The Journals of Rupert Giles: Volume 1

by Nancy Holder

Book Overview

A novelization of three key episodes each of which features Buffy's English Watcher, Giles. Buffy Summers is hip, modern, and utterly immersed in pop culture. Rupert Giles is a traditional Englishman... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743427122
• ISBN13: 9780743427128
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.1" x 7.2"
• Age Range: 16 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 11 to 12

Customer Reviews

Jhaeman's Review

THE JOURNALS OF RUPERT GILES, VOL. 1 By Nancy Holder, based upon teleplays "Helpless" by David Fury, "A New Man" by Jane Espenson, and "Blood Ties" by Steven S. DeKnight (2002) RATING: 4/5 Stakes SETTING: Seasons Three, Four, and Five CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Angel, Oz, Joyce, Cordelia, Anya, Spike, Tara, Dawn, Riley, Ethan Rayne, Quentin Travers, Blair, Hobson, Kralik, Professor Walsh, Glory, Ben, Jinx MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Krathalal (demon) BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "Buffy Summers is hip, modern, and pop culture savvy. Rupert Giles, her Watcher, is a stuffy Brit whose idea of bliss is a good book and a strong cup of tea. Odd as the duo may be, though, they have managed to avert their fair share of apocalypses. Plural. One thing they can't seem to conquer, however, is Buffy's bad birthday luck. At eighteen, Buffy is subjected to a Watcher's Council Cruciamentum, a test of her own non-physical wiles--and of Giles's attitude toward both his charge and his calling, as well. And when the Slayerettes throw a surprise party for Buffy's big 1-9, Giles finds himself feeling useless and out-of-the-loop-y. But it is at the Slayer's twentieth birthday gathering that both Buffy and Giles are forced to re-examine the nature of blood ties and the definition of family--or risk losing a mutual loved one more important to them--and the fate of the word--than either ever imagined. . . ." REVIEW Volume One of the Journals of Rupert Giles contains perhaps the cleverest framing sequence of any Buffy novelization to date. On the day of Buffy's twentieth birthday, after Dawn has discovered that she is the Key that Glory is looking for, Giles is heartsick to think about how much pain and suffering his Slayer has endured over the past years. He decides to make a deal with the devil (or at least a demon named Krathalal): in exchange for his own blood, he wants Krathalal to protect Buffy from harm. After limiting the bargain to last only until Buffy's next birthday, the demon decides to test how far Giles is willing to go to protect his ward. Krathalal forces Giles to read to him, from his Watcher's Diary, the events that took place on Buffy's eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth birthdays. In other words, Giles is forced to re-live the pain he has, to some degree, caused his own Slayer. The first episode adapted in the novelization fits the framing sequence perfectly. In "Helpless", Giles reluctantly agrees to take part in an ancient Watcher's Council tradition: he must secretly drug Buffy to render her "normal" and then lock her in a house with a frenzied, insane vampire named Kralik. Of course, things never go as planned: Kralik escapes early and kidnaps Joyce, and Buffy discovers Giles complicity in the whole affair. The episode is one of the best portrayals of Buffy and Giles' relationship, and seeing Buffy glare at Giles for betraying her, the same way she did at Jenny Calendar in Season Two, is both shocking

