Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Oz: Into the Wild

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Oz: Into the Wild

This is the first time I've read any Buffy offshoots, but I was a huge fan of the series, and Oz was a favorite of mine. Seth Green, you so dreamyyyyy.

Christopher Golden wrote this installment of Buffy fan-fiction, centering around Oz's struggle with his werewolf nature and the inability to control it during three days of the full moon. He leaves Sunnydale, California for the colder regions of Tibet, seeking out a monk named Shantou who has taught other werewolves how to control their inner beast. Along the way, he meets Jinan, a Kaohsiung demon who travels with Oz in hopes of finding some action, both in the way of fighting and her attraction with Oz. Although he only sets out to conquer the wolf, Oz gets wrapped up in both a struggle between Gib Cain, a werewolf hunter who sells pelts, and an ancient five-eyed demon named Muztag who attempts to overthrow Shantou's defense against demonism.

Buffy fans may be a tad disappointment with this novel, as Oz is the only main recurring character. Sure, the Slayer and Scooby Gang are mentioned, but only in passing, and only Willow legitamitely makes a guest appearance. This a little dismaying, because for being a spin-off of the Buffyverse, it sure doesn't feel like the TV show we all know and love. Some of this is understandable, since the story revolves around Oz and the setting is Tibet, but the tongue-in-cheek humor and subtle dialogue that made the series so involving is seriously lacking from the book. When Golden tries to incorporate humor, it generally falls flat - it seems Golden just does not have a knack for hitting the funny bone, and that would be okay if it didn't become a problem throughout the novel, but there are just some one-liners that are cringe-inducing.

It seems as though target audience for Into the Wild was meant to be somewhere in the late teen stages, which makes sense considering the accessibility of the television series to the young adult. The overemphasis of blood and guts suggests the wish to attract a younger audience with violence, and the easy, quick prose style caters towards short attention spans. In a way, it works for what it is though - a light romp through a side-character's life.

Golden makes Oz a likable character, although there is less fascination with the other characters central to the plot. Jinan, frankly, seems like an annoying companion, a few other characters are systematically killed off or left behind, and Shantou's exposition is about as thorough as a kindergartener playing hide-and-seek. It is only Oz that one really cares about, and for good measure - it is his book, after all.

Part road trip, part werewolf hunt, part Lord of the Rings-esque monster-battles-on-a-mountain, Into the Wild seems to lack a sense of direction. The plot jumps all over the place, but then again, I guess a straightforward story about Oz traveling to Tibet and then finding his inner beast control ala The Beastmaster would be a bit boring and trivial. As a whole, the book is just entertaining enough to keep the reader interested, but once finished, there isn't too much value in re-reading the thing.

Oz: Into the Wild is a pulpy TV tie-in, but it's great for an easy read when one just wants to sit back and relax. Golden did his share at working Oz back into the Buffyverse with a look at his life outside of Sunnydale, but one must wonder why Oz's backstory was left out of the series in the first place. With Into the Wild, it seems to show one thing - maybe Oz's story was just never meant to be heard; it definitely wasn't meant to be written.