The Book of Fours
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 First edition cover |
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| Author | Nancy Holder |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Genre(s) | Horror novel |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
| Released | April 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7434-1240-0 |
| Preceded by | Here Be Monsters (Buffy novel) |
| Followed by | Lost Slayer (Buffy novel) |
The Book of Fours is an original novel based on the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Taking place during Buffy's third season, Faith and Buffy are the current Slayers and when mayhem caused by tidal waves and burning forests begin to erupt in Sunnydale as well as vicious attackers appearing with ceremonial axes, the gang knows that something is up. A woman named Cecile Lafitte has sent her Servants to kill the Slayers with special axes, Faith being the Slayer of Fire and Buffy being the Slayer of Air. Each Slayer has a special axe made to destroy the Slayer of that particular element. There are four axes in total; air, fire, water and earth. Should Faith and Buffy both be killed then it's believed that the line of Slayers would die out forever. Cecile wants to bring forth the Gatherer, and the only way to do so is to have the Slayers killed, which would feed the demon enough power to bring him forth into the world. Meanwhile, Willow ends up in the hospital with major brain trauma while Giles figures they need answers from the Watcher of the Slayer that preceded Buffy, India Cohen.
[edit] Trivia
- Tagline: 'To combat a quartet of unnatural disasters, four slayers must band together: Buffy, Kendra, Faith and India'.
- India Cohen was the slayer that preceded Buffy. She is seen on the front cover of the book, the third from left. The character also appears in Tales of the Slayer, Volume III, in the story The Code of the Samurai.
- On one page where Willow is talking about her dream with Matthew Broderick, Buffy says 'You pick the strangest guys to dream about, Will' . . . 'How come it's never someone current? Y'know like Seth Green?' Seth Green plays Oz, Willows boyfriend in Buffy.
[edit] Characters
- Buffyverse canon characters include: Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Faith, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Kendra, Roger (Sam) Zabuto, Principal Snyder, Willy the Snitch, Sheila Rosenberg
- Buffyverse non-canon characters include: India Cohen (Slayer); Kit Bothwell (India's Watcher); Lucy Hanover (ghostly Slayer); Simon LaFitte (voodoo king); Cecile LaFitte (voodoo practitioner); Mirielle (insane girlfriend of Zabuto); Anthony Yorke (traitorous Watcher); Micaela Tomassi (sorcerer); Cameron Duvalier (evil servant); Tervokian (demon); Cordelia's Mother; Willow's Father; Xander's Aunt & Uncle; Kevin Harris (Xander's cousin); Carlos New Mexico (crazy homeless man); Mark Corvalis (firefighter); Monica Hamilton (nurse); Holly Johnson (rescued girl); Amanda & Ben Johnson (Holly's parents); Neema Mfune-Hayes (Watcher); Ibn Rashad; Taran; The Gatherer (ancient demon); The Wanderers (Gatherer's four servants).
[edit] Continuity
- Supposed to be set late in Buffy Season 3, after Xander and Cordelia have broken up. Fits into an alternative continuity in which the events of the Gatekeeper trilogy took place a year before the events of this book.
- Shares continuity with many Buffy books including the Gatekeeper trilogy, Immortal, and Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row.
[edit] Canonical issues
- Buffy comics such as this one are not usually considered by fans as canonical. Some fans consider them stories from the imaginations of authors and artists, while other fans consider them as taking place in an alternative fictional reality. However unlike fan fiction, overviews summarising their story, written early in the writing process, were 'approved' by both Fox and Joss Whedon (or his office), and the books were therefore later published as officially Buffy merchandise.
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: January 1999 - Spring 1999 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Uninvited Guests |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy comic: The Final Cut |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Bad Blood |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.11 Gingerbread |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy comic: Bad Dog (by Doug Petrie) |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Crash Test Demons |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Pale Reflections |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.12 Helpless |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.13 The Zeppo |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy book: The Deathless |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.14 Bad Girls |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.15 Consequences |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.16 Doppelgängland |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy book: Doomsday Deck |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy book: Immortal |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B3.17 Enemies |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Angel: The Hollower |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Prime Evil |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Revenant |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | B3.18 Earshot |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | B3.19 Choices |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Power of Persuasion |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | B3.20 The Prom |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Resurrecting Ravana |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy books: The Gatekeeper [Trilogy] |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Return to Chaos |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Visitors |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Unnatural Selection |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Obsidian Fate |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Deep Water |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: Here Be Monsters |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy book: The Book of Fours |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | B3.21 Graduation Day, Part One |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | B3.22 Graduation Day, Part Two |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Sunnydale High Yearbook |
| Sunnydale, spring, 1999 | Buffy comic: Double Cross |
[edit] See also
- Buffyverse chronology
- Buffy books. These tend to surround the character of Buffy and the fictional town of Sunnydale
- Angel books. These instead focus on Angel and his so called 'Fang Gang'
- “Tales of the Slayer” These chronicle the stories of past slayers
- All of the above can be described as “Buffyverse novels”
[edit] External links
[edit] Reviews
- Litefoot1969.bravepages.com - Review of this book by Litefoot
- Teen-books.com - Reviews of this book
- Nika-summers.com - Review of this book by Nika Summers
- Shadowcat.name - Review of this book
