It
could have been totally lame. A shy student transfers to Sunnydale
High and finds a mentor in a fellow dinosaur fanatic who's working at the
Sunnydale Museum of Natural History, something which conjures up images of
the Buffster getting a few roundhouses in on a T. Rex. Fortunately
it manages to rise above the dodgy premise to provide a pretty enjoyable
read.
Not for the first time
in the Buffy novels we get a new, or at least previously unheard
of, student hooking up with a supposedly responsible adult to unleash a
bit of mayhem on Sunnydale. However, unlike the equally familiar
idea of possession which we saw in The
Evil That Men Do, it leaves the characterisation of the Scooby
Gang unaffected, and the characterisation has always been one of the TV
series' strong points.
Of course, there's a
few handy coincidences - such as Daniel Addison's discovery of a battered
notebook that contains the way to resurrect something with Kevin's
ownership of dinosaur eggs for it inhabit - at work but that's the
Hellmouth for you I guess.
The revival and
subsequent destruction of the dinosaurs is the main plot, although you do
have to worry what on earth the citizens of Sunnydale are on when they
fail to spot this sort of thing going on around them. Even worse is
the ability of anyone at Sunnydale High to spot the rapidly growing dino
that Giles has got locked up in the weapons cage. Possibly the most
obvious place to lock it up except that it makes getting to the weapons a
tad difficult...
There's also a
secondary plot with the Dingoes getting approach by a potential manager
who promises to help them on their way to stardom, with jobs for Angel,
Willow and Xander thrown in for good measure. She wants them to sign
immediately but Oz isn't so sure that she's all she seems.
A chunk of the main
plot is carried by Buffy and Oz - which was good to see, although the
other featured regulars are all pretty well catered for as well and the
characterisation is better than in many other Buffy novels.
Some of the action
scenes seem a bit unbelievable - especially those in the library and the
swimming pool - but that's only to be expected with the Buffster up
against some demon infested dinosaurs. Having said that, the TV
series featured Buffy being chased through the school by a giant snake so
it's not as though it's something completely outrageous.
I'm not as big a fan
of the Buffy novels as some fans, but Paleo is still a
pretty enjoyable read.
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