Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Angel : Stranger To The Sun by Jeff Mariotte pub : Simon & Schuster Pocket Books. Price : £ 5.99 (UK). ISBN 0-7434-4981-9 check out website : www.simonsays.com

When producing a book for the tie-in market, one of the most important things is to get the tone and dialogue of the characters right. In the series we rely on visual appearance, responses to other characters and method of delivery.

One of the first things I noticed about this book was the dialogue between Wesley and Cordelia. They sound right and it sets the tone for the book. Before the narrative really starts, it establishes the ’Angelverse’.

’Stranger To The Sun’ takes place in Season 2 BF or Before Fred. For a change, there is no running interference by Wolfram and Hart - that being the one thing out of place. The fabulous four leads take centre stage.

When Angel Investigations receives a mysterious package, Wesley opens it. A cloud of green dust envelopes him and he falls into a coma. Angel thinks the drug is Calynthia powder recently used by Darla to keep him in thrall. Deprived of Wesley’s analytical mind, he sets out to bang some heads together. Gunn enlists his crew and finds a city-wide conspiracy and lots of sleeping people.

Meanwhile, Wesley faces his own challenge in a mineshaft with several other miners. His previous existence fades from his mind and he is unaware that to his friends back in LA he is apparently unconscious. After a rock fall, it is up to Wesley to muster his leadership skills otherwise they will all die.

Once again, the book follows the themes of the show. It looks at the character traits that were developing in Season Two and draws on them. Gunn is feeling the pull of both of his ’crews’. Wesley is finding his feet and starting to develop as a stronger person. There are two plots running concurrently and they are nicely balanced. The plotting is good and consistent although as in many other tie-ins the end feels a slight anti-climax.

It is written episodically with enough tension developing along the way to keep the reader’s interest. One thing that jars is the introduction of two human characters due to meet a sticky end. It reminded me of ’Casualty’ where a character is brought on and given background just so they can be killed of. That made me queasy.All in all though a good addition to the ’Angel’ series of books. A quick and undemanding read.

Sue Davies