The Physics of the Buffyverse

by Jennifer Ouellette

Physics with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer pop-culture chaser In the tradition of the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek , acclaimed science writer Jennifer Ouellette explains fundamental concepts in the physical sciences through examples culled from the hit TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel . The weird and wonderful world of the Buffyverse—where the melding of magic and science is an everyday occurrence—provides a fantastical jumping-off point for looking at complex theories of biology, chemistry, and theoretical physics. From surreal vampires, demons, and interdimensional portals to energy conservation, black holes, and string theory, The Physics of the Buffyverse is serious (and palatable) science for the rest of us.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Pop Culture, Physics, Media Tie In, Vampires

325 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Jennifer Ouellette is the author of The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse, due out August 31, 2010. She is also the author of The Physics of the Buffyverse (2007) and Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics (2006), both published by Penguin. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Discover, New Scientist, Salon, Symmetry, Nature, and Physics Today, among other venues. She blogs at Discovery News, and maintains the group science blog Cocktail Party Physics.

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Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title tells no lies. This is an in-depth analysis of what is possible and what is a step beyond known science. It would be great as a lecture with video clips and charts.

[Bruce Reiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. I am partial to Buffy and the Scoobie Gang. When I was a full time teacher, I used Buffy and South Park to keep the classes a little crazy and attentive. If you are trying to interest a student in physics or need a little brush-up yourself, I recommend this book. It talks science and provides definition and examples of theories from Newton to Hawking all under the guise of the Buffy and Angel television series. It is very readable, relates later chapter material to previous discussions and reduces some difficult concepts into practical information albeit with the quirks of the Buffyverse.A good read.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it took me quite a while to finish this book (physics is hard, man), I learned a lot. I thought Ouellette effectively used the Buffyverse to illustrate the theories she discussed. I'm a little freaked out, as I always am, at the thought of the earth, you know, ending someday. I was really interested in her chapters on the possibility of alternate universes and string theory. So, yeah. A really interesting book.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a physics person but this helped me understand lots of things at least for a while and then it falls out of my head.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me 7 years to read this book, which is fitting since BTVS was on for 7 seasons. By the time I finished this book, I basically forgot everything that happened on the show, because I haven't been able to watch it since Netflix took it out of their lineup in like 2015ish. The last time I took physics was in 2010, so needless to say I have definitely forgotten everything I once understood when I started reading the book.

That said, loved it.

If you've never taken physics and are not a die-hard Buffyverse fan, this will be a giant waste of time and stupid. But for someone who enjoys physics (conceptually, although the second semester of college physics made me want to die and I definitely cried myself to sleep repeatedly), and loves BTVS, this was so epic and nerdy and worth reading it. It's my second book that I've read by this author and I can't wait to read more...hopefully the next one won't take me quite so long to get through.

Shout out to the Northwestern University library for letting me check this out in 2014 and keep renewing it each May for a year at a time. And thank you to other students, staff, and faculty, for not wanting to read it so I could continue to keep renewing it incessantly.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer ergo don't belong to the fandom. I picked this book up from a book store because I badly want to read something related to physics. This book presents a good introduction to the basic concepts of physics. The author used scenes from the series (also clearly and briefly told) as examples to further explain the laws and theories mentioned. I liked the way it was written, the flow is good connecting each chapter (new topic) nicely. I might actually watch the series after reading this despite being spoiled here and there knowing that there's science behind it that is somehow related to our own.

[Olivia Ambrose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, if you're into physics, then this is very much the book for you. But this is definitely more physics than Buffy. Which is fine. It just went over my head a lot. Not really my thing, despite being attached to Buffy :)

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

If physics had been taught this way, I might've actually taken the class in high school.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, dragged a little at points

[T. Sit · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I came at this book as a Buffy fan and a nerd. I'm not a scientist (though sometimes I feel I should have been one). My hope was that, in this book, I would find potential scientific explanations for things that occurred in the Buffyverse. I did get some of that, which was very interesting and enjoyable. Unfortunately, Ouellette also decided to use the Buffyverse as a platform to explain other, random, somewhat unrelated, scientific theories. This was not interesting to me, it felt like a cheat. I like physics, but if you aren't explaining something about Buffy/Angel scientifically, then, let's face it, Whedon's world does not make random theories any more exciting than they would have been in a science text on that topic. 2 stars: I liked it for a while, and eventually decided it wasn't worth finishing.

