Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?
Allyson Beatrice
Puffin
Nonfiction, Essays/Fandom
Themes: Demons, Vampires
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Description
Fandom - the gathering of those who read, view, and/or admire similar things - is not a new phenomenon, but the Internet has put a whole new face on it. Suddenly, one doesn't just meet people down the street who watch your favorite show and obsess over your favorite character, but people the whole world over... and maybe even the people who make your favorite shows happen, all with the intimacy of a face-to-face chat and the anonymity of a screen-name on a message board. Allyson Beatrice's internet chats about the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer led her to lasting friendships, strange adventures, and even stranger meetings with the show's writers. In these essays, she reflects on what fandom is, what it means to be a fan in the internet age, and how her life was forever changed by her love of a vampire slayer.
Review
I watched and enjoyed Buffy, though I was never active in the associated fandom. Nevertheless, many moments in this book rang true for me, as a sci-fi/fantasy fan and a denizen of the internet. I expect most modern fans will find something in Beatrice's experiences they can personally relate to, whether it's flying cross-country to room with someone you've never met in person or dealing with technophobic relatives who think the World Wide Web is peopled solely by identity thieves and ax-murdering pedophiles. Some of her essays wandered a bit far from the subject, though, and I felt like a few missed the point. I also thought there ought to be some sort of wrap-up essay at the end, as the active Buffy fan base with which she was so deeply and actively invovled has disspitated with the passage of time. It's a phase every fandom and every fan goes through - the realization that, though memories and friendships may endure, what was was and won't be again. Though I got the impression Beatrice had been through this realization, for some reason she doesn't actually discuss it outright. I also got a bit tired of the gratuitous crudity and cursing. On the whole, this is a good look at what fandom is, and what it does, for those involved. I don't know if those who have never experienced fandom will "get it" or not if they read this, but fans like me ought to enjoy it.