''Child of the Hunt'' is an original novel based on the American television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''.

Plot summary

Lately

Sunnydale Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all ...

, California has been missing kids, some of them have run away while others seem to have been kidnapped. There have also been attacks by little vicious creatures that completely mutilate their victims by simply biting through their prey. Also in town is a Renaissance Faire and the gang decides to pay it a visit. One visit is enough though because something is slightly off about the faire, everything seems evil and this one boy named Roland is continuously picked on, and not for fun either. After some research and a couple of run-ins with some small attackers,

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

and

Rupert Giles Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The characte ...

discover that a group of mystical beings called the

Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by ...

are in town to claim the souls of humans. Angel warns

Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998 ...

not to look at them as if she does they will steal her soul and she will be forced to ride with the Hunt. Buffy hides Roland out in her basement to save him from the nasty Faire people. The next night Buffy comes home to find Roland stolen away by the Wild Hunt. Giles informs Buffy that the Wild Hunt is run by the Erl King, lord of the Wild Hunt, and that Roland is his son and the heir to the Erl King title even though Roland is disgusted by the Hunt. Buffy and the gang rush in to rescue Roland but their attempt to do so is of no use. To free her friend Buffy agrees to be bound by the oath of the Erl King in which she loses all willpower to fight against him. On the night of the final Hunt in Sunnydale, the gang (without Buffy) assemble and begin an attack on the Wild Hunt before they can clear their magical forest to attack the town. Buffy is ordered to kill Roland by the Erl King and she must learn to fight against her magical oath in order to save her life, Roland's and the lives of her friends as well.

Analysis

*The character Roland later appears in '' The Gatekeeper'' *Features the appearance of the slayer Lucy Hanover who appears in many of the Buffy books written by

Christopher Golden Christopher Golden (born July 15, 1967) is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults and teens. Early life Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He graduated from Tufts ...

Continuity

*Supposed to be set in an alternative ''Buffy'' season 3. According to "canon" Angel should not get on with Giles at this point. In this book the two are friends.

Canonical issues

Buffy novels ''Buffy'' novels have been published since 1998. Originally under the Pocket Books imprint of Simon & Schuster, they are now published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment which launched in 2004. Authors who have written original novels include ...

, such as this one are not considered by most fans as part of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. They are usually not considered as official Buffyverse reality, but are novels from the authors' imaginations. However unlike fanfic, 'overviews' summarising their story, written early in the writing process, were 'approved' by both Fox and Whedon (or his office), and the books were therefore later published as officially ''Buffy'' merchandise.

External links

Reviews

''Litefoot1969.bravepages.com'' - Review of this book by Litefoot''Nika-summers.com'' - Review of this book by Nika Summers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Child Of The Hunt 1998 American novels 1990s horror novels Books based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Novels set in California