Edited by Glenn Yeffeth
I return to my favorite alternate reality with Seven Seasons of Buffy, which came on my radar because a number of prominent genre writers I enjoy contribute essays to the collection, which is a fan-based, casual examination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from a number of different and interesting viewpoints. Though the anthology's essays vary considerably in quality, style, and viewpoint, each has a significant and heartfelt contribution to make to readers' understanding of the extraordinary show. Essay topics run the gamut, from Jacqueline Lichtenberg's wonderful and academic "Power of Becoming" to a defense of Xander disguised as a demon pupil's final essay ("Is That Your Final Answer...?" by Roxanne Longstreet Conrad). In the case of the latter, and of many of the weaker essays, the author tries just a bit too hard to be on point or tries a bit too hard to strain towards a casual or academic tone. The best essays, by contrast, are neither ashamed of the author's unabashed love of this quirky little show nor overly concerned with how they sound; it is obvious that many of the essayists in Seven Seasons of Buffy want to use their allotted pages to share something they love, or find troubling, about the show, and the essays that flow naturally are, naturally, the strongest of the collection.
Among these excellent tributes to an excellent show, two in particular stand out: Scott Westerfeld's "A Slayer Comes to Town" and Justine Larbalestier's "A Buffy Confession." Though Margaret L. Carter does a good job sorting out the uses of alternate realities and parallel timelines in her essay "A World Without Shrimp," her examples become repetitive and, unfortunately, the subject has been treated more effectively by Westerfeld. His examination of the general tropes at play in these kinds of narratives, and how they relate to the Buffyverse, is brilliant, placing Buffy in the context of science fiction and other genres while exploring a facet of the show that makes it uniquely brilliant. This is the best example of the more academically-minded essays in the group, but Larbalestier best exemplifies the overly devoted, fanboy/fangirl-type essays. Her Buffy confessions are heartfelt without becoming overwrought, with the possible exception of her evisceration of season 7 (which may not, in truth, be entirely unwarranted), and her examples of Buffy festivals, tracing the thematic threads of the series through episodes and seasons, will soon be replicated in my own apartment. Her love of shines through every word and this essay, half of which is constructed as a defense of the show and of purely sitting back and enjoying it (heaven forbid!), should surely set in motion Anya's-Afraid-of-Bunny-Rabbits festivals throughout Buffy fandom.
Seven Seasons of Buffy gets off to a slow start and is somewhat uneven, but each author has clearly put consideration and care into their writing about the show. Tackling different aspects of the show from a considerably casual viewpoint allows the book to maintain an air of conversation between the authors and their readers, linking fans together and giving Buffy devotees a fair share of intellectual fodder for consideration and debate. The collection would benefit from a better introduction (Drew Goddard's page and a half is very nearly unreadable) and by putting its essays in order; its current grouping swings from subject to subject and would benefit from some considered thought. Glenn Yeffeth has, however, succeeded in bringing together a number of talented and entertaining writers to discuss many of the different aspects of what makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer great television, great art, and, most importantly, a lot of fun. Buffy fans should embrace this opportunity to dive back into Sunnydale and get to the heart of the issues explored by Joss Whedon and company during the show's seven year run of brilliance.
Grade: A-
Among these excellent tributes to an excellent show, two in particular stand out: Scott Westerfeld's "A Slayer Comes to Town" and Justine Larbalestier's "A Buffy Confession." Though Margaret L. Carter does a good job sorting out the uses of alternate realities and parallel timelines in her essay "A World Without Shrimp," her examples become repetitive and, unfortunately, the subject has been treated more effectively by Westerfeld. His examination of the general tropes at play in these kinds of narratives, and how they relate to the Buffyverse, is brilliant, placing Buffy in the context of science fiction and other genres while exploring a facet of the show that makes it uniquely brilliant. This is the best example of the more academically-minded essays in the group, but Larbalestier best exemplifies the overly devoted, fanboy/fangirl-type essays. Her Buffy confessions are heartfelt without becoming overwrought, with the possible exception of her evisceration of season 7 (which may not, in truth, be entirely unwarranted), and her examples of Buffy festivals, tracing the thematic threads of the series through episodes and seasons, will soon be replicated in my own apartment. Her love of shines through every word and this essay, half of which is constructed as a defense of the show and of purely sitting back and enjoying it (heaven forbid!), should surely set in motion Anya's-Afraid-of-Bunny-Rabbits festivals throughout Buffy fandom.
Seven Seasons of Buffy gets off to a slow start and is somewhat uneven, but each author has clearly put consideration and care into their writing about the show. Tackling different aspects of the show from a considerably casual viewpoint allows the book to maintain an air of conversation between the authors and their readers, linking fans together and giving Buffy devotees a fair share of intellectual fodder for consideration and debate. The collection would benefit from a better introduction (Drew Goddard's page and a half is very nearly unreadable) and by putting its essays in order; its current grouping swings from subject to subject and would benefit from some considered thought. Glenn Yeffeth has, however, succeeded in bringing together a number of talented and entertaining writers to discuss many of the different aspects of what makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer great television, great art, and, most importantly, a lot of fun. Buffy fans should embrace this opportunity to dive back into Sunnydale and get to the heart of the issues explored by Joss Whedon and company during the show's seven year run of brilliance.
Grade: A-
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