List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels explained

See also: Buffyverse novels and Angel 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 Mel Odom, Christopher Golden, and Nancy Holder.

Chronology

Novelizations

These Buffyverse tales take place throughout the series and are novelizations of various episodes.

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Buffy the Vampire Slayer	L.A., Various
Novelization of the movie
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Buffy book: The Harvest	Sunnydale, Various
‘Pilot’ and 'The Harvest'
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Buffy book: The Angel Chronicles, Vol. 1	Sunnydale, Various
'Angel,' 'Reptile Boy,' and 'Lie to Me'
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Buffy book: The Angel Chronicles, Vol. 2	Sunnydale, Various
'Halloween,' 'What's My Line, part 1,' and 'What's My Line, part 2'
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Buffy book: The Angel Chronicles, Vol. 3	Sunnydale, Various
'Surprise,' 'Innocence,' and 'Passion'
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Buffy book: The Xander Years, Vol. 1	Sunnydale, Various
Teacher's Pet,' 'Inca Mummy Girl,' and 'Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered'
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Buffy book: The Xander Years, Vol. 2	Sunnydale, Various
'The Pack,' 'Go Fish,' and 'The Zeppo'
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Buffy book: The Willow Files, Vol. 1	Sunnydale, Various
'I Robot, You Jane,' 'Phases,' and 'Dead Man's Party'
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Buffy book: The Willow Files, Vol. 2	Sunnydale, Various
'Gingerbread', 'Doppelgangland' and 'Choices'
Buffy book: The Faith Trials	Sunnydale, Various
'Faith, Hope, & Trick,' 'Bad Girls,' and 'Consequences'
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Buffy book: The Cordelia Collection	Sunnydale, Various
'Out of Mind, Out of Sight,' 'Some Assembly Required,' and 'Homecoming'
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Buffy book: The Journals of Rupert Giles	Sunnydale, Various
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'Helpless,' 'A New Man,' and 'Blood Ties'
Buffy book: Chosen	Sunnydale, Various
'Chosen'

490 BCE-CE 1996

These Buffyverse tales take place before the television series begins (from 490 BCE to CE 1996).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Tales of the Slayer	Various
Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4
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Buffy book: Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row	1940s Europe
It is 1940 and for Drusilla's vampiric birthday, Spike decides he will acquire Freyja's Strand, a necklace, has the ability to allow Drusilla to view her reflection.
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Buffy book: Blackout	New York, 1977
Spike and Dru come to NYC during a blackout and face Nikki Wood.
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Buffy season 1

These Buffyverse tales take place around Buffy Season 1 (from spring 1996 until spring 1997).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Halloween Rain	Sunnydale, Halloween 1996
Buffy is warned that a scarecrow will come alive on Halloween if it's raining.
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Buffy book: Night of the Living Rerun	Sunnydale, 1996/7
The Master attempts to raise an old Slayer nemesis.
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Buffy book: Coyote Moon	Sunnydale, summer 1997
It's summer vacation in Sunnydale and the carnival has come to town, bringing with it some disturbing otherworldly creatures.
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Buffy anthology book: How I Survived My Summer Vacation	Sunnydale, & L.A., summer 1997
Buffy visits her Dad in L.A. whilst the others continue the good fight.
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Buffy season 2

Keep Me In Mind, The Suicide King, Colony, and Night Terrors form a series of gamebooks, titled "Stake Your Destiny". Each novel contains many numbered sections. Instead of reading the book from start-to-finish, the reader is given a choice at the end of each section. Depending upon the reader's decision, the reader will be directed to another numbered section that might be anywhere in the book. Unlike some other gamebooks, Stake Your Destiny novels do not contain any form of game system.

