Original cast members from the beloved TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reunite for an all-new adventure about connections that never die—even if you bury them.

A decade has passed since the epic final battle that concluded Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV). The game-changing spell that gave power to all potential Slayers persists. With new Slayers constantly emerging, things are looking grim for the bad guys. Rebellious vampire Spike (James Marsters) is working undercover in Los Angeles with his old pal Clem (James Charles Leary) when he meets feisty, rookie Slayer, Indira (Laya DeLeon Hayes), who wants Spike to be her mentor. Stakes intensify as Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) emerges from an alternate reality where she alone is the Slayer, and Buffy Summers doesn’t exist. Cordelia enlists Spike’s help with a classic big bad terrorizing her world…his ex, Drusilla (Juliet Landau). Giles (Anthony Head), Anya (Emma Caulfield Ford), Jonathan (Danny Strong), and Tara (Amber Benson) also return, but through the years and the vastness of the multiverse, not everyone is who they used to be…

Slayers: A Buffyverse Story is written and directed by Amber Benson and Chris Golden, and co-directed by Kc Wayland.

I’ll keep this short and sweet: If you love Buffy and wish you could return to that world once again, Slayers is a must-listen.

In this full-cast recording, years have passed and our world is pretty much under control. Sure, Sunnydale is still a sinkhole and there are still vampires, demons, and other assorted nasties, but there are also thousands of slayers worldwide, and they keep the bad buys in line. But apparently things are not quite as good in other worlds: Alternate-reality versions of Cordelia and Anya show up seeking Spike’s help — in their world, Drusilla is the big bad, and only Spike can stop her evil plot for total vampiric domination.

Accompanied by new teen slayer Indira, plus Clem and a very reluctant Giles (who’d been happily enjoying his retirement), the gang magics their way back to the other dimension, where Cordelia is the Slayer (and there’s only one), Tara is indulging in very dark magic, Spike was killed long ago, and no one has ever heard the name Buffy Summers. With this new, somewhat jaded version of the Scoobies, the action kicks into high gear, with spells, battles, possessions, and more.

It’s a total blast to hear the original cast members bring their beloved characters back to life. I’ve been needing a little Spike in my life! They’re all terrific, and the story just zips by.

A minor complaint is that the action sequences tend to be just a lot of “oooo” “owwwww” “ooooof” and punch-y sounds, and it’s not always easy to tell what’s going on based on sound effects alone. Similarly, as the story jumps from scene to scene, it would take me a few beats to figure out whether Tara, Anya, or Cordelia was speaking — they sound enough alike that it’s not consistently obvious at any given moment who we’re hearing.

Listening challenges aside, this is completely enjoyable and just oodles of fun. The story is zippy and original, the characters are true to themselves as we know them, but with years more living under their belts. It’s like revisiting old friends and figuring out whether the years have been kind to them.

The story ends with a few good twists, and is certainly left with some tantalizing loose ends that I’m hoping are laying the groundwork for a volume 2. There’s clearly much more adventure waiting for the gang, and I want to get to experience it!