Golden, Christopher
About the Author:
Christopher Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, USA, where he still lives with his family. His website can be found at www.christophergolden.com.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3 out of 5
(5 books)
TOP PICK:
Alien: River Of Pain
Alien: River Of Pain
Set amid the events of the opening act of 'Aliens', this book tells the full story of the Hadley's Hope colony on LV-426 and how, after being sent to investigate a derelict alien vessel, the colonists find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive.
This book is sometimes referred to as part of a trilogy but is, in fact, a standalone novel that just happens to be the third book released in the new era of (supposedly) canon Alien novels. And although it begins amid the events of 'Alien' and has that branding on the cover, this is definitely a companion story to James Cameron's 'Aliens' rather than Ridley Scott's original (both novelised by Alan Dean Foster).
I was a bit worried going into this book by the fact that the ending seemed a foregone conclusion. We know that Newt is the only survivor found on LV-426, so there felt like a chance this book might just be an exercise in inevitability. However, I can honestly say that I became fully invested, despite thinking I knew how it would end.
Golden expands characters who largely only appeared in the Extended Edition of 'Aliens' and also creates a cast of characters of his own whom we come to know, like, hate, respect, etcetera. It means that the cost of lives, which we already knew going in, genuinely has some emotional impact for the reader. You actually find yourself hoping that their colonists' latest survival idea will work out, despite knowing that it almost certainly won't. And you'd be wrong in thinking that you know exactly how this is going to turn out too, as the book does have a surprising element to the ending that I enjoyed.
All that said, you will finish this book, like me, with an overwhelming urge to go and re-watch 'Aliens', so factor the movie's length into the time set aside for reading this book.
4 out of 5
Angel: Surrogates
(Art by Christian Zanier, Marvin Mariano, Andy Owens, Jason Minor and Curtis P. Arnold)
The first graphic novel based on Angel's spinoff TV series. Angel begins investigating a fertility clinic where it seems that the offspring being cultivated in the wombs of the clients may not be human.
This is a solid start for the Angel series and, frankly, much better than most of the Buffy tie-ins I've read thus far. There is something very creepy and disturbing about the idea of a demon using human women as surrogates for its demonic spawn and, due to the nature of this series, Golden can go a bit darker with the storyline than we would've seen in a Buffy graphic novel.
Unfortunately the plot here is resolved a little too quickly and easily, making the end of the book feel rushed. This story is made up of just three comics, making it very short, and I definitely feel there could've been enough mileage in the core idea for five to six comics.
3 out of 5
Angel: The Hollower
(Art by Hector Gomez and Sandu Florea)
A figure from Angel's past arrives in Sunnydale with the news that an old enemy, the vampire-eating demon known as the Hollower, has returned.
This book was released before Angel actually got his own spinoff TV series, which is to say that it's from the early days of Buffyverse comics which were, largely, awful.
The plot here is pretty boring and the hints of Angel risking his life to use the Hollower to destroy his vampire-self are never actually explored the way I would've liked them to. Instead it's just mentioned that there's a chance he could become fully human again but that idea goes nowhere.
Worse for me than the bland plot was the terrible artwork. None of the characters (with the possible exception of Giles) looks like their onscreen counterparts, the design of the Hollower itself is pretty unimaginative and some of the vampires are bright green (something that seems to be a common theme among Buffy comics for some reason).
The only reason I've not rated this as a 1 out of 5 is that the handful of scenes exploring Angel's history as Angelus in the 19th Century were actually pretty interesting.
2 out of 5
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Blood Of Carthage
(Art by Cliff Richards, Joe Pimentel, Chynna Clugston-Major, Paul Lee and Brian Horton)
An ancient and powerful demon begins to awaken beneath Sunnydale, forcing Spike to broker and unlikely alliance between Buffy and a cult of demons known as the Blood of Carthage.
There is some mileage to the idea of Buffy and co having to ally themselves with a group of demons to fight a common foe and I liked that Spike is the one to bridge that gap, which fits him tonally at this point in his (un)life.
Unfortunately, there's not much more to like about this book. The biggest disappointment is how trite and cliche the interactions between the 'Scooby Gang' and the Blood of Carthage are, exploring none of the story potential of their two opposing ideologies being forced into working together. A close second in the disappointment stakes is Ky-Laag, who is built-up as this ominous and ancient evil throughout the book, only to turn out to be a very generic demon with some very stale villain dialogue.
We're also given a subplot about Buffy doubting whether she should continue with college when her calling is obviously Slaying but at the end of the book all of her doubts disappear just in time to neatly return everything to the status quo so that this 'epic and impactful' story doesn't contradict anything in the TV show and, in fact, is almost like it never happened.
2 out of 5
Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All In A Row
Now, I'm not a fan of Buffy or Angel, but I received this book for free and thought 'what the hell'. I was pleasantly surprised.
Rather than being about some all-action, bantering teenage Slayer (although there is one of them in it), this book's focus is on the vampire lovers Spike and Drucilla. Spike and Dru make such good main characters because they really revel in being evil and, lets face it, we all love a good villain.
It is 1940 and as World War II rages across Europe, Spike has to meet with the demon Skrymir to aquire the magical necklace Freyja's Strand for Dru. I was pleased to note that Freyja's Strand is a genuine feature of Norse mythology, adding a little more depth to the book. In exchange for the necklace, Skrymir commands Spike to kill the young Slayers-in-waiting, the pretty maids all in a row. There follows some rather brutal scenes in which Spike and Dru assault the safehouse of the Watchers' Council and kill lots of little girls. I was shocked by how adult these events are.
I was a bit disappointed that the war wasn't made more of a feature in the story though, as there's a lot of potential in the idea of two vampires wandering the battlefields of the Second World War and maybe meeting some famous faces.
Ultimately the book is carried by the witty and ruthless Spike and the charming but insane Drucilla. I particularly enjoyed the scene towards the end in which Skrymir makes the mistake of annoying Spike.
4 out of 5
Collaborations & Anthologies:
Angel: Autumnal (here)
Angel: Earthly Possessions (here)
Angel: Hunting Ground (here)
Angel: Strange Bedfellows (here)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Bad Blood (here)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Food Chain (here)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Play With Fire And Other Stories (here)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Origin (here)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel: Past Lives (here)