Dark Mirror

Rating:
Summary: Angel v2.0
Review: Enter Angel the Second. And Fred 2.0. And Wesley Redux. And so on. A steady parade of perfect clones arrives at Angel Investigations, none of them looking for help. They want the original models dead. And if Angel, Lorne and the others can't band together to find out where the replicas are coming from and why, a murder spree that starts in their lobby might spread to the entire city. But how do you defeat an opponent who knows your thoughts, battle plans, your doubts, your darkest fear?

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was very excited about this book when I first read the synopsis - the idea would get 4 stars.
The problem with this book is in the execution. Gardner's characterizations just don't ring true, and I found them very distracting. In particular, I had problems with comments about Lorne (that he's a "party demon" and "needs direction") Wesley (if this is early season 4, as I expect it is, Wesley's relationships with the Angel Team were still pretty strained) and Connor. (thinking that "Angel and his friends have never been anything but nice to me - I just need to find a place where I can think."). Connor's confusion comes across clearly, but his rage does not. I tried to give the book a chance, but I was unimpressed with Gardner's grasp of the characters. I would probably not buy another book by this author, and I would DEFINATELY not buy one of his without reading a little of it first.

Rating:
Summary: Tightly written, well paced story
Review: In Dark Mirror, Angel Investigations must face a group of demons capable of becoming duplicates of anyone they get close to -- complete with their personality and memories. The duplicates just happen to reflect their darker, angrier selves. And their duplicates are out to destroy them.

The book is well written and fast paced. The character portrayals are strong and the interrelationships are accurate for the timing of the book (clearly early in season 4).

Gardner does a good job of capturing the strained relationship between Wesley and Angel Investigations, the complex relationship between Wesley and Lilah and Conner's confusion about who he is and what (and who) he should believe.

The ending seems to wrap up quickly (...). But, really, that mirrors the format of a one hour television series, where all is neatly wrapped up in the last 10 minutes. It is, in essence, exactly what we expect and saying that gives away nothing of the plot!

I was a little unclear about how the characters knew how to put a final end to their duplicates (and I won't go into that as it does give something away). I'll just say that I didn't see that part explained -- it may have been edited out or I may just have missed it, as I did read the book in a hospital waiting room.

If you like Angel or Angel books, I'd recommend this book. Its exactly what it should be; a fast paced adventure, true to the characters and the story. Its sure to make for an enjoyable afternoon of reading.