooting, giving a structure to what is one of the most tragic episodes in the run of the show. The episode also served as a warning to its fans: anything can happen on this show. On other shows, the main characters are safe, but here they can die, and proved it by having Angel murder Jenny Calendar. But her death was not as horrific as the macabre scene where Angel has rearranged Giles's apartment to make it seem like Jenny had staged a romantic tryst, only for a romantically touched and excited Giles to ascend his stairs to find Jenny's body in his bed.

This is by far the best single collection of scripts yet published in this series. One writer in the early nineties stated that television had a greater potential for excellence than cinema, and that eventually a series could come along to prove this. I believe that it was in these five episodes that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER did precisely that.

Though the quality is not as great as the previous script books, Volume 3 of Season 2 does have some of the best scripts of the season!
The book is slightly smaller than the previous 4, yet holds as many scripts. The pictures of the side and cover are smaller as well. Still, it holds the scripts that are the main point. Nice otherwise for any Buffy fan!

This collection of shooting scripts contains three of the greatest scripts ever produced for the show, as well as one of the weakest. The two-part "Becoming" solidified the emergence of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER as one of if not the best-written shows in the history of television. Although the season as a whole was remarkable, earlier in the season with "Surprise" and "Innocence," the show moved beyond being merely one of the finest shows on television to one of the finest ever produced. The emotional depth and complexity of those two episodes, and later of "Passion," signaled that this truly was a remarkable series.

The question as the second season began winding down was whether the season ending could match the highpoints of the season.

"Killed by Death" didn't bode well for the end, being the second weakest show of the season (following "Some Assembly Required"). It was not a flat out dreadful show, but it failed to match the inventiveness and passion of earlier episodes. Whenever fans vote for the weakest episodes in the history of the show, "Killed by Death" usually receives a significant number of votes, though it never rivals such shows like "Some Assembly Required" or "Beer Bad" for the top (bottom?) slot. The episode provides some opportunities for some funny lines, such as Xander's "My whole life just flashed before my eyes. I've got to get me a life."

If one had any idea that the show might be slipping at all, "I Only Have Eyes for You," put any fears to rest. Marti Noxon's final script for her first year with the show, is arguably her best in the superb way she blends a wonderful ghost story about a female teacher who had been murdered by a student with whom she had been having an affair, with Buffy's feelings about her relationship with Angel. Although the scene between the dead lovers is played out twice earlier in the episode, the force and power when the two ghosts reenact the scene near the end is almost overwhelming in its power, not least because the ghost of the murdering male enters Buffy, and Angel speaks the lines of the school teacher. When it was filmed, an actress I have always loved but have too rarely seen, Meredith Salinger, plays the schoolteacher. I'm baffled why she hasn't been in more roles in her career.

"Go Fish" is not an episode that I like very much. It doesn't do much in carrying forward the story arc, though it was probably helpful to have a tiny bit of a break before the emotionally overwhelming end to the season. The episode provides a few laughs at the expense of Xander, but I just couldn't get into the story of a high school coach who biochemically alters his swimmers to enhance their performance.

Joss Whedon saved the final two episodes of the season, "Becoming," for himself. I am not sure that anyone not named Joss Whedon has ever written two better scripts for a television series than these, and in non-series perhaps only Rod Serling. Whedon is like a juggler with eight or nine balls in the air at once while riding about on a unicycle. The balance between all the elements in these two shows, as Angelus gradually brings the crisis to a head, Kendra returns to Sunnydale and is killed by Druscilla, and Buffy is separated from all her friends and mother is nothing short of astonishing. Every few seconds in the show brings forth some gem, either a new shock (like Kendra dying or Joyce learning that her daughter is the slayer) or line (as when Joyce asks "Have you ever tried not being the Slayer?") or comic moment (such as Joyce and Spike sitting silently in the Summers's living room, and her asking whether they had met before) or jolt (such as Angel recovering his soul only to have Buffy kill him a few seconds later) or even introducing a new character (the extraordinary and mysterious Whistler, who tragically did not become an occasional visitor on the show, but who at least managed some utterly memorable lines), all of it culminating in that one heartbreakingly awful moment when Buffy finishes kissing Angel, and whispers to him, "Close your eyes." For me this remains the two most emotionally devastating hours in the history of television.

At the end of the first season, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER had established itself as an absolutely first rate, funny, and exceedingly hip show, but one wouldn't after the first twelve episodes have been able to describe it as truly great. But Season Two changed that. Buffy became a genuinely great show this season, one of the high-water marks in the history of the medium. And the foundation for that was the writing. It isn't an accident that the scripts of this show are being reproduced: it is a demonstration of what truly great writing grounded the whole show.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4" finally provides in print Joss Whedon's scripts for the two part of "Becoming." It was the second season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that established the show as being operatic television, in which case "Becoming" is the grand aria in which Whedon hits the highest note on the scale. "Becoming, Part 2," in which Buffy has to kill Angel and send him to a demon dimension to save the world, is still one of the ten best television episodes I have ever seen in my life. Having a copy of the script in my hands puts the final touches on my enjoyment of these episodes, not because it is a question of finding differences between what is in the final shooting script and what got aired on television, but simply because I finally get to see Whedon's stage directions. For example, after Joyce has learned Buffy is a vampire slayer there is a scene in Buffy's living room. There is no dialogue, just the shot, which is described as follows: Joyce sits in the living room with Spike. They both are silent and uncomfortable, like it's Sunday and he's come a 'courtin'. Joyce has a glass of bourbon in her hands, which shakes only slightly.

For such small gems of insight into the mind of Joss Whedon picking up this collection of scripts is going to be worthwhile for "BtVS" fans. Completing the Angelus story arc that covered the second half of Season Two begun in Volume 3, you will find in Volume 4 "Killed by Death," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Go Fish," "Becoming, Part One," and "Becoming, Part Two." Actually, I enjoyed "Go Fish" a lot more being able to read the inside jokes, production notes, and cut dialogue than I did actually watching that rather [weak] episode. Overall I think it was a good move to have divide the scripts for Season Two this way, so that the first two volumes do the Spike-Dru story arc and the last two the Angelus story arc. I was going to point out that all six of the episodes for the "BtVS" Season Two video tape set are from this latter arc, but now that we are in the world of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD this is no longer a concern.