Cursed (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Paperback)

I realize, of course, that there are practical reasons why this could not be. The Historian's Note in "Cursed" points out that this story takes place in an alternative continuity during the 5th season of "BtVS" and the third season of "Angel." That is a pretty good trick, since the former was the 2000-2001 season and the latter the 2001-2002 season. Since Conner is a baby and Spike has yet to get anywhere with Buffy, you can work out the continuity for yourself. The "alternative" is key because Odom has to write a story about Angel and Spike in which nothing really significant happens between them, because that privilege is left to Joss and his minions.

To avoid the very confrontation we would most like to read in "Cursed," Odom has to a pair of double splits on his narrative. Consequently, while Spike is hired to join a gang of demons in retrieving a object, Angel and his agency are involved in their own case, with the reading becoming aware that these stories are two sides to the same coin long before the characters catch on. Additionally, as is usually the case with any narrative that brings Angel and Spike together, there is a plotline in the past, involving Darla and Drusilla, that informs he doing ons in the present. Bridging the past and the present are some gypsies, although, surprisingly, not the same clan that is involved in Angel's curse.

Ultimately, "Cursed" is really Spike's story and his relationship with the strange gypsy woman Lyanka is the book's pivotal one, despite what the cover promises. As we all remember from "Dopplegangland," despite Buffy's attempt to stifle Angel when he disagrees with her observation that a vampire's personality has nothing do with the person they were in real life, that is indeed the case. Buffy's declaration was because Willow noticed that her vamp double was "kinda gay," and you can draw you own conclusions regarding how Liam became Angeleus. But what we know of the William the Bloody before he was turned is that he was an incurable romantic who wrote bad poetry. Odom is the first to deal explicitly with this idea with regards to Spike.

Odom does a nice job of connecting the dots in this regard. After all, Spike's love for the daft Drusilla was his original defining characteristic, and then he spent the last three seasons on "BtVS" falling hard for the Slayer (just do not try to get me to figure out how Harmony fits into the equation, because I do not think she does). As much as I enjoyed the scenes when Angel and Spike finally get together in L.A. in the present and go at it with the choice verbal sparing, it is really the Spike that is revealed by Lyanka that resonates in "Cursed." The funny thing is, I do not think Odom realized the vein of gold he uncovered in this story, because it is really not set up to be the big payoff in the novel. So, the bottom line on this one is that the Angel part of the story is solid enough, but it is what happens with Spike that was well worth the exploring.

I am a huge Buffy and Angel fan and so was really looking forward to this book. However, it wasn't long before I was disappointed. The idea to see Spike and Angel team up, especially given their 'colourful' history intrigued me. This book even attempts to explore this history, but somehow left me bored. I'm not sure what exactly didn't feel right to me, but the essence of the characters were lost somewhere. Having said that this is not the worst Buffy/Angel book I have read. The author obviously knows the series and attempts inject some humor, but I found it rather flat. Not a great book but not one of the best either.