Reviews

Buffy, Ballads, and Bad Guys Who Sing: Music in the Worlds of Joss Whedon by Kendra Preston Leonard

sweetheart_seer's review

3.0

This work is credited to one editor since it is a compendium of works by several authors and one person worked on compiling, making order of, and editing...

 It has been 20 years(!) since Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a mid-season replacement show premiering on the WB network. The cast recently had a cast reunion and ET featured the cast in an article (and on the cover) all about their thoughts and feeling reflecting on the show.

Let me begin by saying that I am and always have been a huge fan of both Buffy and Angel. Specifically, Buffy is sort of what helped me get through my high school years. I bought the seasons on DVD and I read the novels, I had prop replicas of Anya's necklace from "The Wish" and of Buffy's cross necklace that Angel gave her in Season one. I memorized the episode titles and could quote the show. I was, and still am, a Buffy fangirl.

When I graduated from high school in 2005, I didn't want a class ring from my own school, I wanted the Buffy class of '99 class ring.

I could go on, but my point is, I love(d) all things Buffy.

I grew up and sort of got away from my love of the show (ie obsession) and sold off most of my Buffy memorabilia through Amazon and eBay.

Then? I was browsing my local library minding my own business and this shining beauty called out to me from the stacks.

Not only a Buffy book I had not ever heard of before (I did my fair share of "Buffy Studies" back in the day) but one all about music and featuring both Buffy and Angel?! (Firefly too, but I could never get into the show. I saw the movie Serenity though and it was decent.)

I devoured this book over the course of a few days. Reading here and there when I could steal time away.

Ah, it was like coming home to meet up with old friends again. The pain, the love, the loss, the tragedies. It was all there compacted in essays and brilliant psychological musings revealing a few concepts even *I* hadn't read about or thought of prior.

It was a wonderful homecoming.

I have been after my hubby for awhile to watch all of the episodes with me. (We don't watch much TV so it really would take us a LONG time to watch both BTVS and AtS) He said he would love to eventually and I'm sure we will. When that time comes I am sure I will have memories flood from the times I originally watched them; the same type that flooded in when I was reading this and remembering the beloved characters Joss and his team created.

I highly recommend this for fans of course, and also for the fans that maybe are feeling a little nostalgic and want to hang out again with the Scoobie gang and Angel Investigations.