Father Figuring

I only have a small handful of these novelizations from the Buffy TV series. The primary reason for my lack of interest is simply that it is rarely the case that the short story captures the aura of the show. With the DVD's gradually appearing, it takes less effort to watch the show than it does to read the written version.There are some cases where this isn't completely true. Some authors (notably Chris Golden and Nancy Holder) use the opportunity to flesh out the characters and give the reader a deeper sense of the forces in play. Also, there are cases where one wants to know the contents of an important show and doesn't want to wait for the DVD. This latter is the reason for my decision to read 'The Journals..."The story in point is "Helpless" where Giles deliberately cancels out Buffy's powers so that she can take a 'Cruciamentum' - a do or die test the Watchers put a Slayer through on her eighteenth birthday. In essence, the Slayer is trapped with a strong vampire and must use her wits to overcome it. Only in this case the vampire, Kralik, manages to get free. After turning one watcher and eating another, Kralik sets out after Buffy's mother. The slayer, betrayed by her own watcher must find a way out.Holder does a great job of bringing across the inner characterization. Giles' agonizing and final rebellion against anything that might hurt Buffy redeems him from his betrayal. Surprisingly, Holder also manages to make Quentin, the head slayer, just enough more understandable, which adds to the intensity.The other stories are handled equally well. 'A New Man' is set on Buffy's nineteenth birthday, with Giles feeling more than a bit useless. Buffy has a new boyfriend in Riley and someone else to admire in Professor Maggie Walsh. Giles is having a tough time letting go, and the sudden entrance of Ethan Rayne with a less that tasteful gift for Giles that leaves the ex-librarian dependent on Spike, of all people.The last story, 'Blood Ties,' is set on Buffy's twentieth birthday, in the middle of Glory's search for the key - Dawn. This is the episode when Dawn discovers that she is not really human and goes through a complete identity crisis even as Glory is tracking her down. Buffy must stage a wild hunt of her own to keep Dawn from being used and erased. Holder does a good job of taking the reader from irritation at Dawn's less attractive personality traits to sympathy will a lonely person who does not know who she really is.All three of these stories center on Giles feelings about Buffy during each of three very difficult birthdays. They demonstrate the tender nature of their feelings for each other as they shift from watcher and slayer to slayer and true father/friend. Nancy Holder does this sort of work as well as anyone can, taking a great deal of care to stay within the bounds of the show while deepening the overall experience. As such, this is worthwhile and entertaining reading. If you haven't seen one or more of these

Can Giles save Buffy from a string of really bad birthdays?

Actually, Volume 1 of "The Journals of Rupert Giles" is one of the better novelizations of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The difference is the framing device created by Nancy Holder, which is not altogether surprising given she is one of the best writers of Buffy books with or without her frequent tag-team partner. In the wake of Buffy's 20th birthday part Giles summons the demon Krathalal to make a blood pact to ensure the survival of the Slayer. We all now how traumatic Buffy's birthdays have been starting with her 17th and Giles is no fool. Besides, he senses his time as Buffy's Watcher is coming to a close and he has long since accepted the word's Quentin Travers meant as a rebuke: "You have a father's love for the child."In negotiating the deal Krathalal makes Giles look back at Buffy's last three birthdays: "Helpless" (teleplay by David Fury), when Giles let the Watcher's Council do their incredibly stupid test of the Slayer without her powers, the Cruciamentum (yes, a dramatic episode, but, sheesh, what a stupid ritual for people with a supposedly vested interest in keeping Slayers alive?I really think they were tired of her and were trying to take her out); "A New Man" (teleplay by Jane Esperson) when Giles turns into Fyral demon, which is worse than being a fifth wheel in Buffy's life, especially since he has to turn to Spike for help; and "Blood Ties" (teleplay by Steven S. DeKnight), the events of earlier in the day when Dawn discovered the truth about herself and Glory almost killed them all. Ironically, it is the actual Watcher's journal that Giles keeps which reveals the truth to Dawn.Will Krathalal protect Buffy and keep her alive until her 21st birthday? Well, we watched Season Five so we know the answer to that one, but that is not the point here. This book has to do with the departure of Rupert Giles (and Anthony Stewart Head) from Buffy. Holder makes these novelizations not simply retellings of the episodes but re-examinations of Giles and his relationship with the Slayer. After all, in "Helpless" he is fired, in "A New Man" he feels useless, while in "Blood Ties" he fails her. Usually I give novelizations four stars as a matter of course, but this framing device bumps it up one more. We should not have been surprised that Holder put some effort into this job. Of course, we cannot help but wonder how there will be a Volume 2 of "The Journals of Rupert Giles," since the Watcher has returned to England.

Journals of Rupert Giles

This is an extremely well written novelization of 3 excellent Buffy episodes - Helpless, A New Man, and Blood Ties. Buffy's birthdays have been notorious for having things go wrong, and these stories were no exception. Each story shows a critical point in the developing relationship between Buffy and Giles, her watcher (and surrogate father). We see the struggle for respect of a young woman to that of her teacher and watch it grow into a the love of a father daughter. Well written and very entertaining, definitely worth having if you are a Buffy fan!