Magic of the Angels

"Amy blinked her eyes. When her vision cleared, she could see that the girl had gone. In the centre of the spiral, amid the spikes, stood the angel statue."

Writer: Jacqueline Raynor

Format: Novel

Released: February 2012

Series: Quick Reads 06

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

"No one from this time will ever see that girl again..."

The Doctor, Amy and Rory round off a sight-seeing tour round London with a trip to the theatre. That's when things start to go wrong.

The Doctor wonders why so many young girls are going missing from the area. When he sees Sammy Star's amazing magic act, he thinks he knows the answer. Sammy's glamorous assistant disappears at the climax of the act - but this is no stage trick.

The Doctor and his friends team up with residents of an old people's home to discover the truth. And together they find themselves face to face with a deadly Weeping Angel. 

Whatever you do - don't blink!

Verdict 

Magic of the Angels was an enjoyable and entertaining little read! I was intrigued prior to reading by the title but I didn't expect a Weeping Angel to actually be a part of a magic show! That was a nice and unexpected surprise. Also prior to reading I was interested in seeing how the infamous New Who villains, easily the best recurring enemies created since 2005, would work in print. Could the statues be as effective in the novelised format as they are on screen? I thought they were going to be and in the more than safe hands of Jacqueline Raynor I wasn't left disappointed. The trio of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory are fantastic together and I just adored the constant references to Amy's redhead beauty. She really is stunning. And her relationship with the Doctor was terrific as always. I liked how we saw the soft side of Rory and the caring nurse in him come out once again. I adored the beginning with the TARDIS trio on the London tour bus and the Doctor was inadvertently amusing the other bus riders with his namedropping and references to past encounters. The Shakespeare Code, Rose and Aliens of London were all excellently referenced. The format of the Quick Reads is still relatively new to me and this was just my second after the fantastic The Silurian Gift and for some reason the shorter length seems to bring it to be a more child orientated target audience which I don't think should be the case. But reading this novel on the usual train journey I found myself whizzing through the chapters and finishing the boom before changing trains after 160 minutes into my journey so with the speed of reading, despite the format, it must've done something correct to keep me delved in. The plot was decent and I think the lack of appearance from the Weeping Angel throughout just bizarrely added to the fear. The idea of an Angel in a magic show is just wonderful and the description of the act with the assistant of Sammy Star being zapped to the past was fantastic. Mrs Hooper and Mrs Collins were lovely characters and the emotion behind their past catching up with them was tremendous, it really was. Rory's relationship with them along with Amy's sweet touch was terrific to see. The story behind Max the dog and the Doctor was a splendid addition. The realisation from Amy when she heard that the magic show was going to be shown on television was frightening. The throwback to The Time of Angels hit her hard in the face. The image of an Angel becomes an Angel. I'm not sure that concept stands for Blink but since the Eleventlh Doctor's encounters I've come to adore that concept. As if the Weeping Angels needed an added fear factor! The climax was a bit dodgy though I thought with the Angel just staying looking at the projected image of itself. All it takes is for someone to move it and it's loose again. I thought that was quite a shame considering the rest of the novel was such an enjoyment. Overall, a decent plot, good references and the return of a brilliant enemy. 

Rating: 8/10