Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Deep Water
A young adult novel by Laura Anne Gilman and Josepha Sherman

Well, it's official. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a hit show. Of course, you may have suspected this, what with the merchandising, and the ratings, and the incidence of its stars' photographs on magazine covers (plus, everyone at The 11th Hour likes it), but one fact alone proves the show's success conclusively: the books.

It seems, these days, that just about any genre show -- be it ever so short-lived -- somehow warrants at least one tie-in novel. Whether it be just a recounting of the series' pilot and one or two stories of questionable value (like in the case of, say, seaQuest DSV), or episode novelisations and original adventures by the score (like with Star Trek and Doctor Who), pretty much any series with the capacity to inspire a fanatical fanbase (people are fanatical about seaQuest DSV?) will soon see itself in print, the stars of the series staring out from the book covers.

Which Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar does a lot. With over twenty original paperbacks in the series so far (most dreadful in twelve impossible ways before breakfast), and one hardcover novel (the excellent Immortal by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder), Buffy's world has often been explored -- and expanded -- in print. But while these books have unfailingly added to the universe that spawned them, they have all-too-often disappointed the discerning Buffy fan with their quality -- or, you know, lack thereof.

But not this one.

In this, the second Buffy novel by Gilman and Sherman, the Scooby Gang is completely right, and the action is completely involving. Never taking anything too seriously (take note, Nancy Holder), avoiding preachiness (see, Mel Odom?), and never being just boring (take that, Arthur Byron Cover), Deep Water is a clever, snappy and light-hearted addition to the Buffy library; a perfectly enjoyable tale of mythical beings, relationships and obsession.

You see, poor Buffy has been having those damn prophecy dreams again; this time about water and death. But Buffy has had some bad experiences with water (drowning, getting attacked, getting drenched so that she had to get changed at Angel's place and have sex with him -- that was bad!), so Giles, dream detective, decrees that these are mere nightmares, and not portents of doom at all. Then Willow rescues a child selkie -- legendary seal-person thing -- from a polluted beach, people start dying near the water, and it turns out that Buffy was right, her dreams were prophecies; there's new evil in town, and it's coming from the water. Buffy's always right. Don't they know this by now?

Of course, the evil isn't the only thing going on in the book: this is Buffy, after all. And Gilman and Sherman know their source material well, 'cause the requisite angst, camaraderie and school stuff is all present and accounted for -- as is the wit. Published as a Young Adult novel -- and much more enjoyable than any of those written for grown-ups -- Deep Water holds true to the spirit of the series without being derivative, and is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the Hellmouth.

Of course, there's no Faith in it. There's never any Faith in these books, even though most of them take place when the rogue Slayer was certainly on the scene. Neither is there any Wesley -- for which we can only be deeply, deeply thankful. And while Buffy has forged ahead with her post-Angel life in the show, the professional Fan Fiction writers at Pocket continue to have the two characters being all couple-y (kind of) -- not that I'm complaining. But it is worth noting that the books exist in a kind of stasis, as an Alternate Universe of sorts, upon which the latest events of the live-action Buffy-verse do not, and can not, have any immediate impact.

The books are like missing episodes, or might-have-beens. And Deep Water, while not an "Earshot," or a "Hush," is certainly not an "Inca Mummy Girl" either. Read. Enjoy. And pick up Gilman and Sherman's Visitors as well. Also Golden's Sins of the Father, and anything from Diana G. Gallagher. But you should pretty much leave the others alone.

They're evil.

Re-Read Factor: Just as a good Buffy episode can be enjoyed over and over, so too can any good Buffy novel. However, unlike a bad ('cause everything is relative) Buffy episode, the abysmal efforts of all-too-many Buffy writers deserve only horrible sacrifice to your chosen demon. Not this one, though. Read this again.

Sequel Factor: The story here is pretty much done, but a passing mention of the gang's adventures with creatures of Irish legend would not come amiss in Gilman and Sherman's next Buffy book. Assuming, hopefully, that there will be one.

Strong Chick Factor: Well, it is based on Buffy. So, duh.

-- Rachel Hyland

Deep Water, published by Pocket Books, is currently available in paperback.

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