Diana G. Gallagher

“We’re in big trouble aren’t we?” — Phoebe

“Yes.” — Piper

“There’s nobody but us standing between this world and one where evil rules.” — Paige


Most of the Charmed books I’ve read which were penned by Diana Gallagher are pretty good, and this one is no exception. She really captures the feel of the show in Dark Vengeance, which despite the ominous title has many lighthearted moments. The story was excellent for a “based on” book and fit very well with the mood and show more atmosphere of the fun series. It might have been nice if there had been a bit more of Cole in this one, but other than a minor caveat where the author a couple of times mistakenly indicated the wrong sister within a swiftly moving scene, there’s very little to complain about and much to enjoy.

Cole is dealing with the loss of his demon half, Belthazor, and trying to adjust to being human as this one opens. He’s taking a sabbatical to fish and figure out his new life, leaving Phoebe to pursue new web design classes as she tries to find a vocation which won’t interfere with all her duties saving innocents. There still exists some friction — not to mention suspicion — of Cole by Paige, because of the whole Phoebe-not-telling-anyone-about-Cole’s “other” side initially.

Meanwhile, the newest Charmed One is supplementing her regular job by helping Doug Wilson at the homeless shelter. Paige has become attached to Stanley Addison and she is attempting to get the older man into a permanent home of his own. Piper on the other hand, is stressing about bills and her workload between home and P-3. Things are about to get a little weird for all of them, however. Piper gets the giggles after handing a flute to the band she’s auditioning for P-3. Paige suddenly feels exhausted after a new shelter worker named Kevin with whom she feels a spark accidentally touches her with his cane. And Phoebe goes for a cup of coffee after class with a female student and when she comes into contact with the girl’s bracelet, she gets a vision, and feels woozy.

Back home there’s more amusing trouble, with a mischievous gremlin in the plumbing that Leo can’t seem to get rid of. Suddenly minor annoyances like Phoebe’s sudden short-term memory loss become a full-blown worry when each of the Charmed Ones loses some of her power. Phoebe can barely levitate, Piper can’t freeze things, and Paige can only sort-of-kind-of orb things. What’s going on?

We find out quickly, along with the sisters, that it all has to do with an old battle between the Sol´agath clan of good witches and the Dor´chacht clan of evil magic in which the Charmed Ones’ descendants won. But now, thanks to hiding their magic, the bad guys are planning round two. Soon, whether they like it or not, the sisters will be transported to the Valley of Ages to battle their counterparts. But their foes have found a way to diminish the power of the Halliwell sisters, thereby ensuring a different outcome this time. Leo explains the gravity should the sisters lose the battle:

“And since there will be no benevolent magic or Charmed Ones to protect the innocent, humanity will ultimately succumb to the influences of evil and embrace the darker side of human nature.”

I kept thinking Cole would return early from his fishing trip and affect the outcome somehow, but it played out differently. It was very well done, both on the domestic side and the magical solution side. Even Leo’s belated answer to the gremlin problem was quite fun. Dark Vengeance felt very much like a good episode of the series, and was well written and executed. Save for that final scene in the Valley of Ages, this one had more of a domestic vibe with the personal life of the Halliwells front and center. There was a lot of nice interaction and it felt like a short novel rather than just a slight story put together to cash in on the popularity of the series. Very enjoyable for fans, a nice way to revisit the popular series. show less

Swiftly moving and fun — and more than a bit nostalgic for fans of the show — this is one of the better reads among the Buffy books, which like the Star Trek universe books, can be really hit and miss. Set during season two of the show, Diana G. Gallagher has captured both the feel of the early Buffy season, and personalities of the characters quite nicely; nothing seems “off” about them, as is so often the case. Perhaps the only deviation, as I believe someone else mentioned, is show more that Spike — who I liked more than Angel — has been written as the Spike of later seasons a tad, rather than the very early Spike appearances in the show.

