''Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary'' is an original 2006

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

based on the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

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 ...

''. The author, Robert Joseph Levy, also wrote the

Buffyverse The Buffyverse or Slayerverse is a Multimedia franchise, media franchise created by Joss Whedon. The term also refers to the shared fictional universe in which the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' are ...

novel '' The Suicide King''. The book's title references ''

Go Ask Alice ''Go Ask Alice'' is a 1971 book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of self-destructive escapism. Attributed to "Anonymous", the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as ...

'', a controversial book which was an account of

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

. In turn, that book's own title is a reference to the 1967

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

song, " White Rabbit", which includes the lyrics, "Go ask Alice when she's ten feet tall."

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

wrote the song after noticing possible drug references in ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''.

Plot summary

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

has always been a loner. Growing up in a broken home in South Boston, shuffled from relative to relative, her only companion was an imaginary friend named Alex, who helped her escape into a fantasy world of

monsters A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

and the supernatural, far from the real-life horrors of the waking world. Now, taken away from her mother by

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

and shipped off to a foster home, Faith learns that some nightmares are all too real, that the inventions of her childhood really do haunt the night, hungry for blood. Enter Diana Dormer, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

professor and representative of the Watchers' Council who has come to tell Faith of her destiny, to train her, to prepare her for what is to come: Faith is the Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. But she's not alone. When Alex, her childhood companion, returns in her dreams, she warns Faith that someone else is coming for her, a force so deadly and unforgiving that it has inspired fear in the underworld for a thousand generations. Its name is Malice. As memory and fantasy begin to merge, Faith's two worlds collide, with cataclysmic results. A violent battle for the soul of the

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

is staged, winner take all.

Writing

Robert Joseph Levy said that in this book, he hoped "to explore the choices

aith Aith, (Shetland dialect: Eid, Old Norse: ''Eið'', meaning Isthmus, cf Eday), is a village on the Northern coast of the West Shetland Mainland, Scotland at the southern end of Aith Voe, some west of Lerwick. Aith lies on the B9071 that runs sout ...

made and the choices that were taken away from her, and to explore what it is to be the Chosen One without a support system of friends or family." He hoped to provide a context for the character's behavior and the way it developed during the third season of ''

'' and beyond. "A lot of things about Faith's character are supposed to be assumed by the viewers - a troubled childhood, delinquency and she's a loose girl. I wanted to subvert expectations, and it's one of the reasons I did it as a diary".''UK Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine'', August 2006, pages 12-13.

Characters

* Faith Lehane - Keeper of the diary. * Professor Diana Dormer – A professor of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and Faith's first Watcher. * Alexandra – Faith has been seeing visions of an apparently imaginary young girl she knows from childhood as 'Alex'. * Clark Rutherfold (Gable) – Boyfriend of Faith's mother who is heavily involved in crime. * Faith's mother – A woman who has largely been absent from Faith's life. * Faith's father – Faith has been told by her mother that her father died when she was young. * Jess – Friend of Faith during her time with the Joneses and slightly beyond. * The Jones Family – A

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family who take Faith under foster care. They had a son, Robert, whom they tell Faith is now dead. *

Kakistos This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. For detailed descriptions, see individual character pages. Cast Main cast The following characters we ...

– An ancient vampire so old that his hands are actually cloven hooves. In ancient

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, he commanded the

Maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...

s, and battled the Slayer Artemia. * Kenny (Killian) – Drummer of a band called "Freak Wharf." He has the ability to make parts of his imagination come to life. Kenny dates Faith for several months. * Andra – Girlfriend of Kenny. She was killed by Mister Trick in a cemetery. Using the powers of his mind, Kenny was effectively able to bring her image back as an unusually powerful hallucination. * Sensei Kanno – A

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

who trained Potential Slayers and Slayers, including Faith. He was driven by the need to take revenge against vampires who had killed his family. * Steve – Faith's boyfriend during early 1998. * Tommy – Faith's best friend during high school. Like Faith, he is a fan of Freak Wharf. * Vanity Collins (V) – A

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

who regularly met Faith.

Continuity

* It is revealed that Faith's birthday is December 14. Her Watcher, Diana Dormer hints that her Cruciamentum (which takes place on a

's 18th birthday) is approaching in winter 1998; if this were the case and Faith was turning 18 years old on December 14, 1998, then this would make her around one month older than Buffy (who turned 18 years old in January 1999).

Canonical issues

''Buffy'' novels, such as this one are generally not considered by fans as part of canon. They are usually not viewed as official Buffyverse reality, but are novels from the authors' imaginations. However unlike

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...

, 'overviews' summarizing their story, written early in the writing process, were 'approved' by Fox, who in turn may or may not have sought approval from Whedon (or his office). The book will be published as official ''Buffy'' merchandise.

Timing

* Set from December 1997 to June 1998. These months precede Faith's first appearance in the

episode " Faith, Hope & Trick" in autumn 1998.

Footnotes

External links

Book

''Whedonesque.com'' - Whedonesquers speculate about the book before it is released

''Whedonesque.com'' - Whedonesquers discuss the book in April 2006

''Simonsays.com'' - Publisher's webpage for this book

Reviews

Author

''Robertjosephlevy.com'' - Author's Official Site
{{Buffy novels 2006 novels Books based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fictional diaries