Angel: "The Summoned" [BUFFY]

The Summoned


Cameron Dokey (2001)

RATING: 2/5 Stakes

SETTING: Early Angel Season 1

T.V./MOVIE CHARACTER APPEARANCES: Angel, Doyle, Cordelia, Kate

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Terri Miller (victim), Septimus Stephens (homeless man), Andy (cultist), Deirdre Arensen (Kate's friend), Detective Jackson Tucker (police officer), Feutoch (fire demon)

BACK OF THE BOOK SUMMARY:  "Doyle is in the supermarket when the latest vision hits.  Fear.  Fire.  Death.  And an ornately engraved ancient amulet.  As usual, the Powers That Be are none too specific.  When he comes to, he is being tended by an anxious young woman named Terri Miller.  A shy girl from a small town, Terri is new to L.A., and feeling like a wallflower in the bright lights of this big city.  Soon after her encounter with Doyle, who heads off without more than a perfunctory thank-you, a charismatic young man invites her to a meeting for a club to which he belongs.  Meanwhile, Angel and his gang have been turned on to a killer who burns his victims beyond recognition.  Several of the deceased have connections to Terri's newfound circle of friends, and Cordelia suddenly finds herself in possession of an amulet that looks awfully familiar . . ."

REVIEW

The Summoned starts out strong with a gripping opening sequence--a woman races to get a letter in the mailbox, knowing that, not matter what, she'll be dead at midnight!  The sequence leads into a story about a secret cult that gradually drags in a shy, lonely woman named Terri.  Doyle befriends Terri and tries to get her out of trouble, but things begin to escalate.  When the police get involved, one of Kate Lockley's old friends--a woman named Deirdre--has crucial information, as her father was murdered by the cult (though the police think it's just a serial killer).  It turns out the cult is working to summon a fire demon named Feutoch and bring on the end of the world, blah blah blah.  I find smaller stakes work much better in novels.

The dialogue and personality of the major characters is handled well, but things start to fall apart near the end, with one twist too many.  And although initially the premise seems tense and exciting (a mysterious coin that leads the bearer to a fiery death!), in the end it becomes just a pedestrian demon cult story--something we've seen more than enough times in Buffy and Angel stories.  Overall, that makes The Summoned eminently skippable.