The Deathless

infobox Book |
name = The Deathless
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Keith R.A. DeCandido
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Buffy the Vampire Slayer
genre = Horror novel
publisher = Simon Spotlight Entertainment
release_date = 24 April 2007
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 1-84739-037-4
preceded_by = The Evil That Men Do (Buffy novel)
followed_by = Doomsday Deck

The Deathless is an original novel based on the U.S. television series Buffy.

Plot summary

From the Publisher:
"As if Ring Day weren't enough to make Buffy Summers anxious (she can't even afford one of the less expensive silver bands), the Slayer has her hands full trying to figure out why an average split-level house in Sunnydale has all the vampires spooked. When she arrives at the library to discuss this new development with Giles, a package he's received from an old folklorist in Russia reveals what's going on: The stars are properly aligned for an attempt to resurrect Koschei the Deathless, a long-dead evil sorcerer. So while her classmates are busy choosing rings to demonstrate their school spirit, Buffy must figure out how to keep someone from reviving Koschei and, should she need to resort to plan B, how to kill him again.
A little investigating soon leads Buffy and the gang to the necromancer who originally killed the sorcerer, an immortal Russian sorceress named Yulia Dryanushkina, who can control vampires (which explains their reluctance to pass by her place of residence). When the crew pays Yulia a visit, she assures them that with Willow's assistance, she would be able to kill the sorcerer again should he be revived.

Neither Buffy nor Willow are particularly comfortable with aligning themselves with the necromancer, but they have no other choice when, twenty-four hours later, the vampires start behaving strangely . . . and half the senior class goes missing."

Trivia

*The author confirmed characters that would appear in the novel: Buffy, Angel, Xander, Willow, Giles, Oz, Cordelia, Principal Snyder, and Faith. Other familiar Sunnydale High students are likely to appear as well, including Willow's fellow magic user Michael (from "Gingerbread").ref|characters
*Ring Day - Occasion in American Highschools, where students receive their class ring. It usually would take place in junior or senior year.

Folkore and Mythology

The book uses draws from Slavic mythology:

*Koschei - In Russian mythology, Koschei is an evil person of ugly appearance, who principally menaces young women. Koschei is also known as Koschei the Deathless (Коще́й Бессме́ртный). Koschei is extremely difficult to kill because his soul is hidden separate from his body, and as long as his soul is safe, he cannot die.

*Baba Yaga - The wild woman, the dark lady, mistress of magic, and a forest spirit, leading hosts of spirits.

Continuity

*Set after "The Zeppo" but before "Bad Girls". According to the author, "At the end of "The Zeppo," Giles and Willow are injured, but in "Bad Girls" they're all better. Since neither of them have the super-healing powers of vampires and Slayers, it has to be several weeks between those two episodes, so it's the perfect spot to place a novel-length adventure -- with the added bonus that I get to use Faith as a good guy."

Canonical issues

:main|Buffyverse canon

:Buffy novels, such as this one are not considered by most fans as part of canon. They are usually not considered as official Buffyverse reality, but are novels from the authors' imaginations. However unlike fanfic, 'overviews' summarising their story, written early in the writing process, were 'approved' by both Fox and Whedon (or his office), and the books were therefore later published as officially "Buffy" merchandise.

Timing

*Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:

Footnotes

#Note|newbook - [http://kradical.livejournal.com/543378.html Keith R.A. DeCandido reveals story (June 2006)]
#Note|characters - [http://kradical.livejournal.com/543378.html Author reveals characters (scroll down) (June 2006)]

External links

* [http://kradical.livejournal.com/543378.html Keith R.A. DeCandido posts an announcement that Fox have give "The Deathless" an initial approval (June 2006)]
* [http://whedonesque.com/comments/10746 Whedonesquers discuss upcoming book (June 2006)]
* [http://kradical.livejournal.com/590806.html Keith R.A. DeCandido reveals timing and some dialogue (August 2006)]
* [http://whedonesque.com/comments/11074 Whedonesquers discuss upcoming book (August 2006)]
* [http://kradical.livejournal.com/626147.html Keith R.A. DeCandido reveals some more dialogue (September 2006)]