 |
| Monster Island |
| |
 ith the latest Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel crossover novel Monster Island, Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski have combined their amazing talents to produce a true gem. It has everything; an interesting and thought provoking storyline together with great character interaction and interpretation. A credit to their outstanding skills is how easily these writers take the essence of a character's psyche and effortlessly transfer it to paper. When marrying characters together for the first time they seem to know instinctively how they will interact with each other. An Isle of Monsters
Chris and Tom generously took some time out of their hectic schedules to talk to CoA about the book. The writers are no strangers to each other; last year releasing the original novel, Force Majeur together and both being well established authors in the Buffy and Angel-verse; not forgetting the fabulous Monster Book. They have collaborated on many Angel graphic novels for Dark Horse Comics including Hunting Ground and the crossover Past Lives. Drawing on their vast knowledge, they bring together aspects of each show to write their first joint Buffy/Angel crossover hardcover novel. So, did having a greater number of characters to play with make life easier or was the book more complicated to write? Chris admits laughing, "Are you kidding? It's a pain in the ass! But it's also a lot of fun; having Fred and Tara bond, and having Spike and Gunn . . . not. That's a blast!" Tom candidly adds, "I find it much more difficult. It's really hard to find something for everybody to do in a scene. I thought this book was going to make my head explode it had so many characters. There were some scenes that had over 7,000 characters in them! Well maybe not 7,000, but there sure were a lot."
Chris confirms that this Hitleresque type figure was a conscious decision on their part although he can't remember who came up with the original idea of making Doyle's father the baddie. Tom outlines the first seeds of the book, "I know the whole Monster Island idea came about when Chris and I were attempting to come up with a really epic story line for the monthly Angel comic for Dark Horse, and that just took us in the direction of really pumping up the volume. It just kept getting bigger and bigger the more we talked. As far as Doyle's father being Hilteresque, I'm sure the thought entered our minds," he explains, "We were thinking about the whole white supremacist thing as we developed him." Chris confirms, "It was certainly intentional. I think Axtius is a tragic figure," he adds, "destroyed by his own ignorance, and I think there are a lot of real world parallels, unfortunately, in the way some parents handle interracial relationships and same-sex relationships."
A combined force creates a big hit
With the title Monster Island you expect there to be no shortage of weird and wonderful demons and this book does not disappoint. Not only encompassing a wide spectrum of past demons from both series, described with remarkable accuracy, there are plenty of new varieties thrown in to pique one's interest. With many monsters being based in mythology, Chris explains how they come up with original ideas. "You'll find a lot of writers use various templates, from mythological creatures to Judeo-Christian demons to Lovecraftian Elder Gods. We're no exception. We draw from all of that. But sometimes we also just splash some paint on the canvas and see what we get; especially in a book with so many monsters." Tom admits, "Oh yeah. After a while it becomes extremely difficult to come up with new and disgusting demonic life forms. A lot of them are based on revolting bodily functions and such, and just come off the top of our heads; while others we do a little research on. Both Chris and I have all kinds of reference books that we dig through in our search of new and interesting supernatural beasties. With a book like Monster Island, we really had to put our thinking caps on; there are quite a few monsters in that book if you hadn't noticed." Oh, we'd noticed!
Chris is an award winning writer in the world of Horror & Sci-fi and seeping a bit of historical influence into his stories is a typical talent of his. In the Spike and Dru novel: Pretty Maids All in a Row, a good portion of the story took place in war torn Europe of the 1940's. He is equally talented at interjecting a demon underground into present day stories and has produced such classics as the Prowlers series.
Golden gathers the Dark and strange things happen
Where Chris's tenure in the Buffy/Angel-verse is well established, Tom's début with his first Angel novel, Soul Trade, proved he could champion with the best of them! In fact it is considered to be one of the best of the Angel books; with a story line that could have gone straight to screen - so good was his concept and character dialogue. So does Tom have a favourite Buffy/Angel novel of his own? Happily surprised Tom enthuses, "Wow, I didn't know Soul Trade was considered one of the best. Where did you get this information? That's pretty cool," adding, "I love Chris' stuff. He really gets the characters. I think the Spike and Drusilla book, Pretty Maids All in a Row is my favourite. It's a real horror novel with some really dark and fantastic elements, and it just so happens to have two of the coolest villains ever created in pop culture fiction. I love that one. Jeff Mariotte and Nancy Holder are no slouches either. They're both really good also."
Sniegowski gives a boy and his dog an Angelic adventure
Tom is currently writing a series of novels entitled The Fallen, the first book having been released in March this year, which centres on a young boy named Aaron Corbet who, on his 18th birthday, discovers he has been bestowed with special powers. His destiny as a Nephilim, the child of an angel and an Earth woman is to act as conduit between the fallen angels and heaven. The series is off to a fantastic start with some rave reviews in the bag, so what are his plans for the character? "Right now The Fallen is currently set up as four books: The Fallen, The Fallen: Leviathan (in bookstores now), The Fallen: Aerie (due out this November), and concluding with The Fallen: Reckoning," he offers admitting, "I'd like to do more, but that all depends on if the sales are good with the first series. I can see the series going on for quite some time after the first four. Matter of fact, eagle eyed readers can probably see the plot threads that I laid in the four books that would take readers into the next books, if that should happen."
With the end of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, Chris and Tom are in the enviable position of being able to keep the beloved characters alive and kicking and, of course, writing them into new situations and dramas. Angel lives on and, wickedly, CoA asks them what they would do if given a free reign on Buffy and/or Angel characters, which they would kill off and why! Tom confesses, "This probably isn't the answer you want, but I wouldn't kill any of them. The universes of Buffy and Angel are filled with some really awesome characters and I think that there are still plenty of cool stories to tell with them. At this point, there are no characters that I dislike enough to want to see dead. Are there some that need a bit more development? Sure, but all it takes is a few good episodes and suddenly the character is a fan favourite.
Written by CoA UK Head Writer, Julie Reynolds
CityofAngel.com would like to extend gracious thanks to Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski for a grand tour of "Monster Island" and generously giving us their time.
If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Happenings' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com |