These tales take place during Buffy Season 2, (from autumn 1997 until spring 1998).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Keep Me In Mind	Sunnydale, 1997
Ethan Rayne returns and releases an evil sorcerer from Middle Ages Bavaria.
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Buffy book: The Suicide King	Sunnydale, 1997
A number of strange student suicides have been taking place, and Buffy suspects something wrong.
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Buffy book: Colony	Sunnydale, 1997
Mayor Richard Wilkins III invited a woman named Belakane to speak at the local Sunnydale High School. She has a program, "Be the Ultimate You		".
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Buffy book: Night Terrors	Sunnydale, 1997
The Night Terror stalks its victims in their dreams. The demon replaces another's soul with its own, then wreaks chaos in the real world.
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Buffy book: Bad Bargain	Sunnydale, 1997
Items for the school rumage sale become infected with Hellmouth parasites after being stored in the school basement.
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Buffy book: Portal Through Time	Sunnydale, 1998
Some of the Master's devotees travel through time to attempt to disrupt the Slayer lineage, thus preventing Buffy from destroying the Master.
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Buffy book: After Image	Sunnydale, 1997
Sunnydale drive-in reopens.
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Buffy book: Carnival of Souls	Sunnydale, 1997
A Traveling Carnival arrives in Sunnydale. It seems the carnival might be another victim of Sunnydale's weirdness.
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Buffy book: Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary	Boston, December 1997 - June 1998
Faith has a tough time growing up in South Boston, moving from relative to relative when Diana Dormer arrives and informs Faith that she is a potential slayer.
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Buffy book: One Thing or Your Mother	Sunnydale, 1997/8
Buffy is having a hard time dealing with Angelus and her grades and so Snyder forces her to get tutoring which takes time away from her slaying, just when things couldn't get worse Dru wants a child and sires a little girl who starts to become too much to handle. Buffy's new love interest makes Angelus jealous and a sleep-deprivation spell aimed at Snyder affects the whole Sunnydale community.
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Buffy season 3

These tales take place during Buffy Season 3 (from autumn 1998 until spring 1999).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Sins of the Father	Sunnydale, 1998
Pike visits Sunnydale.
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Buffy book: Blooded	Sunnydale, 1998
The Scoobies become entangled in a long-running feud between Asian warriors.
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Buffy book: Child of the Hunt	Sunnydale, 1998
The 'Wild Hunt' arrives in Sunnydale.
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Buffy book: Ghoul Trouble	Sunnydale, 1998
A new vampire arrives in town called Solitaire who is immune to the sun's rays.
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Buffy book: Paleo	Sunnydale, 1998
People try to resurrect dinosaur eggs.
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Buffy book: The Evil That Men Do	Sunnydale, 1998
Helen, an ancient vampire attempts to raise a goddess of destruction.
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Buffy book: The Deathless	Sunnydale, 1999
Ring Day is fast approaching at Sunnydale High.
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Buffy book: Doomsday Deck	Sunnydale, 1999
Tarot card-reader, Justine arrives in Sunnydale.
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Buffy book: Immortal	Sunnydale, 1999
Buffy faces Veronique, a vampire even more immortal than most.
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Buffy book: Prime Evil	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
Crystal Gregory is a beautiful new teacher at Sunnydale High, who also happens to give Buffy panic fits.
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Buffy book: Revenant	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
A Chinese gang arrives in Sunnydale.
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Buffy book: Power of Persuasion	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
The Moon family try to create a "Womyn Power" group at school, meanwhile there is a string of unusual killings.
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Buffy book: Resurrecting Ravana	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
The Rakshasa are in town to help with the resurrection on an ancient Hindu god called Ravana.
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Buffy books: The Gatekeeper [Trilogy]	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
'The Gatekeeper' is frail and on the verge of death, yet must hold the walls of reality together in the face of increasing threat.
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Buffy book: Return to Chaos	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
Four Druids arrive in town. They're in town to try a spell on a certain night to close the gateway in the Hellmouth so that demons would not be allowed to pass through.
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Buffy book: Visitors	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
Buffy thinks she's being stalked by a demon with a high-pitched giggle.
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Buffy book: Unnatural Selection	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
Willow battles against the 'faeries'.
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Buffy book: Obsidian Fate	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
An old Spanish expedition is found on the outskirts of Sunnydale.
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Buffy book: Deep Water	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
After an oil spill on a nearby Sunnydale beach, Willow discovers a 'selkie'; that is, a girl that can turn into a seal with her sealskin.
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Buffy book: Here Be Monsters	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
After Buffy kills twin teenage vampires, their vampire mother summons a Goddess of balance who puts Buffy on a trial that could cost people's lives.
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Buffy book: The Book of Fours	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
The power of four slayers is needed to conquer a new threat.
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	Sunnydale, spring, 1999
Yearbook received by Scoobies when they graduated from high school.
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Buffy season 4/Angel season 1

