Shakedown (Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Don DeBrandt (Author) "Visions suck, Doyle thought..." (more)
Key Phrases: Skin of the World, Body of the World, Heart of the World (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Even if it takes an eternity, he will make amends.... Angel has long since learned that earthquakes are usually not benign incidents, so when Doyle has a vision involving a seismic shift, everyone's guard goes up. Further investigation leads Angel to a group of Serpentene demons living locally as an affluent private community. These nouveau "monsters" are not evil in any way (other than the fact that they make their living as telemarketers) and have no discernible enemies -- so why, then, have they become the target of a clan of underground quake demons -- demons who have the ability to reduce living creatures to a pulverized mass in an instant?

Cordelia and Doyle are not sure the clients -- demon, albeit high-paying, that they are -- can truly be trusted. But Angel finds that he has much in common with this particular brand of outsiders. After all, as he knows, there are degrees of evil and of innocence alike....

About the Author
Don DeBrandt writes science fiction, fantasy, horror, superheroes, cyberpunk, cyberfolk, and cyberanything else. Spider Robinson has compared DeBrandt's fiction to that of Larry Niven and John Varley; his first novel, The Quicksilver Screen, made Locus magazine's recommended reading fist for 1992. He's also published horror fiction in Pulphouse, and a novella in the SF magazine Horizons. His fiction has earned him Honorable Mentions in both the Year's Best SF and the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror.

He was written two stage plays for high schools, Heart of Glass and Happy Hour at the Secret Hideout, and has worked as a freelancer for Marvel Comics on such titles as Spiderman 2099 and 2099 Unlimited. His other comics work include several stories for the anthology comic Freeflight. He has short stories in all three volumes of the Deadlands gaming anthology.

DeBrandt lives in Burnaby, B.C. His hobbies indude leather-tasting, naked laughing gas hot tubbing, stilting, and being thrown off roofs by irate hotel security. Despite rumors to the contrary, he does not have an evil twin. There are no such things as evil twins.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment (October 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743406966
• ISBN-13: 978-0743406963
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #822,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Great!, November 13, 2000

By A Customer

I have read all 5 of the Angel series, and I have to say that this is my favorite (but don't get me wrong, I love the others too). The new characters are well thought out and the established charaters are, for the most part, true to their show personalities. I did find that Angel's personality was a bit "off" in some of the things that he said, but this in no way detracted from his character. Angelus was, let me tell you, SCARY... as he should be. His actions, recalled in flashback, are enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. :)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story, great charachterization!, September 19, 2001

By	"jmbyrne25" (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews

I have only had exposure to Angel in the third season of the TV program, so I've never seen Doyle before. If the author captured his character is acurately as he did Cordelia's, then I've got to track down tapes of these earlier episodes!
The dialogue in this book was great. Some of the banter between Doyle and Cordy had me laughing out loud. I also enjoyed the struggle Angel had to feel part of the 21st Century - changing with the times is one thing, but it's got to be tough to do for two hundred years! The 80's flashback was absolutely hysterical.
At first the plot seemed like it was going to be pretty simple, but things got complicated quickly and there's enough twists to keep you guessing. The Angel vs Angelus showdown was cool - hope they try something like that in future epsiodes on TV. This is the only Angel book I've read, so I don't know how it compares to others, but I'd recommend it to any fan of the TV show

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage (?) Angel, January 28, 2001

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This is just the cure for this season's Angel/Buffy blues. If you need relief for Angel's perpetual anguish over the reborn Darla and Drusilla you will enjoy this book immensely.

Angel is hired to help solve the problems of a group of snake demons and finds himself embroiled in a complex plot involving earthquakes, sacrifices, as well as our favorite bad guys, Wolfram & Hart. This is pure first season Angel.

Told with a wry sense of humor the story moves along quickly. Doyle and Cordelia are totally in character - not too bright, or too civilised. Which, of course, is what makes them perfect companions for Angel. While there is nothing deep or meaningful here to give the book any redeeming value, it is pure entertainment, and, as such, is worth reading. Especially if you can settle down in a comfy chair with a large store of popcorn (lot's of butter, please).