Angel Chronicles Volume One

FROM THE ARCHIVES (Buffy book reviews)

Angel Chronicles v. 1

Nancy Holder (1998), based on teleplays “Angel” and “Reptile Boy” by David Greenwalt and “Lie to Me” by Joss Whedon

RATING: 3/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season One (“Angel”) and Season Two (“Reptile Boy” and “Lie to Me”)

CAST APPEARANCES: Angel, Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, The Master, The Annointed One, Darla, Joyce, The Three, Richard Anderson, Tom Warner, Machida, Spike, Drusilla, Ford, Marvin, Chantarelle, Lucius

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: “After a century of killing without a care, the vampire Angelus was cursed with a conscience and eventually fled to Sunnydale, where he restricted his feeding to blood banks. Until 16-year-old Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer, arrived in town to battle vampires, demons, and the Forces of Darkness. First, he has to convince her not to kill him. Then, he has to convince himself not to fall in love with her. Now, collected for the first time, are three stories from the cult-hit TV series chronicling the beginning of this star-crossed love story. Can Buffy and Angel survive life, death . . . and beyond?”

REVIEW

Volume One of the three-volume Angel Chronicles novelizes two strong Buffy episodes and one average episode.

The episode “Angel” from Season One is memorable for the dusting of Darla and the revelation that Angel is actually a vampire. The novelization does a good job of incorporating the humor and characterization of the script, and is especially adept at handling Buffy and Angel’s first kiss.

“Reptile Boy” focuses on Buffy and Cordelia’s involvement in a snake-worshipping cult of fraternity brothers. It’s not an episode particularly worthy of novelization and doesn’t actually contain a whole lot of Angel.

The theme of “Lie to Me” is, as the title implies, about lying: Angel, Willow, and former-sweetheart Ford all lie to Buffy at one point or another in the episode, and their actions have repercussions. One of the best of the Season Two episodes, the plot centers around a group of vampire wannabees trying to convince Spike to make them into the real thing. We’re also treated to Buffy’s first encounter--from a distance--with Drusilla.

It’s hard to say much else about Volume One. Angel is only a subplot in two of the three episodes, so this probably isn’t the best place to start for fans of the brooding vampire-with-a-soul. The novelizations are all straightforward with very little variance from the scripts and they do a good job of conveying the feel of the show.