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Average Customer Rating: 
Afterimage (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) >
Customer Review #1:
 Not the best Buffy book
I did not enjoy reading this Buffy book at all. I found it to be very boring--way too much dialogue and way to little action. The author had the Scoobys arguing and explaining everything over and over again, as if the characters were strangers and had no chemistry. I didnt feel as though the author captured the characters or their relationships well at all. He had Buffy constantly feeling negative thoughts and irritation toward Willow, when their friendship (especially in the early years) was quite respectful and true blue. Giles and Buffy seemed to be depicted as not close at all and even early in their relationship, there was still love and understanding there, which I was not feeling from this book. And dont get me started on Xander, who was depicted as no-nonsense, hard-working and independent. Where was our happy-go-lucky, bumbling, jokester? (Remember, this book is supposed to be one year after Buffy came to town, so season 2, right?) I just wasnt buying it. Maybe part of the reason was that the time frame was never really clear until late in the book, or did I miss something? On that note, I must have missed something because Buffy and Angel hardly seemed to know each other, but Xander and Cordelia were already sneaking around, which didnt happen until Buffy and Angel were already going pretty hot and heavy (but before the whole Angelus stuff, so not that hot and heavy, but in love, ice skating rink, kissing Angels demon face, ring a bell?).
lt;br /gt;Anyway, I did like that the book featured Cordelia a lot and didnt depict her as a total idiot or completely heartless. I thought her character was a little more true to form. Also, I thought the plot was cute, original and not totally predictable.
lt;br /gt;Even so, I cant bring myself to give the book more stars because I just didnt buy it and had a hard time getting through it. I dont agree with the other reviews and just had to vent!
Afterimage (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) >
Customer Review #2:
Fun
This book was good if a little dry at times. For the most part it keeps you entertained. I like that Cordelia had a big role in the storyline. Usually in the Buffy books she is persona non grata. I did think there should be more focus on Buffy though. It did annoy me that the book didnt narrow down the time period it was set in until close to the end (the writer finally revealed it was set about a year after Buffy came to town). I wanted more about the back story of Buffy. But for a short read this was pretty good. I would recommend it to anyone with a few free hours on their hands.
Afterimage (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) >
Customer Review #3:
"Im not stupid," Cordelia interrupted.
If I hadnt just read Spark and Burn, I would say that Afterimage boded well for the future of Buffy as a book series. Pierce Askegren wedges this story into the time period just as Xander and Cordelia are about to become an item. Its Buffys junior year during that brief but magical time when things seemed to be going well. Well, as well as slayage ever gets. As stranger (Balsamo) comes to town with a plan to resurrect the Sunnydale drive-in in true 50s style and suddenly waves of strange events haunt the worlds most haunted town.
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lt;br /gt;On patrol Buffy and Angel find themselves confronted with werewolves and nightmarish bikers who disappear into thin air when injured. Books disappear from Giles library with the aid of new school nurse and a cheerleader garbed in pink. Both of which also disappear. The Bronze gets a new visitor or two, and suddenly people are taking extra long naps. It takes a while to pin the source of the problem down, but it should be no surprise that Balsamo is not a good guy and that all the ectoplasmic weirdness has something to do with his real identity. The Scooby gang to the rescue, of course.
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lt;br /gt;Askegren does an excellent job of recreating the characters. He handles Cordelia especially well, emphasizing her better qualities. The story borrows its location from other chronicles of the Buffiverse, but it is by no means a slavish effort to simply repeat the same old stuff. As a result the story manages to maintain its freshness. Not at all a bad effort, especially for someones first try at a Buffy story. It lacks the drama of some of the other novels, but Im sure most fans will enjoy this visit to the hellmouth.
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