Product Description

When a Chinese gang hits Sunnydale, racial tensions in the community are sparked. Buffy has seen the baddies shake down Willy the Snitch, so naturally her Slayer senses are up. But to Willow, the situation poses a more personal threat. Her new friend Jia Li has been feeling the backlash from this cross-cultural hostility -- and it's tearing her family apart. Jia remains true to her ancient cultural heritage, but her brother, the angry, outspoken Lok, is ready to toss out old Chinese customs for the modern American lifestyle. And he's willing to use the occult for just that purpose. Suddenly, a beautiful martial-arts warrior arrives on the scene. It's impossible to tell where her allegiance lies, but Xander -- whose romances are becoming habitually complicated -- is smitten, Giles is in full research mode, and before long, Buffy is wondering who's behind the gang warfare. Is supernatural evil brewing?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #259961 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
Racial tensions erupt in Sunnydale after a Chinese gang hits the town, as Buffy deals with the conflict in the family of her new friend, Jia Li, a mysterious and beautiful martial arts warrior, and a new supernatural evil.

Customer Reviews

good but not great
Although this book has a great story line and shows imagination i found myself skipping over lenghtly discriptions of characters and places which only feature of one or two chapters. However I would still say its worth while reading.

A Chinese/Demon gang tries to take over Sunnydale
At first in "Revenant," it seems that the real world is suddenly intruding into the quiet little town of Sunnydale. As if being on the Hellmouth was not fun enough, a Chinese gang has hit town and is clearly trying to take over. But this is a Chinese gang that employs not only automatic weapons but also demons and a bit of good old fashioned Chinese magic. Mel Odom does a nice job of incorporating some elements of Chinese mysticism into the Buffy mythos and his characterization of the Slayer and her cohorts is certainly above average. The most interesting sub-plot involves the arrival of a beautiful martial-arts warrior, with whom Xander becomes hopelessly smitten. This is carried off well until the very end of the novel, at which point, following a hysterical exchange of apologies between Buffy and Xander, we suddenly jump ahead to the post mortem and are denied the actual farewell between the couple we have been rooting on throughout the story.

By the time I finished reading this Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel I kept thinking there was too much of one thing and not nearly enough of another. With all the weaponry the Chinese gang brings to town, you would have to think that somebody else besides Angel was going to be hit by all those hail of bullets (nice touch by Odom having Angel's face get messed up for a while in the story). Guns are a touchy item in the Buffy universe, where only the occasional vampire (Darla in "Angel" comes to mind) bothers to try and shoot it out with the Slayer. This is because it is awfully hard to get close enough to kick somebody in the chest when they are shooting an Uzi at you. That being said, I have to admit I was surprised that Mayor Wilkins was not more of a presence in the story. After all, Sunnydale is his town and has been for well over a century. Consequently, it very hard to believe he and the Dark Forces he serves would not do something about these invaders. Of course, this would open up the opportunity for some sort of temporary alliance, but at the very least the Mayor should be doing a lot more to defend his turf. Despite these caveats, "Revenant" is an above average Buffy novel and I will be interested to see what Odom comes up with the next time around.

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Unbelievable!
This book was the very first Buffy book that I read; already being a massive fan of the hit show, I thought that I'd give the books a go. A Chinese gang hits Sunnydale and sparks off racial tension in the town. Naturally, Buffy is worried, but best friend Willow, is even more so. Her new friend Jia Li has been feeling the backlash from the hostility: it's ripping her family to shreds. Jia stays true to her ancient Chinese customs but her brother, the angry Lok, is prepared to throw away his Chinese customs for the modern lifestyle. While Giles and Buffy try to find out who is behind the gang warfare, more tension mounts as Willy's bar is attacked and there is a shooting incident at the local mini-mart. This book is beautifully written by the fantastic Mel Odom, with Angel also featuring in the book. This has to be one of the most tense books in the Buffy series that I have read. This book will have your blood pumping, your heart racing and you on the edge of your seat. Believe me, it'll be hard putting the book down, even to get a little shut eye!