There are works of fan fiction, whether posted by amateurs on the internet, or professionally published and officially sanctioned such as this one, that transcend their material, or at least match it in quality. This novel isn't one of them.

This is set after the last season of televised Buffy. In fact, right after the last episode, after that shot of Sunnydale turned into a crater--it starts with the survivors on that school bus trying to put some distance between them and the disaster. It tracks fairly well with what we learned of the aftermath from the last television season of Angel, dealing, for instance, with Buffy based in Rome and dealing with the Immortal while Giles deals with the resurrected Watcher's Council in England. It doesn't fit with the comic book Season Eight overseen and largely scripted by creator Joss Whedon, which because of his involvement is considered canon. That doesn't particularly bother me since I had decidedly mixed feelings about Season Eight. If this book doesn't compare with the best of Whedon's Season Eight in wit or imagination, it also in a lot of ways makes more sense and Holder has a nice way with the characters--they're recognizable, and these are characters I love and so enjoy visiting.

What stopped me two-thirds through the book was that the story I was getting, the glimpses of beloved characters, wasn't worth treading through the truly crappy writing--and editing. I can overlook some not so good writing craft for a story compelling enough, or strong enough characters, but this wasn't doing it for me. There are historical howlers (Spartacus, whose body was never found, has a tomb? Caligula, who classical sources say was stabbed to death, was buried alive? And don't get me started on the Borgias.) And her classical mythology? Janus was a Roman, not Greek God, and she uses the Roman forms of the names of Gods in a Greek context. Worse, there are malapropisms--or at least phrases that I find hard to believe mean in context what I think she meant and just not careful editing (such as when the text has "Rodrigo" when "Cesare" is obviously meant.) Carelessness like this doesn't make me too forgiving when the story and writing just isn't good enough--and this wasn't.

And as I said above--I can very much like pro fan fiction. I thought Robert Levy's Buffyverse book Go Ask Malice and his take on Faith was amazing--so much so it's now part of my personal canon. But I never wanted to do that with Queen of the Slayers--indeed left it unfinished after over 200 pages because I decided life is too short to keep reading a not good book. ( )

My least favourite of all of the Buffy mythology, this just wasn't the direction I thought that the tale was going in when the curtain closed on the seventh season in Sunnydale and on series as a whole. Found myself oddly frustrated - when I'd read other Buffy tie-ins by Holder, she generally has such a deft hand staying true to Whedon's established mythos and the performance styles of the actors that brought the Scoobies to life. This story felt stilted and almost as if the characters were unrelated to the previous storyline - like the episode Doppleganger, but less effective and far less amusing. This one, I sold to a used book store with nary a twinge. ( )

Oh my god, could this author get any worse? Once again I invested in a book by Holder, and once again I found myself dissapointed. This woman spent the entire book building up to a massive battle at the end- only to spend a paragraph on it, in a flashback. Horrid, horrid writing. Although, now that we have Wheedon's own Season 8 out there- I do recomend this book more than that tripe. ( )

If you were geeked out on the Buffy tv series, then this book is a must read. The story picks up as the school bus races away from what used to be Sunnydale. We follow Buffy and Faith and the gang all over the world as they continue to fight evil. And just to tease you, you will find out about Buffy and Spike, what happens to Kennedy and Willow, and the author ties in the Angel finale as well. I appreciated that she covered all those bases, but found the book awkward as it seemed like it couldn't decide if it was a book or a tv episode. That said, every Buffy fan should read. ( )

Kearsten says: If you, like me, despaired when Buffy, the Vampire Slayer was canceled, check Queen of the Slayers out.

Queen of the Slayers picks up right where the series finale left off: our heroes, dusty and bloody, riding a school bus away from the collapsing Hellmouth. Though Buffy thought this last defeat of evil would be her last, she soon discovers that evil doesn't stay down...but neither do the slayers!

This one is exciting, sends the characters all over the world, and is a nice balm for any 'why, oh why, was it canceled?' wounds... ( )