Image

Rating:
Summary: Image
Review: "Image" was a great book with lots of detail. It had all the stories of evey character when they faced evil, and when they were emotional. I couldn't put it down, every time I started to read, I just could never stop. This book lasts a while too, unlike some of the small good for a short period books that are going on the market. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes suspence, and good books

Rating:
Summary: Best Angel book written yet
Review: Angel's past catches up with him again, when he meets up with Gabriel Dantz. A painter who he meet in Veice in 1815. Darla had wanted him to paint her. But there's more to the painter then the vampires could of ever imagened. Meanwhile Gunn meets up with a smartass painter from the streets, named Faroe Burke. Who is being stalked by a group of demons. Her and Gabriel have something that can be very dangerous in common. To find out what read the book.
I have read all of the Buffy and Angel novels. This is the greast Angel book yet. The charchter are flawless. Even the ones that come from Mel Odom have amazing deapth. The plot is a real gripper once I got started I couldn't stop. Until now I thought Close to the ground, by Jeff Mariotte was the best Angel book. Image is a lot better. Don't get me wrong Redemption , and Bruja were both awsome as well. But from now on I expect a whole new level of writing from Mel Odom in furture Angel and Buffy works. Keep up the good work Mel! Image was Hot!!!

Rating:
Summary: Good book!
Review: 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:
Summary: A good place to start
Review: Like the recent Sweet Sixteen BUFFY the Vampire Slayer release this book has great empathy and poignance, following a terrific serious but hilarious bunch of actions with stupid demons! Once things get going the novel is very serious, but an underlying feeling of comedy entertainment lingers on. The serious, poignant action that comes along later is unsurpassed by Angel books, so this is not a bad novel in the series to start with.

Rating:
Summary: Angel discovers a whole new dimension to the art of painting
Review: 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:
Summary: Totally Awesome!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Totally Awesome!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Painting Yourself Out of a Corner
Review: What seems to make a successful Angel story is complicated plotting with a solid core cast of characters. Skilled writers like Mel Odom can deliver on this promise, but sometimes the reviewer finds himself at a loss for words while trying to give the reader a bite sized glance into the workings of one of these novels. 'Image' is a case in point, as you shall shortly see.

The tale opens on a chance meeting between Faroe Burke, a young artist and Gunn, who has an appointment for a pickup sparring match in the building where Faroe has her studio. No, sparks don't fly, but only a little while later Faroe finds herself in a pitched battle with demons in her workroom.

[Camera shifts to]

Angel sits in a bar keeping an eye on Eddie Ashford, a hot new actor whose wild habits have his studio worrying about him. Wesley, anxious to expand Angel Investigations to the level of actually making a profit has agreed to watch the actor. Angel suddenly discovers that Eddie's latest bimbo isn't a bimbo, but a lady Garlock demon intent on using Eddie as nesting material.

[Camera shifts to]

Cordelia and Wesley are working on another case for Eddie's studio, trying to put an end to some nasty blackmail originating from a publisher called 'Corner of the Eye.' Our intrepid duo find that this suspicious publishing house is front for - you guessed - yet another nasty demon. With every member of the team neck deep in serious trouble, now is the time for the Powers That Be to call on their secret weapon.

Cordelia suddenly has a vision. Actually, Cordelia has two visions. The first is about the jam that Faroe is caught in, and the second is of an unknown child being menaced by an unknown demon in an unknown location. And the story has hardly begun to sizzle. Before this tale is over the Angel team will have to fight 5 flavors of demon, deal with a whole series of blasts from the past, and, naturally, save the world. And throw ain a bit of good old fashioned natural magic to glue everything together. This is not the kind of story you put down for a few days and expect to pick up where you left off. To tell the truth, though, I don't know why you would want to put it down.

Mel Odom really is a good writer, with considerable experience. In 'Image' he is just plain showing off. Not only is the complex plot worked for everything it's work, the characters are done perfectly. The story is also intended to reveal extra depths to the main characters and that's exactly what it does. Special appearances by the likes of Lorne the Host plus more of Angel's past told in flashbacks add to the story's sparkle. If you are any kind of Angel fan at all you will find much to enjoy here.

Rating:
Summary: Painting Yourself Out of a Corner
Review: What seems to make a successful Angel story is complicated plotting with a solid core cast of characters. Skilled writers like Mel Odom can deliver on this promise, but sometimes the reviewer finds himself at a loss for words while trying to give the reader a bite sized glance into the workings of one of these novels. 'Image' is a case in point, as you shall shortly see.

