‘Roswell’ flashback: ‘Loose Ends’ (2001) (Book review)
After Melinda Metz’s 10-book YA series “Roswell High” (1998-2000) handed the baton to the TV series “Roswell” in 1999, Jason Katims and his writing team took the teens in a different direction from the books. So when the book line returned in May 2001 with Greg Cox’s “Loose Ends,” it was of course a tie-in
‘Buffy’ flashback: All 8 short stories from ‘Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 4’ (2004), ranked (Book review)
The fourth and final “Tales of the Slayer” collection (November 2004) is also the only one centered around a theme: specifically, the Cruciamentum – as seen in “Helpless” (3.12) — wherein the Slayer is weakened by drugs and forced to defeat a vampire via only her wits and fighting skills. Remarkably, these aren’t just eight
‘Buffy’ flashback: All 10 short stories from ‘Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 2’ (2003), ranked (Book review)
Drawing a better overall crop of writers, “Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 2” (January 2003) makes a huge jump in quality from the first volume. The authors have a blast playing with our expectations of how Slayers, Watchers and vampires should behave while using familiar Buffyverse beats to teach us about societies throughout human history.
‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Terminator Salvation: Cold War’ (2009) (Book review)
Greg Cox’s “Cold War” (October 2009) is the first spinoff material to come out after “Terminator Salvation,” but it’s actually another prequel story, like “From the Ashes” and “Sand in the Gears.” The major tie-in to the film is the backstory of General Losenko; his story in the wake of J-Day alternates chapters with that of an
The 10 best short stories in ‘The X-Files: The Truth is Out There’ (Book review)
“The Truth is Out There,” the February follow-up to last year’s “Trust No One,” serves up another mixed bag of “X-Files” short stories that’s on par with the first collection. It’s not “The X-Files” at its finest, but it’s a fun assortment that will tide fans over between comic installments.