The Casefiles: Volume 2 Angel Horror Book Review

When I first heard that a new writer was going to take over the reins for “The Watcher’s Guide 3”, I was a little worried. I had never heard of Paul Ruditis. My worries were not unfounded when the third volume, while still fun and competently written, came out and was a huge disappointment because it lacked so much. So, imagine my horror when I learned he was going to do the new Angel book. Oh no. Well, was I so happily surprised!. Teaming up with Diana Gallagher, Ruditis has redeemed himself with a book that stays true and faithful to the first book, and makes WG 3 a distant memory. Ruditis and Gallagher pretty much keep the same pattern and style as Nancy Holder on the first Casefiles. Sadly, and oddly, the book only covers seasons 3 and 4. WG 3 managed to fit in the final season, and Nikki Stafford’s excellent “Once Bitten” did too, so why not this one?. Hmm. Included here are the always welcomed “Character Bios”, something lacking in WG 3. It goes through all the major players, and most of the recurring players thru the two seasons. They also have “Actor Profiles” as well. They do make some mistakes. Such as saying that Connor, in the character bio part, was 18 when he came back, when he was actually 16. Although they do change it in the actual episode guides. They also mention the song “Lady Marmelade”, and say it was by Aretha Franklin, when it was by Patti LaBelle. The episode guides are always the main focus of these books, and the authors don’t disappoint. With long, detailed synopses of each episode, they bring the same categories and facts and such with each ep as they always do. The episodes, like the first book, are designed as actual case files. What are they?. Every episode summary is titled “Action Taken”. We have “Dossiers”, which is a section that informs of who the client, clientele, or outside support is(if there is any in a particular episode)that they deal with. Then there is “Continuity”, which deals with the ongoing story and arcs and history that the show has come from. “Quote Of The Wek” is pretty self explanatory. No need to go into that one further. “The Devil Is In The Details” portion has “Expenses”, which shows pretty much what you’d expect. “Weaponry” tells exactly what kind of weapon was used, or if it was a weapon at all. “The Plan” is basically what the gang’s, well, plan is for this episode’s situation. “Demons, ETC….” is a section dealing with what kinds of ghouls ans goblins, if any, were seen in that particular episode. And there is a handful more, like “Tracks”, which is for music featured in the episode. “The Final Cut” which is things that didn’t make it to the end episode. “As Scene In L.A.” is stuff from Angel’s city. “Pop Culture” is pretty much saying it there in the title. “The Name Game” tells about the meaning of an episode’s title. “Six Degrees Of…” is basically a “Where Have I Seen Them Before?” thing, and a few more. There are also interviews and little tid bits from cast and crew about that particular episode in the guides as well. The episodes are finely detailed and the format for each episode in the casefile way is fun and clever. Afterwards, there is a section called “The Changing Face Of Evil”, which is a look at the new design and sets for Wolfram & Hart. And season five doesn’t go entirely unnoticed, as there is a section towards the end which gives an overview on what happened. Wether or not we see something on season five in a AC 3 is unclear and not mentioned, and that is this book’s one sore spot. I doubt there will be another book for one season. It wouldn’t fill a book. If there isn’t anything, it would be Angel getting the short end of the stick again. Like The WG’s, this book also comes with two sections of photos, all in glorious color. If anybody was upset with Ruditis’ work on WG 3, then you should know that this book pretty much stays on course with first book, and makes WG 3 seem all the more like a wasted opportunity. This one is not.