Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row

In the second hardcover installment of the bestselling Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, Christopher Golden, coauthor of The Watcher's Guide ("fans will suck this tome dry" - Entertainment Weekly) and Immortal ("Golden and Hoolder smartly expand upon the show's slangy lingo [and] display deep insight into the charaacters." - Entertainment Weekly), presents a unique supernatural tale that fins fan-favorite demon loves Spike and Drusilla wreaking havoc throughout war-torn Europe as only they can. As long as there have been demons, there have been Slayers. But Slayers have short life expectancies and high mortality rates. Which is why there exists a list of

It's 1940, and Europe is ravaged by World War II -- an ideal environment for two gleefully destructive monsters. Drusilla's birthday -- that is, the anniversary of her resurrection as a vampire -- impends and her devoted paramour Spike wants to celebrate in style. What more perfect a gift than the legendary necklace know as Freyja's Strand -- a chain of metal so potently magical that it instantly imbues the wearer with the ability to shapeshift at will? The problem is, no one' sure that the bauble even exists.

Until Spike learns of a demon name Skrymir, who claims not only to possess the necklace, but is willing to trade.

Skrymir's true desire is to be rid of the most persistent thorns in his side, the Watchers' Council and the Slayer, so that he can implement his vision of world domination. Spike's task is to infiltrate Council headquarters and get his hands on the list of all young women currently in training to take over as Slayer should they be called. In exchange for the necklace, Spike must kill the current Slayer, a brazen young woman named Sophie, as well as all of the Slayers-in-Waiting that exist -- the "pretty maids all in a row."

To Spike, this sounds like fun, and he sets off on a spree.

Sophie and her Watcher, Yanna, are determined to stop whoever has been slaughtering all of the potential Slayers. If Spike and Drusilla succeed with their plans of bloodlust and power, it could mean the end of the Chosen One -- all of the Chosen Ones -- forever...

"You got Slayer problems. You know what I find works real good with Slayers? Killing them."

"Oh yeah, I did a couple Slayers in my time. Don't like to brag. Oh, who am I kidding, I love to brag. There was on Slayer, during the Boxer Rebellion..."

"We like to talk big, vampires do. 'I'm gonna destroy the world,' -- just tough-guy talk, strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood...Truth is, I like this world. You got dog racing, Manchester United, Love Boat, and you go people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with Legs..."

Reviews

"Suspenseful . . . the narrative's swift momentum and engaging action sequences make for breezy entertainment. Avid fans of the series will buy the book, of course, but word of mouth could also bring newcomers to this mysterious world of dark creatures and cruel intentions."

-- Publishers Weekly

Additional Details

Hardcover
Published October 2000
$22.95 US / $33.95 Canada
ISBN 0743400461