Angel The Casefiles, Volume One (v. 1) [Hardcover]

Nancy Holder (Author), Jeff Mariotte (Author), Maryelizabeth Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2002

With its darker adult tone and themes of the lost and the dispossessed, "Angel" has established an identity of its own. This official companion to the cult show enables fans to follow their favourite vampire on his sometimes rocky, but always adventurous, road to redemption.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books Media Tie-In (June 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743449592
• ISBN-13: 978-0743449595
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,671,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the multiple award-winning author of more than forty-five novels, including original supernatural thrillers Cold Black Hearts, River Runs Red and Missing White Girl, horror epic The Slab, thriller The Devil's Bait, and the Stoker-Award nominated teen horror quartet Dark Vengeance, as well as books set in the universes of Supernatural, CSI, Spider-Man, Superman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Conan, 30 Days of Night, and more. He is also the author of more comic books than he has time to count, including the horror graphic novel Zombie Cop, the original Western series Desperadoes (some of which have been nominated for Stoker and International Horror Guild awards) and the bestselling Presidential Material: Barack Obama. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Western Writers of America, and the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. With his wife, Maryelizabeth Hart, and partner Terry Gilman, he co-owns Mysterious Galaxy, a bookstore specializing in science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror. He lives on the Flying M Ranch in the American southwest with his family and pets in a home filled with books, music, toys, and other examples of American pop culture. More information than you would ever want to know about him is at jeffmariotte.com, where you'll also find a link to his blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1st and 2nd Season Casefiles for Angel Investigations, April 25, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Angel The Casefiles, Volume One (v. 1) (Hardcover)

First off, "Angel: The Casefiles, Volume 1" is a bit different from the volumes of "The Watcher's Guide" that serve as the Official Companion volumes to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Over 90% of the book is structured around the specific episodes from the first two seasons of "Angel." There is an introductory Character Guide that tries to provide a bit of background on the main characters as well as the recurring villains and supporting characters (Fred is listen high up, which clearly indicates they knew she was going to be joining the cast for Season 3). In the back of the book you will find actor profiles that includes even more familiar faces.

Each episode includes a detailed synopsis ("Action Taken"), which includes choice dialogue and quotes (e.g., the "How can I thank you, you mysterious black-clad hunk of a night thing?" commentary provided by Spike in the prologue of "In the Dark"), with a specific section working out the "Resolution." Then you will find "Dossiers" on things like Clients, Civilian Support, Informants, and Suspects; "Continuity" on significant ways in which this particular episode fits into the overall series; "Quote of the Week"; "The Devil Is In the Details," which covers things like Expenses, Weaponry, and The Plan appearing in the episode; "Demons, Demons, Demons" covers the rules of the Angel mythos, such as Vampire Rules or The Powers That Be, ; "As Scene in L.A." details locations for the show; "The Pen Is Mightier" includes Final Cut, humorous stage directions from the actual scripts, and an explanation for all those Pop Culture references; "Our Heroes" offers interview comments from David Boreanaz and the other cast members; "Six Degrees Of..." relates where actors pop up from; and "Tracks" lets you know who wrote the music in the episode (e.g., Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Symphony No. 41" or "Para Lennon y McCartney" by A Friend from Rio). Obviously, not all of these sections will appear for every episode, but you get the idea of what you can expect.

So, there is not as much additional information outside the context of the episodes as you had in "The Watcher's Guide," but there is more behind the scenes insights and commentary from the cast and crew. I would call that an acceptable tradeoff. This is where you go to find out whether Angel invoices Kate Lockley when she wants to be a client (it is unclear, sorry), what the Host's gift is called (Loren is anagogic), and where was the last place Winifred Burke was seen (the Stewart Branch Public Library on May 7, 1996). There is a 32-page section of full-color photographs as well as black & white shots from the show on every spread. The trio responsible for this book--Nancy Holder, Jeff Mariotte, and Maryelizabeth Hart--did Volume 2 of "The Watcher's Guide," so they know the show and where it came from. Of course, Holder and Mariotte have proven this with their various "Buffy" and "Angel" novels, which includes the "Unseen" crossover series. I still think that all of the Official Companion volumes for these two television shows, including "The Monster Book," have set the standard for how these things should be done. Volume 2 of the "Angel Casefiles" is out with Seasons 3 and 4, so all that is left is a slim volume to take care of the fifth and final season.