The Angels of Vengeance

"We demand blood for blood."

Writer: Richard Dinnick

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2017

Printed in: Myths & Legends 10

Featuring: Weeping Angels

Synopsis

The Weeping Angels, or at least three of them, have been captured. They are quantum locked in a perfect triangle with each positioned at sixty degrees. They get hungry. But they are fed as part of a disturbed judicial system. Except some of them backslide...

Verdict

The Angels of Vengeance was a great continuation of the Myths & Legends short story collection! This one probably had the fewest familiar elements from the Doctor Who universe and if the story wasn't titled what it was, I would seriously be wondering what was to come after nothing familiar at all featuring for the first half of the story. I really loved the courtroom setting and I think it's something that works really well. I did Law at A-Level and was a huge fan so that's probably where my enjoyment comes from. Lectyno served to be a very good lead character and his attitude towards his mother, who had been executed seven years previously, was very intriguing and I was left wanting to know more. Precisely, just how she was alive after being killed! I probably should have worked out what was going on before it was actually revealed but I do wish that there was a hint at some elaboration in the early stages of the story. In saying that, I really loved the moment where the Weeping Angels were revealed to be the way that justice was carried out in this court. Their being quantum locked at perfect sixty degree angles was good and I liked that it was acknowledged that some had perished when it came to capturing them. Using the Weeping Angels to carry out execution was intriguing as they don't actually kill people. We of course know that they simply send people back in time and slightly displace them spatially, but here that could mean a quick trip into the spacial void and radiation boiling. For others who were luckier, that meant a return to the streets at a time where they were living and they could see their family and friends. Backsliding was a real possibility with the justice carried out not always permanent as some would try and slip back into their old lives. This was highly reprehensible. Lectyno being accused of this with his mother was very interesting and I very much enjoyed the role of his sister in the court proceedings even though she was not on trial. Gistyho proceeding over the trial as the judge and I liked how quick he was panicking once Lectyno and Rosytra carried out their plan and actually used their mother's case to highlight that it was the judge who had murdered their father some forty years previous! I'm sure that would have meant more if there was further time to elaborate and delve into the family history, but I still enjoyed the dialogue a lot. The idea of the judge only being questionable in an open court was fantastic and I liked how he tried to sentence Lectyno once it was clear that he was guilty of a crime four decades previous. He was sentenced to death and would be at the mercy of the Weeping Angels. The sound of stone teeth was a great description of what was heard during the brief moment the lights went out for justice to be served, and I liked how subtle their role was in this story despite it being crucial. Overall, a very good story. Once again, I had no idea about the myth or legend but it doesn't seem to matter.

Rating: 8/10