These Our Actors is unusual for a Buffy novel, in that the Slayer hardly features at all. Whilst this might sound like a recipe for disaster, there's still plenty of stake on the menu.

Willow tries to take centre stage for most of the proceedings, as the Wicca is manipulated by a corrupt professor and ends up unwittingly aiding him in a dark scheme.

It's Spike, however, who steals every scene. One of the joys of this novel is the exploration of his early days as a vampire - learning the ropes from his Yoda, Angelus, and seeking revenge for all the humiliation he endured as a 'bloody awful' poet.

These Our Actors cleverly extends Doug Petrie's Fool for Love script, and provides a very neat link between Spike's 19th Century crush Cecily and present day events.

One of the most format-stretching Buffy titles since the books began, which is no bad thing.