Tales of the Slayer: Volume 4 Book

This volume contains 8 "shorts" about previous slayers. I have never read any of the other volumes but I figured that wouldn't have much impact on my understanding of the story since I figured out that each volume has different stories, each penned by a different writer. Not like it is a linear tale of each slayer that came before Buffy in chronological order.


"It's All About The Mission" by Nancy Holder.
I like Holder's writing and since she has written so many Buffy/Angel tales, I trusted this story to be worth my time. I was surprised to see the story was about Nikki Wood, but it was nice to see a familiar name to ease into some non-Buffy stories. Fans of the show know how she meets her end but it was kinda cool to to get know a little more about her and to see her watcher.

"Undeadsville" by Michael Reaves
This short started off slow for me but I liked how the Watcher/Slayer relationship didn't exactly mirror that of Giles and Buffy. Plus, it was refreshing how the story played out as it was the only story in the book that changed direction and ended on a different note than all of the others.

"Alone" by Scott Allie
This contribution to the volume bored me. I liked the idea behind it all but it wasn't handled very well in my opinion. Granted, the dynamic between the Slayer and her Watcher was quite different in this entry but overall, the story lacked something that grabbed my attention. The ending was rather abrupt to me.

"Sideshow Slayer" by Greg Cox.
The setting of this story was interesting to me. The Slayer calls a carnival home and the cat and mouse game of the Cruciamentum takes place in a fun house. Definitely a different set up, which was nice.

"Survivors" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
This story was not a bad one but it wasn't great either. An unstable Watcher was a nice touch but overall the story wasn't as good as it could have been.

"Back to the Garden" by Robert Joseph Levy
Finally, a female Watcher to shake things up a bit. Granted, I was slow to warm up to this entry but after realizing that Beryl wasn't even an actual Slayer in the start, just a potential was a nice twist on a plot point that was growing old at this point in the book. For the most part, I liked this story and the different plotting that Levy brought to the book. Another abrupt ending but I understand that eqah story has to end at some point.

"The Rule of Silence" by Kara Dalkey
This tale really shook things up. A completely different country and time period made for a interesting shake-up. I liked how her Cruciamentum was set up differently than previous ones, more intense with more than just one angry vamp to defeat. It started to run a little long for me, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

"Two Teenage Girls at the Mall" by Jane Espenson
I saw Espenson's name and figured that this would be one of the better chapters but I was wrong. This had to be the weakest of all. It wasn't just the viewpoint of the vampire but the repeating that Espenson used in her writing as well as the ever present and annoying "blanking" that the vamp said. Once was enough, the rest just took me out of the story. Plus, the layout of the story left this reader with more questions than answers by the time it was all said and done. A vamp sired a vamp just for the Cruciamentum? The vampires are working with the Watcher's Council? I don't understand the point of Gregor and why he throws his newbie to the Slayer. I don't have to like every Slayer but this story made her seem like a pre-Sunnydale Buffy that was an idiot bitch. Perhaps this was done so that you were basically rooting for Julie to win? I don't know but it wasn't well thought out or written. A bad note to end the book on, for sure.