[Jenny GB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this quite a bit. So much better than the Harry Potter and science book that is also a part of the science and movies/tv genre. First, this author shows that she really knows her stuff on both Buffy and Angel. She's clearly a fan. The connections she makes between the shows to physics and science in general seem legitimate and not too forced. The science she is discussing is seriously complicated and many times she succeeds in making it more understandable for me (and I'm not really compatible with physics). She lost me in the quantum and string theory bits, but I was back again for the apocalypse section to end the book. Really an interesting read if you're a fan of Buffy and/or Angel and have an interest in understanding science. It is a pretty heavy science book, though, so beware if you are science phobic.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy books that look at science through a different frame, but this one was just...meh. Although it was fun thinking back to the Buffy and Angel episodes cited, that was more for remembering Joss Wheodn's writing and the actors' performances than an appreciation for the parallels that the author was drawing. I find that I enjoy either science in a different, yet still non-fiction frame like Napolean's buttons, or the science and the fiction clearly delineated (and, even better, original to the book!) like in the Science of Discworld books. This was too much resting on the laurels of great work (Whedon's) that wasn't the author's.

Still, good insight into science and there were some well-drawn metaphors/analogies to help clarify the science for those who don't know it well.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book. Probably a great one if you know Buffy and want to learn some physics. I don't know Buffy, but do know some physics. I think the basic ideas of physics are presented pretty well, but the examples using Buffyverse just don't seem to me to make it understandable to the average person. I could be wrong because I really don't know Buffy and it was irritating at times try and figure out how the Buffy example actually applied to Physics presented. Then the physics wasn't explained well in layman terms, in my opinion. IT would be interesting to hear a non science person who loved Buffy offer their opinion.

[Asani Brewton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down! I seriously loved, loved, loved it. From the first chapter I kept finding things that I remember going over in physics class and sort of grasping. However the book took the concepts and really made them come alive for me with "real" world examples I could follow. I am not a fan of math, but at the same time I've always had this deep curiosity about physics and chemistry and this book has really taught me so much!!!

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting, the author takes various ideas presented in the Buffyverse and explains the physics behind them, from how a scream can or can not shatter heads, wormholes, vampirism, freeze rays and so on. I did find myself scanning the more technical sections instead of in-depth reading and finished it in a couple of hours.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really, I wanted to love this book, but it was just a little too much for me. Still, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an amazing show, so I enjoyed rehashing old adventures. But only for a few chapters. My interest was certainly not sustained over an entire book. Maybe I'm not as big a geek as I like to fancy myself.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is solid and Ouellette does a pretty good job keeping the confusing bits interesting. I was just really hoping for some creative made-up physics rather than the "Well, this could never happen, but here's something similar that could" avoidances, so I ended up disappointed.
read more...

[Bonita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some interesting factoids in it but, I found it hard to get through. It was like reading a Medical Surgical / Microbiology for Vampires and Demons. (The fact that I am currently struggling to finish the last three classes in nursing school doesn't help.) Please do not let me discourage anyone from reading this tome of Buffydom, though.

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting on many points, but fundamentally flawed becayse physics cannot, in fact, explain the nonexistent supernatural. Definitely cleared up episode 6.4 for me though, and if you're into the Buffyverse you know exactly what i mean.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a fan of the series (well, both series: Buffy and Angel), and you want to learn about physics, this is definitely a great resource. The science part isn't too heavy, and the examples from the show are concrete enough that you can understand what they're talking about.

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started, it seemed a little bit of a stretch to connect the things that the author connected. I didn't think I'd finish it. But as I continued, I found more and more fascinating analogies and disputations. I really enjoyed this, and can't wait to read another of her books.

[Megan Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to understand, and entertaining enough so my eyes didn't glaze over as math-speaks tends to make them do. All her Buffy/Angel facts were right on. Only downside - the illustrations could have been better.

[Chris Loves to Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you love physics? (the real question is who doesn't). Do you love BTVS and Angel? (duh) Then you'll LOVE The physics of the Buffyverse. Great book, educational and I love reminiscing about all my favorite episodes.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love physics in a casual way and I enjoyed the series Buffy the vampire slayer, so this book describes the laws off physics in a way that is easy to understand, based off episodes and events in the series. I like it a lot.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging book that maked physics interesting. (I know, I can't believe it either!)

[tish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer Ouellette makes exciting but complicated physics theories completely comprehensible with scenes from Buffy and Angel as points of reference.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Buffy. I love science. However, quantum physics is really difficult for me. This book is helping...and fun!

[Laura]

Some of it is rather contrived (the linking it to the show aspect) but I found it a good review of some physics concepts.

[Rat de bibliothèque · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really crappy physics.

Decent information about the show and references to lines in the show.

Didn't even bother finishing this one since it wasn't at all how I felt it was advertised.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I imagine that if I had to teach physics, this book would be the way I would do it.