The Ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift

FROM THE ARCHIVES (Buffy book reviews)

The Ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift

Teleplay by Joss Whedon, Novelization by TokyoPop (2005)

RATING: 4/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season Five

CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Spike, Giles, Tara, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Anya, Glory, Ben

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "Tokyopop presents Buffy's 100th episode as you've never seen it before--filled with behind-the-scenes photos, director and actor commentary, excerpts from the original script, and incredible stunts. In this chilling cine-manga adaptation of 'The Gift,' one of the most unforgettable and shocking episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the apocalypse is at hand in Sunnydale--again! This is the must-have tome for all Buffy fans, living and undead!"

REVIEW

This is an interesting and unusual Buffy book. Labeled "cine-manga," the book basically layers photos of the scenes from The Gift into a comic book like format, and uses word bubbles to reproduce the character's speech. In other words, it's a picture-book style novelization of a great episode with some fun added features. The margins of many pages are filled with Buffy trivia, comments from the show's creators, and occasionally excerpts from the stage directions contained in the original script. Compared to the standard novelizations of episodes that Simon Spotlight produces, this book is a far more entertaining purchase and gives the reader who owns the actual episode on DVD a reason to own the book as well. Not essential by any means, but a fun little Buffy book all the same.