Sons of Entropy

SONS OF ENTROPY

Book 3 of The Gatekeeper Trilogy

Christopher Golden & Nancy Holder (1999)

RATING: 4/5 Stakes

SETTING: Third Season

CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Angel, Oz, Cordelia, Amy, Joyce, Ethan Rayne

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Jacques Regnier, Jean-Marc Regnier, Antoinette Regnier (Gatekeeper family); Micaela Tomasi (ex-Son); Fulcanelli/Il Maestro (Sons leader); Brother Claude, Brother Lupo (Sons of Entropy); Belphegor (demon); Hadrius (Fulcanelli’s teacher)

BACK-OF--THE-BOOK SUMMARY: “Led by the fanatical Il Maestro, the Sons of Entropy are assaulting the supernatural Boston mansion that holds back the realm of monsters, and stealing the life force from the besieged Gatekeeper. In limbo, the Ghost Roads are crumbling, becoming weak and unstable where Hell and the Otherworld have begun seeping in, blurring the passages that lead to the human world. And Xander lies mortally wounded from a failed attempt to free Joyce Summers from the clutches of the zealots who hold her hostage. With the Gatekeeper rapidly weakening, Buffy sends Willow and Cordelia to escort Xander along the Ghost Roads to the Gatehouse, which may hold his only hope of survival. Meanwhile, she, Giles, and an unlikely band of allies take their fight to the very mouth of Hell itself, desperately hoping to save Joyce and repel the evil spawn before Sunnydale becomes a demonic ground zero. Only then can Buffy safeguard the Gatekeeper’s eleven-year-old heir, the only one able to prevent the ultimate destruction of humanity.”

REVIEW

Sons of Entropy ends the Gatekeeper Trilogy on a strong note. As the novel begins, Xander lays near death, Joyce is kidnapped, and the Gatekeeper is coming closer and closer to defeat at the hands of Il Maestro. Golden & Holder do an excellent job of threading these various storylines together into an enjoyable whole. As a special treat, Ethan Rayne makes one of his characteristic guest appearances, but this time there is a twist: in order to save his own skin, he’s forced to serve the forces of Order and the result is quite funny.

Golden & Holder like epic stories with cosmic implications, and Sons of Entropy is no exception. As with most of their work, I find the best parts of Sons of Entropy are those with the more mundane, “believable” aspects than the apocalyptic elements. The dialogue and characterization remain first-rate, and even the villains get interesting, distinct personalities. Joyce and Giles are especially well done. Although a battle against a minotaur in a labyrinth is a bit too cheesy for my taste, scenes of Xander (?) wielding awesome powers are exciting and suspenseful.

The Gatekeeper Trilogy would serve as a nice introduction to the world of Buffy novels for fans interested in the show but wanting a more substantive plot than the stand-alone books. Although not perfect, Sons of Entropy is a solid novel and a worthwhile conclusion to the trilogy.