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Because of the high incidence of death and violence, the Mayor
of Sunnydale has invited a woman called Belakane to speak
at Sunnydale High School. Her program, "Be the Ultimate
You," builds self-esteem in teenagers. But Belakane is
a demon ant like queen, whose test - and subsequent nurturing
of the skills she discovers - is simply part of her plot to
enlist workers to build her colony, and to find mates to help
her populate it. Soon Sunnydale High is full of kids with
only one trait each: aggressive Slayer, brainy Willow, helpful
Oz... and Belakane has only just begun...
If,
like me, you grew up on Ian Livingstone and Peter Jackson's
fantastic range of Fighting Fantasy books then you'll
slip easy into this new range of Buffy books. While
the Buffy versions are not quite as complex as the
Fighting Fantasy books (you don't need dice to battle
your enemies, nor do you ever get any more than two choices)
they are still just as much fun.
The
whole idea behind the Stake Your Destiny range is that
you become the main character in the book and can, to some
extent, control the events that unfold as you progress. For
the most part this works really well, and you do get the feeling
that you are taking part in your very own adventure - one
where you call the shots.
On my first attempt I decided to go on patrol instead of hanging
out at The Bronze. My reason for this was that I knew I had
to find a leprechaun type monster known as a Sleaninhnam and
I figured that I should go patrolling instead of drinking
with my pals. A logical assumption, I think you'll agree...
but, no. That turned out to be a totally wrong move. I'm not
complaining because, just as in real life, what seems the
most logical decision doesn't always turn out to be the correct
one.
The
authors have also managed to get their Buffy speak
spot on. The characters reactions and dialogue was believable,
and I laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
The
biggest problem I had with Colony was down to no fault
of the authors. Whoever wrote the blurb on the back of the
book, reprinted at the top of this review, should be taken
out and shot. I've reprinted it here, as it's pretty safe
to assume that most people skim the synopsis anyway, and by
the time you get around to buying the book you'll probably
have forgotten what it was about anyway.
Most
people read the back of books to get a flavour for a story
before they buy it and delve into it. The synopsis above spoils
a huge part of this book. If you don't know what is going
to happen then important plot developments, like why everyone
is acting so strange and why Angel and every other male seems
to fancy Belakane, are ruined by the thoughtlessness of whoever
wrote the above copy.
Other
than that moan, Colony is a pretty engaging read. I
can't think of a better way of keeping the Buffy books
alive than with this format.
Pete
Boomer
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