The tale opens on a chance meeting between Faroe Burke, a young artist and Gunn, who has an appointment for a pickup sparring match in the building where Faroe has her studio. No, sparks don't fly, but only a little while later Faroe finds herself in a pitched battle with demons in her workroom.

[Camera shifts to]

Angel sits in a bar keeping an eye on Eddie Ashford, a hot new actor whose wild habits have his studio worrying about him. Wesley, anxious to expand Angel Investigations to the level of actually making a profit has agreed to watch the actor. Angel suddenly discovers that Eddie's latest bimbo isn't a bimbo, but a lady Garlock demon intent on using Eddie as nesting material.

[Camera shifts to]

Cordelia and Wesley are working on another case for Eddie's studio, trying to put an end to some nasty blackmail originating from a publisher called 'Corner of the Eye.' Our intrepid duo find that this suspicious publishing house is front for - you guessed - yet another nasty demon. With every member of the team neck deep in serious trouble, now is the time for the Powers That Be to call on their secret weapon.

Cordelia suddenly has a vision. Actually, Cordelia has two visions. The first is about the jam that Faroe is caught in, and the second is of an unknown child being menaced by an unknown demon in an unknown location. And the story has hardly begun to sizzle. Before this tale is over the Angel team will have to fight 5 flavors of demon, deal with a whole series of blasts from the past, and, naturally, save the world. And throw ain a bit of good old fashioned natural magic to glue everything together. This is not the kind of story you put down for a few days and expect to pick up where you left off. To tell the truth, though, I don't know why you would want to put it down.

Mel Odom really is a good writer, with considerable experience. In 'Image' he is just plain showing off. Not only is the complex plot worked for everything it's work, the characters are done perfectly. The story is also intended to reveal extra depths to the main characters and that's exactly what it does. Special appearances by the likes of Lorne the Host plus more of Angel's past told in flashbacks add to the story's sparkle. If you are any kind of Angel fan at all you will find much to enjoy here.

Rating:
Summary: Six Hours I'll Never Get Back
Review: Yeah, that's about how much time I wasted on yet another sub-par Angel tie-in novel. Six hours of my life, flushed down the drain. Which is where this manuscript should have gone.

This novel concerns two artists. One is a modern grafitti artist by the name of Faroe Burke. She has recently gained success in the world of professional art. She is also being chased by demons and saved by Gunn.

The other artist painted a portrait of Darla in 1815. Yet he is still alive in modern Los Angeles, and connected to a child that Angel, Wesley and Cordelia are trying to save. Suffice to say the artists share a connection that is only revealed late in the book.

If this sounds interesting, let me say that it could be, in the hands of a more talented scribbler. Unfortunately, Odom first takes us through a dull sub-plot about the Angel Investigations crew working for a blackmailed movie studio. Odom turns this into an excuse to throw Gunn, Angel and Wesley and Cordelia into three seperate fight scenes. Including the build up, these scenes last through one third of the book. Only then do we find out even a hint of what the primary plot will be.

Worse than this is the way Odom can't seem to get any of the character's voices down. In Image, Gunn suddenly spouts off facts about demons, Wesley-style. Cordelia is notably lacking in clever quips. Angel is flat. Not brooding or dark, just flat.

Most of the problems raised in the novel could easily be solved if the characters were half as clever and witty as they are each week on the TV show. Unfortunately, they seem to have suffered major lobotomies. An example: Cordelia is cornered by a demon when her cell phone rings, almost alerting the beastie. She hangs up, but doesn't think to TURN OFF THE PHONE SO IT WON'T RING AGAIN! When Angel calls back two minutes later, she's discovered by the critter.

The element that really had me grinding my teeth was the flashback portrayals of Darla and Angelus. These two, the premier psychopaths of the vampire world, seem to be trying to talk their victims to death. Odom also squanders the opportunity to include a subplot with Lord Byron. The famous poet remains off screen.

Throw in a badly-defined villain (Ooooh! He wants to rule the world! How original!) and an ending so saccharine and syrupy you could feed it to hummingbirds, and my biggest regret is that I can't give this book a negative rating.

If you must have a fix of Angel over the summer hiatus, read Shakedown by Don DeBrandt. It isn't perfect, but he has the character's voices almost perfect and comes up with several cool plot devices.