Angel: Close to the Ground
A novel by Jeff Mariotte

I think I was expecting too much. After the skillful way he articulated the angst of our Xander in his first book in the Joss-verse, The Xander Years, Volume 2 (The Xander Years, The Angel Chronicles, The Willow Files... what next, The Oz Syllables?), I guess I thought Jeff Mariotte was the new light in the almost perpetual darkness of Buffy and Angel novelisations. That he was the one man in all the world who could stand against the inane plots, horrible dialogue and the hopeless characterizations. He was... the Author.

And, ya know, his first Angel novel, Close to the Ground isn't bad, not by any means. It's got the demons, and the darkness, the dilemmas... and, hey! The Doyle. Yes, Doyle is here and is extremely Doyle-ish in word and deed as he hits on Cordelia, hides from his bookie and helps in the protection of the innocent. He's absolutely adorable, even as words written on a page, and that has got to be worth a lot of something.

Oh, and there is also a plot to this novel (sadly not involving the nakedness of Doyle at any point), and it's a fairly inventive one. An ancient Wizard from ye olde Eire hast come to town to steal Angel's power over mortality while still possessing his soul, and to do it he uses an innocent young girl, her family and connections, and various lackeys right out of Lewis Carrol's worst drug-induced nightmare. All good. All creepy, with the goblins and the ghoulies, the casual murder, and the patented ensoulled-vamp angst. All very suitably Angel-ish.

So what was it, exactly, that I found a little lacking here? It certainly wasn't the very original concept, or the heavy incorporation of the coolness that is Kate Lockley, or the chillingly accurate portrayal of Cordelia. It wasn't the scenes. It wasn't the climax. It wasn't the denouement, or the epilogue... and it sure as hell wasn't the black cover with the two divine pictures of the ever-dreamy David Boreanaz staring right out from it.

No, I think the thing that bothered me about this Angel novel lies mainly the wrongness of Angel himself. He said things -- even did things -- that most connoisseurs of the man would consider extremely non-Angel-like. He repeatedly called Cordelia "Cordy," for a start, which, as far as I'm concerned, is like the third sign of the coming of Angelus (the first, of course, being the leather pants, and the second being the naughty killing of people.) But it wasn't just that... it was also his speech patterns, the words he used. They just didn't pass the "I can hear it in my head!" test, which is so important when you write a story about existing characters (unless you write Gumby fanfic, I guess. Uh. You don't write Gumby fanfic, though, right? When will you people learn? Pokey was just a friend!)

All in all, however, Mariotte has done himself a fine job. He's snappy, he's witty, and he's not shy with the spooky-ookiness when the occasion calls for it. And, sure, some aspects of this novel struck a kind of false note, but for his first time out I think we can safely give him at least a few high marks (ooh, but a crushing 4.0 from the Rumanian judge.) Besides, since Mariotte also moonlights as an editor and writer over at WildStorm Comics, I guess we pretty much have to forgive him.

Plus, did I mention that he captured Doyle almost perfectly? And, really, what more can a girl ask?

Re-read Factor: Well, more than I'll re-watch certain inter-galactic princess-ridden Angel episodes that shall remain hated.

Sequel Factor: I think this story is done, but I'd certainly be eager to see more by the redoubtable Jeff Mariotte. I'm thinking I'd like to see a Buffy novel next time, though.

Strong Chick Factor: Cordelia is pretty Cordelia-ish, and Kate is Kate-with-extra-strength-Kate-ness, so, yep. Strong chicks are a go.

-- Rachel Hyland

Angel: Close to the Ground, published by Pocket Books, is currently available in paperback.

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