These Buffyverse tales take place during Buffy Season 4, and Angel Season 1 (from autumn 1999 until spring 2000).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy books: The Lost Slayer [series]	Sunnydale, 1999
Buffy, new to UC Sunnydale faces a group of vampires with bats tattooed across their faces who will have huge and not-so-appealing consequences for the Scooby Gang's future.
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Buffy book: Oz: Into the Wild	Sunnydale, 1999
Oz is in search of himself having left his home.
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Buffy/Angel books: Unseen [Trilogy]	Sunnydale, L.A., 2000
Buffy and Angel have to work together to solve disappearances of teenagers and calm down the gang warfare going on in LA.
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Buffy season 5/Angel season 2

These Buffyverse tales take place during Buffy Season 5, and Angel Season 2 (from autumn 2000 until spring 2001).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: These Our Actors	Sunnydale, 2000
Willow takes up drama class, and Spike recalls Cecily.
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Buffy book: Wisdom of War	Sunnydale, 2001
Two strange breeds of sea creatures are beginning to appear in Sunnydale.
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Buffy book: Tempted Champions	Sunnydale, 2001
A deadly fighter arrives, willing to kill both humans and vampires.
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Buffy book: Little Things	Sunnydale, 2001
The town is terrorised by something mysterious and tiny.
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Buffy book: Crossings	Sunnydale, 2001
Xander learns of a terrifying total immersion video game beta testing.
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Buffy book: Sweet Sixteen	Sunnydale, 2001
Dawn befriends a girl named Arianna.
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Buffy book: Chaos Bleeds	Sunnydale, 2001
The First has made Ethan a deal he can't refuse: ultimate power. All he has to do is lure Buffy into battle.
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Buffy season 6/Angel season 3

These Buffyverse tales take place around Buffy Season 6, and Angel Season 3 (from autumn 2001 until spring 2002).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy/Angel novel: Cursed	L.A., 2001
An organised, united effort is being made to put Spike out of the picture. Angel and Spike reluctantly work together and deal with their shared evil pasts.
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Buffy/Angel novel: Monster Island	Sunnydale, L.A., Monster Island, 2001
The Fang Gang and the Scooby Gang must unite to protect a safe-haven of half-blood demons.
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Buffy book: Blood and Fog	England 1888, Sunnydale, 2002
Buffy Summers is on the trail of a killer demon in Sunnydale, and reluctantly accepts the help of Spike. But Spike—as usual—has his own agenda.
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Buffy books: Wicked Willow	Sunnydale, 2002
[Trilogy] Supposing that Dark Willow did not return to the good so quickly.
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Buffy season 7 /Angel season 4

These Buffyverse tales take place around Buffy Season 7, and Angel Season 4 (from autumn 2002 until spring 2003).

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Spark and Burn	Sunnydale, 2002
Spike remembers his past as he suffers insanity in a school basement.
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Buffy book: Apocalypse Memories	Sunnydale, 2002
Willow is terrified that using her magic powers might result in dark magic consuming her whilst the Angel Michael brings signs of apocalypse to Sunnydale.
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Buffy/Angel book: Heat	Sunnydale, L.A., 2002
Buffy and Angel both battle the same ancient evil, a Possessor who was once "Qin".
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Buffy/Angel book: Seven Crows	Mexico, 2002
Between Mexico and Arizona Riley and Sam Finn call in Buffy and Angel to investigate mysterious supernature.
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Buffy book: Mortal Fear	Sunnydale, 2002
Buffy is being sent on random missions by a man that goes by the name of Simon. He wants her to retrieve parts of a mystical sword and put them together, but he refuses to say why or who he even is.
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Buffy season 8 /Angel season 5

These Buffyverse tales take place after Buffy Season 7, and after Angel Season 4.

Buffyverse stories	Location, time (if known)
Buffy book: Queen of the Slayers	Sunnydale, Cleveland, Italy, Summer 2003-2004
Hundreds of potential slayers have been awakened. A number of leading dark figures unite in an attempt to retaliate against the new status quo.
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Buffy book: Dark Congress	2003–2004
Until 500 years ago all of the demonic and monstrous races met at a Dark Congress. They prepare to meet again.
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Canonical issues

Buffy novels are not usually considered part of Buffyverse canon by fans. However, unlike fan fiction, overviews summarising the basic story of each novel (written early in the writing process) were approved by both Fox and Joss Whedon (or his office), thereby allowing the books to be published as "official Buffy/Angel merchandise."

Novels by writer

For a list associating Buffyverse authors with their Buffyverse novels see here. List of authors who have written Buffy novels:

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Mata . Shiai . CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN INTERVIEW 2 . SlayerLit . 26 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723005827/http://www.slayerlit.us/interviews/interview6.htm . 23 July 2011 . dead.