Angel - by L.A.Weatherly

Published 1st October 2010
Usborne Books
£7.99

I am so glad this book exists – it does everything that the recent lacklustre movie angelic offering ‘Legion’ should have done.

Clearly pitched at the YA market, and I’m guessing specifically at those needing a new supernatural fix since the closing of the Twilight series, I think Angel could easily have a second life if issued as a mainstream genre fiction title.

It reads like a great movie. Good central characters, fast pacing and with some terrific action-filled set pieces.
Oh yes, and there’s romance - but I was surprised to find that, with possibly one scene as exception, the romantic element does not interfere with a good angelic war and a road story.

Maybe angels turned bad isn’t a new idea, but Weatherly puts a further twist to this by adding ‘Angel-Burn’ to the mix. These angels act vampiric – stealing life forces and, in return, leave diseases, viruses, cancers.

The two central characters of Alex , the AK (Angel Killer) and Willow (a half angel) are very well detailed and clearly pave the way for the rest of the trilogy.

Also handled well is the writing itself, carefully switching between first person (as Willow) and third person – working in a way I’ve not read in some time.

A great packaged, entertaining and enjoyable first chapter to what is certain to be a hit book trilogy and, I’m sure, a successful future movie series.

Keith B Walters