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CARNIVAL OF SOULS
By Nancy Holder (2006)
RATING: 3/5 Stakes
SETTING: Season Two
TV CHARACTER APPEARANCES: Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Jenny Calendar, Cordelia, Principal Skinner, Angel, Ethan Rayne, Joyce, Harmony
MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Professor Caligari/Caligarius (sorcerer villain); Stephanie & David Hahn (students); Le Malfaiteur (sorcerer); Claire Nierman (ally of Ethan Rayne); Carl Palmer (student); Vaclav (circus member); Astorrith (demon)
BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY “There’s something troubling about Professor Caligari’s Traveling Carnival. Perhaps it’s that no one can recall the arrival of its hard-to-miss caravan of old-style wagons, countless performers, and horse-drawn carts. Maybe it’s the creepy calliope music that tirelessly beckons visitors. Let’s face it, an enigma that chooses Sunnydale nearly guarantees it’s up to more than wholesome family entertainment. After a visit to the carnival’s Hall of Mirrors, a once-shy pair of homely sophomore twins parades the halls of Sunnydale High like diva supermodels on a runway. Intuiting the twins’ abrupt personality change as more than a self-confidence boost, Buffy--joined by Angel, Giles, and the rest of the Scoobies--decides to investigate the suspicious carnival firsthand. But soon it’s apparent that the price of admission is higher than she imagined. Those who enter the carnival’s attractions exit . . . changed. Each of the gang soon shows extreme displays of vice. Willow is wracked with envy. Cordelia’s greed consumers her. Xander unleashes his gluttony. Angel reveals a lusty new persona. And a dark anger rises in Giles. But it’s Buffy’s now-blinding pride that threatens to overpower her, and in the process destroy those she loves. . . .”
REVIEW
To encapsulate my review in the pithiest way possible: "Carnival of Souls is a perfectly average Buffy novel." That is, it's very much a straightforward, been-there, done-that story about an evil carnival coming to town, leading the Scoobies to investigate and eventually devise a way to stop it. Buffy and her friends find themselves acting on strange temptations, but not in especially interesting ways (though Xander does eat some really disgusting foods!). The main villain, Professor Caligari, is rather generic, and the usually interesting Ethan Rayne falls flat.
Carnival of Souls isn't a terrible novel. It is kind of fun to see the Scoobies back in Season Two, complete with Principal Skinner, Angel, Jenny Calendar, mean Cordelia, and even Joyce. On the whole, however, there's nothing to distinguish this Buffy novel from the dozens of other ones out there. The plot, the dialogue, the action . . . are all just average. Unless you've already read the best of them, give this one a pass.
By Nancy Holder (2006)
RATING: 3/5 Stakes
SETTING: Season Two
TV CHARACTER APPEARANCES: Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Jenny Calendar, Cordelia, Principal Skinner, Angel, Ethan Rayne, Joyce, Harmony
MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Professor Caligari/Caligarius (sorcerer villain); Stephanie & David Hahn (students); Le Malfaiteur (sorcerer); Claire Nierman (ally of Ethan Rayne); Carl Palmer (student); Vaclav (circus member); Astorrith (demon)
BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY “There’s something troubling about Professor Caligari’s Traveling Carnival. Perhaps it’s that no one can recall the arrival of its hard-to-miss caravan of old-style wagons, countless performers, and horse-drawn carts. Maybe it’s the creepy calliope music that tirelessly beckons visitors. Let’s face it, an enigma that chooses Sunnydale nearly guarantees it’s up to more than wholesome family entertainment. After a visit to the carnival’s Hall of Mirrors, a once-shy pair of homely sophomore twins parades the halls of Sunnydale High like diva supermodels on a runway. Intuiting the twins’ abrupt personality change as more than a self-confidence boost, Buffy--joined by Angel, Giles, and the rest of the Scoobies--decides to investigate the suspicious carnival firsthand. But soon it’s apparent that the price of admission is higher than she imagined. Those who enter the carnival’s attractions exit . . . changed. Each of the gang soon shows extreme displays of vice. Willow is wracked with envy. Cordelia’s greed consumers her. Xander unleashes his gluttony. Angel reveals a lusty new persona. And a dark anger rises in Giles. But it’s Buffy’s now-blinding pride that threatens to overpower her, and in the process destroy those she loves. . . .”
REVIEW
To encapsulate my review in the pithiest way possible: "Carnival of Souls is a perfectly average Buffy novel." That is, it's very much a straightforward, been-there, done-that story about an evil carnival coming to town, leading the Scoobies to investigate and eventually devise a way to stop it. Buffy and her friends find themselves acting on strange temptations, but not in especially interesting ways (though Xander does eat some really disgusting foods!). The main villain, Professor Caligari, is rather generic, and the usually interesting Ethan Rayne falls flat.
Carnival of Souls isn't a terrible novel. It is kind of fun to see the Scoobies back in Season Two, complete with Principal Skinner, Angel, Jenny Calendar, mean Cordelia, and even Joyce. On the whole, however, there's nothing to distinguish this Buffy novel from the dozens of other ones out there. The plot, the dialogue, the action . . . are all just average. Unless you've already read the best of them, give this one a pass.
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