Keep Me In Mind (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [Paperback]

The first "Stake Your Destiny" adventure for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" had some problems that might dissuade fans from checking out this next offering, but this one is a definitive improvement. In putting together "Keep Me in Mind," author Nancy Holder plays with the format and comes up with some nice loops. Sometimes your choices will be determined by whether you are in Snyder's office as opposed to doing sneaky book cover research, and other times what matters is whether or you know how you know. Also, do not think that making your choice based on what the page number options are is going to give you a clue: I followed that path and got to an ending in like eight moves (not that I could duplicate it and I was not really taking notes that time through).

This particular "BtVS" adventure begins with a letter from Giles to Buffy that explains the rules of the game without being too blatant and reviews some of the early adventures of the Slayer. Then Buffy comes home from patrolling with Angel and then gets dropped off at Sunnydale High by her mom, who is looking forward to a mother-daughter shopping date that night. But Cordelia is passing out flyers for a 10 percent discount at the grand opening of Shoe Planet. The first choice is to go with Cordy or have Buffy remember that her mom has plastic, and you are off. Much more than that I would not want to say because a key part of the adventure is finding out what is going on and who is behind it all. There are lots of familiar faces, representing both the living and the dead (and undead), and they get to be part of the clues, so looking at the back of this paperback because that gives away too much of the game (I avoided the temptation and am certainly happy that I did).

My major complaint with the format of the first book was that it really prevented readers from playing the game straight up. If you did what you think is the smart move it did not always pan out, so you might as well flip a coin rather than trying to ask yourself, "What would Buffy do?" But when Holder comes up with a situation where flipping a coin would be an appropriate approach (e.g., going left or right, up on the roof or search in the alley), it really is that way. Then there are the time when she gives you four options, three of which take you to the same result while the odd one gives you a slight detour before arriving at the same place. So it is clear Holder is having some fun with this format and one of the best things I can say about this adventure is that I did not keep running into the same endings repeatedly and I was rather happy to see how long it took me to get to a familiar one. It was actually fun to get to the same page but head off in a different direction because of the aforementioned loops.

There are (I think) nine ending to "Keep Me in Mind," and this time Buffy (or somebody close to her) does not die most of the time. In fact, some of the endings are rather mundane, which is also part of the fun and I certainly appreciate the irony of doing homework possibly being a fate worse than death for Buffy. In fact, it is because of the creativity Holder shows working out this story within the strictures of the "Stake Your Destiny" format that I ended up rounding up on this one. You are not going to have a really great "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" story in this format, although you can skirt some interesting possibilities as happens here, so the criteria is whether you can have some fun, and Holder does provide that.

I love Buffy books. I have read and currently own way more than any adult should have. And I usually love Nancy Holder's books. I'm not as interested in the Choose Your Own Adventure formula, but I'm not opposed to it. Loved it as a kid. The Suicide King (another Buffy Choose Your Own) was reasonable.

However, I'm sad to say this book is really awful. The individual pages of writing are good, as is usual for the author. She's good with the characterizations and dialogue. But as one of the other reviewers said, it's a mess. The book tries to cover too much territory with recycled pages of action, and the continuity is completely lacking. You see Cordelia being abducted and follow trying to save her, make a few Choices, and in a few pages...it's like you've forgotten she was abducted as she saunters in with Xander. You're fighting an old foe and dust him...and then in a few Choices, you're worried if that foe is waiting for you. You're wandering in a tunnel and have to choose left/right...only when you go back out, you have to go the wrong way because there is no correct choice (did the tunnel disappear?)

Really, really not worth reading if you're actually going to pay attention to plot threads and continuity.

Keep Me In Mind
Nancy Holder (2005)

RATING: 2/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season Two

CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Joyce, Cordelia, Harmony, Snyder, Oz, Ethan Rayne, Jonathan, Devon, Amber, Jenny Calendar

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: George Handley (intern), Lars Von Teufelsblut (sorceror), Der Luger (demon)

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "Ethan Rayne returns to Sunnydale and unleashes a long-trapped evil sorceror from Middle Ages Bavaria. As if that and Ethan's true motivation weren't enough to keep Buffy from her chemistry home-work, she soon finds herself encountering a seemingly endless parade of old adversaries out to settle the score."

REVIEW

Keep Me in Mind is the second in the "Stake Your Destiny" line of choose-your-own-adventure Buffy novels. The plot (if one can call it that) involves Ethan Rayne working with an evil sorceror named Lars Von Teufelsblut (I kid you not) and a demon named Der Luger to free something-or-other trapped in an ancient time capsule. Somehow the magic goes all ka-blooey, and manifestations of old Buffy enemies and allies start popping up all over the place, making for a very trippy read as it's never quite clear who is actually present and who is simply a figment of a spell gone bad.

I'm not opposed to the "Stake Your Destiny" books. The Suicide King, for example, is a pretty interesting read. Keep Me in Mind, however, is an incoherent mess of recycled dialogue and characters, with a recurring didactic tone about the importance of training. There's a few good moments of light, sassy fun and an interesting framing sequence, but on the whole this book should simply be skipped.

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