Door to Alternity is volume two of the Unseen trilogy of Buffy/Angel crossover novels. It’s filled with demons, monsters and magic, but also with more human violence than is usual in these stories, with an all-out shooting war between Mexican and Russian gangs in LA and Sunnydale. At the end of volume one, The Burning, Buffy and Angel saw a man disappear into a strange shimmering golden circle which then vanished and now similar circles are appearing in Sunnydale, disgorging monsters of every description. Buffy and Riley are kept busy fighting them, helped by Spike, who still can’t hurt humans and is delighted to have something he can hit. Meanwhile, in LA, more teenagers are vanishing, apparently into thin air. The background story takes us to the USSR in 1971 where scientists were experimenting with a Reality Tracer designed to make contact with alternate realities, looking for worlds where communism has triumphed. When the Soviet Union collapsed, some of the scientists brought their machine to LA, where they hooked up with the Russian mafia who are currently fighting a turf war with Mexican gangs. But the portals created by this machine aren’t working exactly as they should. In amongst the action, the authors still find time for the familiar bickering between the regulars–Cordelia’s Wesley-baiting and Anya’s general tactlessness are particularly enjoyable, and it’s good to see Tara included in the Scooby Gang. This is a very good second volume and sets the stage for what should be an explosive finale in volume three: Long Way Home –Elizabeth Sourbut