The premise itself is quite fun, as Buffy is still trying to have a normal high school experience, despite being the Slayer. She volunteers to hep out with a big rummage sale fundraiser for the Sunnydale High band, but of course, living on the Hell Mouth, you know there is going to be an issue or two, or ten. The sale hasn’t even officially started, when weird things begin to happen:

1) Principal Snyder’s newfound hat seems to be boring holes in his head.
2) Cordelia is decomposing right before her horrified eyes.
3) Spike brings Dru down to find a bargain and she’s promptly attacked by red bats, then starts to become one herself.
4) The Mayor seems to have an unusual interest in an Orb that Buffy’s mom, Joyce, is bringing with her other donations.
5) Joyce, meanwhile, finds a lovely pair of gloves that make her skin begin to peel — and not in a mild sunburn kind of way.
6) A kid named Michael is searching for a protective amulet his mother mistakenly donated, while his friend Jonathan runs around with a whip full of electricity — and it’s getting stronger.
7) Willow has found the cutest little creature. She’s so attached to it that she’ll literally kill anyone who threatens it.
8) Xander’s cool vest is squeezing the breath out of him, and he can’t get it off.

I could keep going, but you get the idea. Everyone’s around in this one, including Ms. Calendar and Oz — pre-Willow/Oz, though Willow’s crushing. Buffy and Giles are going to need all the help they can get — even Spike’s — because it seems a crack has allowed some of the pests from below up into the human world, and it’s going to take all their efforts, and a sort of nasties catcher from below to round up the critters which have attached themselves to the items in the rummage sale. People are becoming ill, even dying, so it’s a race against time to save Sunnydale High one more time, and perhaps the world.

Pretty fun, and very much like an early episode of the show we didn’t get to see. A very nicely done trip down memory lane. Great fun. show less

This is one of the most enjoyable Charmed books I’ve read so far, despite it being slightly atypical in that there is no real adversary to battle — other than a hurricane. In that way it is both a vacation for the Charmed Ones and the reader. Though there is no Darryl in this entry, or Cole at this point, both of whom are always a plus, Leo regularly pops over to Florida from San Francisco where he is watching Wyatt while Piper and her sisters take a much needed vacation. Phoebe is show more attending a seminar about advice columns and it gives her an opportunity to mix work and pleasure by bringing along Piper and Paige.

We get some poolside fun right off the bat, easing us into Paige’s desire to see her old friend Sharon Grant before heading back home. Sharon’s husband Ben has written to Paige stating he’s worried about her, but isn’t specific in regard to the why. What no one knew until arriving in Orlando is that Hurricane George is slated to hit Florida, and though Sharon and Ben would seem out of harm’s way where they live, an old highway near there has a tragic history of attracting hurricanes. Paige quickly discovers that Sharon and Margaret are secretly into magic, and casting spells. Sharon has always been super competitive with Paige, which makes it difficult for Paige because she can’t really tell her about her new role in the Power of Three.

After Phoebe has a vision of Agnes lost in the approaching hurricane, the Charmed Ones’ vacation takes another unexpected turn when Sharon and Margaret, leery of Paige’s interest in their activities, cast a spell to keep Paige minding her own business. Unexpectedly, however, it affects not only Paige but also her sisters. Add to that Leo’s warning that severe storms can play very real and sometimes dangerous havoc with magic, and you have all the ingredients for a very nice entry in the book series based on the show.

This one has a lot of atmosphere and moves at a nice pace. The interactions feel like those in the show, and despite there being no particular evil to battle, it was extremely enjoyable as a light read, accomplishing exactly what it intended, which is to entertain. Fans of the show should really enjoy this one — just know going in there are no big battles or heavies, just a nice story. Great fun. show less

It took me all of an afternoon (as long as it takes my wife to make tacos) to read the 11th DS9 young adult novel, Day of Honor: Honor Bound. It's an okay book: Alexander is having difficulty living on Earth with his grandparents, and Worf swings by to celebrate the Day of Honor with him because Alexander has been getting into trouble at school. This is the third time Worf's experienced some excitement on the Day of Honor, and the second time we've seen Alexander go through it, too.

As an show more adult, the existence of DS9 YA novels baffles me; despite the presence of two child characters in the main/recurring cast, it's probably the least child-friendly of all the Star Treks. It ended one book after this one, and I kind of wonder if tying into the Day of Honor crossover was a way of bolstering sales in a dying line by appealing to the collectors/completists. (It obviously worked on me; though I have many of the TNG and TOS YA novels, this is the only DS9 one I own.) It's even weirder that this one stars a character who had never appeared on DS9 when this book was written, though (I assume by total coincidence) he finally did appear the month this book came out. More on that later.

Alexander's difficulties come down to a fear of his own strength, and problems controlling his anger; Worf tells the story of the soccer player he killed (from Season 4's "Let He Who Is Without Sin"), which is a nice tie-in. Basically Alexander keeps on throwing fights with bullies, but this only encourages his bullies. Worf has to both help him manage his anger (through Klingon techniques he's avoided his entire life, like mok'bara) and defeat his bullies... honorably. This book won't win any medals for sophisticated prose (the opening line is, "Alexander Rozhenko was one-quarter human, three-quarters Klingon and totally furious!") or dialogue (at one point, one of Alexander's bullies says, "I'm so flabbergasted, I don't know what to say"), or indeed, characterization. We're told of Alexander's tendency to become savage, but we never really feel it.

Still, it's a decent way to spend an hour, and peeks into an aspect of Worf that DS9 neglected for Worf's first two years. There is a really nice conversation between Worf and Alexander about honor, and the hard choices Worf has had to make in its name over the years, including when not to fight.

My favorite bit was when Worf told a girl at Alexander's school that Alexander snarled at her because he was into her. Would have loved to have seen Michael Dorn play that one on screen! Also Alexander's school's librarian makes googly eyes at Worf, which is just delightful.

Continuity Notes:

• As far as I could tell, Alexander's age is never given. He's seven chronologically, but looks more like 12-14 in Gordon Purcell's illustrations, as do his bullying classmates. This is fortuitously consistent with what "Sons and Daughters" will imply about Klingon aging.
• It's set sometime early during Season 5, before hostilities with the Klingons come to an end, and before the uniform change in "The Rapture." I'd suggest after "Nor the Battle to the Strong," since one of the kids at Alexander's school had an uncle killed in the Klingon conflict, and that seemed to be the hottest the war got; most of the time it's more subdued.
• Worf references a Master from Boreth, Lourn. To my surprise, he's a character from Diane Carey's novelization of "Way of the Warrior".
• Zefram Cochrane wrote a book called The Potential of Warp Propulsion; Alexander's school library has a first edition. There's a typo in it hand-corrected and initialed, allegedly by Cochrane, but it's probably a fake. A pre-WWIII publication?
• Kids of the 24th century watch "holoflicks"; the ones at Alexander's school are excited about a new Ferengi comedy.
• Obviously Diana G. Gallagher couldn't have known, but it's a bit of an awkward fit with "Sons and Daughters," which I coincidentally watched just before writing this review. In that episode, Alexander says, "you haven't tried to see me or talk to me in five years"; this book takes place approximately a year prior. Of course, that line is bad on its own terms because, 1) "Sons and Daughters" is set less than three years after Generations, when Worf sent Alexander back to Earth, and 2) that's completely terrible and implausible! I can kind of accept that Worf rarely visits-- he's not a great dad-- but to never even talk to his son over subspace for five years, or even three!? Impossible, Worf's mother would kill him.
• More difficult, though is Alexander's decision at the novel's end that he doesn't have to choose "to be a diplomat or a Klingon warrior or a Starfleet officer or something else entirely. Right now, he just wanted to be a kid." He seems to reach something of a peace here, both with the elements of his Klingon heritage and with his father. It's possible that his utilization of Klingon ritual and technique here sends him down the path that leads him to joining the Klingon Defense Force, but his anger at his father in "Sons and Daughters" would still come out of nowhere. On the other hand, Worf going through so much to help Alexander stay in human school here would make his anger at Alexander's joining the KDF very understandable!

Other Notes:

• Supposedly this book takes place in Russia, in a settlement called Mirnee Doleena, near Bobruisk. You wouldn't know it by the names of the characters: Bernard Umbaya, Kim Ho, Jeremy Sullivan, Suzanne Milton, Howard Chupek, Ms. Marconi, Mr. Houseman, Mrs. Miyashi, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Santiago. There is a Ms. Petrovna. I get that the future is multicultural, but really? (Also Worf goes to a briefing at Starfleet Headquarters at the same time Alexander is in school; it must be a very early morning briefing!)
• Despite appearing on the cover, the Defiant is nowhere near this book. Worf seems to take a commercial flight to Earth.

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