‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘Carnival of Souls’ (2006) (Book review)

Nancy Holder’s status as an elite Buffyverse author was already secured, but disappointingly – especially considering she’s coming off the outstanding “Queen of the Slayers” (2005) — she wraps up her run with the forgettable “Carnival of Souls” (April 2006). This Season 2-set novel calls to mind John Vornholt’s “Coyote Moon” (1998), which has some problems but more evocatively portrays the colorful mood of a carnival than this book does. It also makes me think of Holder’s excellent first adult “Buffy” novel, “Child of the Hunt” (1998, co-written with Christopher Golden), wherein a pack of roving demons comes to town during a Renaissance fair, like a twisted version of a traveling carnival.

As you might’ve gleaned from the title, “Carnival of Souls” is about carnies who subsist on people’s soul energies. The evil nature of this carnival is apparent right away, so we miss out on the fun aspects of the setting. The method by which Caligari and his minions acquire people’s soul energies is confusing (as is the way Buffy and company eventually defeat them). It has something to do with drawing out whichever of the Seven Deadly Sins is foremost in the person’s psyche. The person then acts in that extreme fashion and gives up their soul energy. Or something.

Your mileage with “Carnival of Souls” will vary depending on how much you enjoy “characters acting out of character” stories. Similar to mistaken identity yarns, I find them frustrating, because I miss the real person and I’m waiting for their friends to figure out something’s not right. I think these scenarios can be fun when seeing actors perform them, but not so much in written form. “Carnival” is a particularly tough sell because almost everyone is under magical influence simultaneously, so I felt removed from the standard pleasures of a “Buffy” novel.

Granted, it’s neat that Jenny is the point woman on solving the mystery, with Giles out of commission. And there is some amusement to be had from our seven heroes indulging in their worst aspect. But I missed the Scoobies being themselves in a normal Season 2 story, and even with a story structured to explore the worst aspects of everyone’s natures, there’s not a lot of insight here.

Buffy (pride) not accepting that she needs help is perhaps the most recurring theme in the series. Angel’s (lust) and Xander’s (gluttony) situations play as flat humor, and the winking joke with Cordelia (greed) is that it’s hard to tell whether she’s under the influence of the carnival’s magic or not – similar to “Halloween” (2.6), where she’s not noticeably transformed into catty behavior. Joyce and Willow aren’t explored much, except to get labeled with sloth and envy, respectively.

Giles’ angry behavior is the most interesting, and with Ethan Rayne popping into town to enjoy the chaos, it might’ve been neat to see him encourage Giles’ Ripper nature. I guess that can’t happen, though, because “Carnival of Souls” has to stay a small enough story that it’s never mentioned in other stories. On the other hand, Holder usually pushes that line further than most authors, and indeed, she has no qualms about utterly destroying Giles’ apartment again and delivering one of those finales that’s so epic in scope that it becomes ridiculous.

The villains made no impression on me, although twin students at Sunnydale High who come under the vanity spell are interesting for a while. And Harmony has an amusing conversation with Buffy as she seeks suggestions for a school fundraiser and doesn’t catch any of Buffy’s sarcasm. This is a Nancy Holder book, so it’s not totally off brand, but “Carnival of Souls” is clearly less inspired than her other novels.

Click here for an index of all of John’s “Buffy” and “Angel” reviews.

My rating: