Oz: Into the Wild

A Buffy book that I actually liked, which I think is saying a lot because I dont like a lot of the Buffy books out there. Its a shame that you knew what would happen to Oz, but this book is still really good and kept me hooked the whole time!Summary: After the Veruca incident, Oz goes on a search to find a way to tame his inner wolf. As he searches, he goes to new places, makes new friends, and is forced to doge both old and new enemies. Will Oz ever be able to find the peace and balance he needs to come to terms with the animal inside him and with himself?I will admit that Oz is sometimes out of character with the cursing and all, but this is still an awesome book! I wish that Oz and Jinian hooked up, but you cant always get what you want. I think Christopher Golden is one of the best Buffy and Angel authors ever!

Did you ever wonder where Oz went when he left Sunnydale? Or how he managed to gain control of his changes? Here, issuing from the fertile mind of Chris Golden (one of Buffy lit's best writers) is as good an explanation as one could ever want. With the help of Giles, Oz makes his way from Sunnydale to the frozen Himalayas, where there are rumours of a master who can give him back his self control. But to accomplish thathe must face his own demons and battle a few others who have different plans for him.First he goes to Los Angeles, and then by boat to Fiji and Sidney, Australia. A plane takes him to Hong Kong where he meets Qing, the butcher, and his family. They are Kaohsiang fire demons, and friends of Giles. They are able (barely) to keep Oz locked up during the full moon. Then Oz heads off for magic transport to Tibet and discovers he has an unexpected companion. Qing's beautiful daughter, Jinan, also wants to study under Master Shantou, who is a great mage as well as the world's only werewolf therapist.Even as Oz struggles to deal with his inner beast, he also finds himself hunted by Gib Cain, the werewolf hunter from Phases (BTVS - Season 2). And everyone is locked in a life and death struggle with Lord Muztag, a demon who makes grim a household word. "Patience is a virtue," Muztag exclaims, "And I don't have any of those." Count on a lot of seat of your pants excitement as Oz struggles with both his insides and his outsides.This book is unusual (at least for me) because it is a novelization of a graphic novel, which was a compilation of a series of comic books. All written by Chris Golden, naturally. In the book, Golden spends considerable time filling in the originally sketchy beginning. This includes the entire trip to Fiji, and the Gib Cain subplot. As one might expect, the details are finer and the vistas wider. It is surprising that neither format suffers in comparison to the other. The extended text of the novel is just as enjoyable as are the comic graphics.What is most special though, is the look we get into Oz's head. In BTVS, Oz is so laconic that we are lead to believe that he is the world's most laid-back werewolf. In 'Into the Wild', we find that is hardly the case. Becoming a werewolf has turned Oz into something he doesn't quite understand and he desperately wants to return to being the old Oz again. But there's no way back from that precipice. Now he must find a way to be more than man or beast. When Jinan tells him that she understands, because she too is a monster with a human veneer, Oz exclaims "No. You don't. What's in you? It's still you. The thing inside of me? It'll kill you if you give it a chance... You're running away from home when all I want is to finally be able to go home."

Sometimes it is not the destination that matter, but the journey. That bit of eastern sounding wisdom certainly applies to "Oz: Into the Wild," the latest "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" original novel by Christopher Golden. Actually, Buffy makes the briefest of appearances in this novel, which tells the story of what happened to Oz when he left Sunnydale in a desperate effort to sooth the savage beast that rises up and howls at the full moon each month. This means that what happens in this novel takes place during Season 4 between "Wild at Heart," when Oz left Sunnydale and Willow after killing Veruca, and "New Moon Rising," when he returned to find some major changes in both the town and the girl he left behind. Consequently, everyone who watches the show who reads this book knows full well that Oz will succeed in his quest. The reward here is in the journey, rather than the destination. There are so many initial reasons to like this book. First, in fills in one of the major gaps in the Buffy storyline with regards to all the questions about Oz's quest to the East. I love books that come up with creative and valid ways of filling in gaps (most of the unfinished and unpublished "Buffy" and "STNG" novels in my files are fill in the gap stories), and this fits the bill in that regard. Second, it is a solo story, where Oz is essentially out on his own, with minimal help from anyone back in Sunnydale. There have been very few solo efforts on the television series ("Anne" and "The Zeppo" come to mind), but that is driven by economic considerations: when you are paying people money to be in a television show each week, they should be seen on that television show each week. Of course, Oz has to go half way around the world to have his solo adventure, but that is certainly a small price to pay. Oz is clearly the most problematic character to try and write dialogue for in a "Buffy" novel. Most writers have a hard time coping with his laconic style and sparse use of verbiage, but not Golden. His characterization of Oz is as fine as any I have come across in these books, which means everything since he is front and center for almost this entire book. "Into the Wind" is one of those novels where two plot lines collide in a thrilling climax. The more interesting and more significant of the two is Oz's internal quest for control over the wolf within, and the best parts of this book are when nothing is "happening" other than Oz sitting on a mountain trying to come to terms with himself. Meanwhile, Cane, the werewolf hunter from "Phases," is hot on the trail of Oz, and when they both end up in the mountains of Tibet when a demon overlord is making a big time power play, the stage is set for a nice big collision. But the part that sold me on this novel was not the conclusion and how everything comes together, but rather how Golden goes back and tells the story of how Oz became a werewolf. Taking something that was sort of a throw away joke in "Phases

this book is absolutely great. it picks up the thread from thefourth season when oz leaves the show in a search for a way to control the werewolf in him. his travels take him to the figi islands, australia, hong kong and even tibet. his quest is longand hard and filled with lots of dangers that he thought he would not find so far from the hellmouth and sunnydale. the book is completely oz's story so if you are looking for the old gangincluding buffy, you will be disappointed. but it is well writtenand it fills in a void that the tv show did not really expand on.i bought the book thinking that it would not be that good but ican gladly say that it was definitely worth it.

Oz was a beloved character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His departure broke Willow's heart as well as the hearts of many viewers. "Oz: Into the Wild" is a blessing for Daniel Osbourne fans everywhere. The book is set in Season 4, right after Ozleaves at the end of "Wild at Heart," and follows his trip around the world, in search of ways to both calm and understand his inner wolf.The book format lets you go deeper into Oz's character than the show ever could. We always knew that he was intelligent and thoughtful; he chose his words carefully and was stoic for a reason. However, television relies a great deal on dialogue, and with Oz being not too vocal, he was often quiet on the series. This novel is privy to his thoughts, so you truly feel his concerns, his emotions, his reaction to killing Veruca and his recovery afterwards.Two thumbs - or perhaps paws - up to this wonderfully written book. It's a trip around the world. . . It's a search for self.