Tales of the Slayer, Volume 1 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Quite good stories of various Vampire Slayers throughout history -- the Battle of Marathon, the missing Roanoke Colony girl, the Bloody Countess, the French Revolution, Hitler's 1923 coup attempt and American Segregation are all at least tangentially mentioned. It being a tangential tie-in product that's not even about the characters from the TV show (though that last bit I did suspect might be in its favour, continuity, creativity and tone of voice-wise, and indeed it was), I didn't have the highest expectations, despite my wife's long-standing recommendation. I was all the more pleasantly surprised to find that most of these short stories are very well executed, and even the ones that feel they drag their feet a bit have decent show more conclusions and endings. Two thumbs up, I'll definitely read the other three such collections as well now. show less

As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I have always been fascinated by the aspect of untold stories of past slayers. In fact, the concept of multiple authors lending their voices to the history of the Chosen One was what made me so intrigued by Tales of the Slayer when I first learned of it’s existence. The book contains short stories from seven different historic periods including Roanoke, women who are absolute badasses (part of what I loved so much from the show), and vampires being staked to dust. So of course, the moment the book was in my possession I started reading it.

Although I enjoyed each story overall, I found some characters difficult to relate to. One example is Marie-Christine Du Lac, a slayer and main character from show more Unholy Madness by Nancy Holder. Du Lac grew up in the home of Marie Antoinette, a servant to those who deem themselves more important than the peasants. Despite this, she is treated to a much more desirable life. Marie-Christine often came off as rude or hateful, especially in regards to the lower class. In one instance, she even says that the children of the lower classes appear to be barely human. To be honest, I didn’t even like her watcher - which is what the person who prepares the Slayer for her battle against demonic forces is called. Edmund was just as rude and hateful as his ward. Not that every character needs to be likable for a story to be interesting, but it certainly makes it hard to empathize as you follow along.

Of the seven stories, my two favourites were Mornglom Dreaming by Doranna Durgin and And White Splits the Night by Yvonne Navarro. In Mornglom Dreaming, we are introduced to a Kentuckian named Mollie Prater who knows absolutely nothing of vampires, let alone demons and slayers. However, just days before her wedding in 1886, Mollie begins to feel different - faster, and stronger. This change coincides with reports of a beast that has been attacking the people who share the hollow Mollie resides in. On the day of her wedding, the demon and her watcher reveal themselves. Despite saving all but one person from death, both her and her future husband’s families no longer recognize her as the person they once knew. At this point, Mollie realizes her life will never be the same.

“Everything I ever wanted. Everything I planned for. My life… It’s all changed. It won’t never be the same.”

In Yvonne Navarro’s short story And White Splits the Night, rampant racism in Florida during 1956 makes it difficult for seventeen-year-old Asha Sayre to be the slayer, especially as she travels into town to investigate bodies that continue to make their way into the nearby swamp where she lives. The bodies remind her of twelve years prior, when she found her father hanging from a tree in the very same swamp after having been dragged through the trees by Klu Klux Klan members. And White Splits the Night was most definitely my favourite story from this volume. I loved Asha and her relationship with Laurent - she respected her watcher and listened to her instructions. She was young but strong and brave, even in the face of death.

“If nothing else, Asha knew she had done a measure of good in her small world, and she had been loved by someone besides.”

Despite their different writing styles, the authors all do a fantastic job of incorporating vampires and the supernatural into well-known historical events and figures. Overall, I had a pleasant experience reading Tales of the Slayer and would definitely suggest it for fans of the world created by Joss Whedon - especially if you’re interested in learning about slayers before Buffy - as well as to readers who are interested in both history and vampires. show less

I really dug the fact that (not surprisingly), the stories do not, um, end well. Also cool? At least one of the slayers is, well, a total snob. Despite what Slayers are *meant* to do, it is incredibly unlikely that all of 'em, in the history of Slayer-dom, would have gladly shouldered the honor and death sentence it bestowed.

Kearsten says: I really dug the fact that (not surprisingly), the stories do not, um, end well. Also cool? At least one of the slayers is, well, a total snob. Despite what Slayers are *meant* to do, it is incredibly unlikely that all of 'em, in the history of Slayer-dom, would have gladly shouldered the honor and death sentence it bestowed.

I really enjoyed this short story collection. For some fans of the show it will be exactly what you've been waiting for, interesting tidbits of the lives of other slayers. Other fans will find frustration in the fact that (and this is mentioned numerous times in the television show) most slayers didn't survive long enough to become experienced, so a tidbit of their lives as slayer is all that there is.

Excellent and highly original collection of stories. Christie Golden's "White Doe" is one of the best of the collection, where the author offers up her own slayer-related answer to the mystery of the Roanoake colony. While in Yvonne Navarro's "Die Blutgrafin," a slayer takes on the Bloody Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Nancy Holder's story concerns a slayer in Marie Antoinette's court at the start of the French Revolution, while Greg Rucka's takes place in Ancient Greece, and recreates the Spartans as werewolves. Mel Odom's "Silent Screams" is tragic tale of Germany in the 1920's, and the last two tales capture the rich feel of the south, taking place in Kentucky and Louisiana respectively.

Being the Buffy-addict that i am--one of the things i always wanted to know about was past slayers and this is a collection of short stories about them. This is an interesting collection--if somewhat more for the filling in of slayer history sometimes than the stories themselves.