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Title: Image (Angel) by Mel Odom ISBN: 0-7434-2750-5 Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Good book!
Comment: I am a huge fan of Gunn so that was one of the main reasons that I bought the book. It was really good and keep me wanting to read. It was a very good book for all those who like Angel books.
Rating: 4
Summary: Angel discovers a whole new dimension to the art of painting
Comment: Reading "Image" so soon after having read Mel Odom's previous Angel novel "Bruja," might have been a mistake, because I think I was more aware of the structural similarities in the two novels than I might have been otherwise. Not that I have anything against Odom's "formula," which involves starting us out in the middle of a lot of action involving a lot of characters and then having most (but not all) of the subplot come together at the end after a significant and usually impressive revelation. But this time around there was a bit too much going on in the beginning to suit my taste.
The prologue also violates the time/space rule, which states (and I am paraphrasing here), that a prologue must represent a very different time and place from the first part of the novel. But in chapter 2 we go back and cover some of the same time frame from the end of the prologue. Usually Odom does a good job of juggling all of the various plot lines in his novels, but this time around I found myself wanting to get back to one particular plot line, so the scene switches were something of an intrusion. Once we get past the first act and everybody has a chance to catch up on the big picture, things proceed briskly apace.
The story focuses on Faroe Burke, a young painter about to have her first big art show who suddenly discovers that a bunch of demons have been hired to capture her, although why anyone would be interested in a former graffiti artist trying to turn legit becomes one of the driving questions of the novel. Meanwhile, Angel stumbles across a blast from his past, Gabriel Dantz, a painter who did a portrait of Darla several hundred years ago, which leads to the question as to how Gabriel happens to still be alive. However, the big question is what do these two painters have in common. One of Odom's strengths has been his creation of new characters for his stories, and I almost wish that Faroe Burke and Gabriel Dantz did not have to compete for time in this particular story.
"Image," despite the emphasis on painting, actually makes better use of horror literature than the vast majority of Angel/Buffy books. There is a reference to the work of H. P. Lovecraft and the celebrated weekend when Lord Byron hosted Percy Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and John Polidori in Geneva and suggested they write some horror stories become a pivotal subplot in the novel.
Characterizations involving the cast from Angel are especially problematic because there have been some significant growth spurts in that regard. Angel has certainly lightened up, Wesley is no longer comic relief, and Cordelia is nowhere near as self-absorbed as before. Then again, there is really no sense of when "Image" takes place in terms of the history of the television series given the sparsity of clues (Kate out, Host in, no Darla in the present) and that makes it difficult to say the characterizations are outdated because the obvious response is that the story takes place when they are not. I think part of it is that I really like the changes that we have seen in Wesley and Cordelia (ironically, it is the new and improved Angel I am least certain about).
Finally, one more oddball complaint. Usually my complaint is that when we get to the big secret in one of these novels it is not particularly impressive and often is just a means to bring about a happy ending relatively quickly. But with Odom his revelations are usually really good and I find myself wishing they had been revealed earlier in the novel so that they could be explored more in the context of the story. Certainly, that is what I was thinking while reading the last act of "Image," which is another above average original novel from Odom, a man who somehow manages to sometimes put too much into his Angel/Buffy books.
Rating: 5
Summary: Totally Awesome!
Comment: This is the best of the Angel novels by far. I couldn't stop reading. The plight of Gabriel and Jacob was heartwrenching, especially the ending. It brought me to tears. You have to totally suspend your imagination. Which shouldn't be hard if you're already a fan of the T.V. show. Angel and the gang were fantastic. I highly recommend this novel.
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Title: Soul Trade (Angel) by Thomas E. Sniegoski ISBN: 0743406990 Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Close to the Ground (Angel) by Jeff Mariotte ISBN: 0671041479 Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Pub. Date: 01 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Stranger to the Sun (Angel) by Jeff Mariotte ISBN: 0743427521 Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Sanctuary (Angel) by Jeff Mariotte ISBN: 0689856644 Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Not Forgotten (Angel) by Nancy Holder ISBN: 0671041452 Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Pub. Date: 01 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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