“Avatar” (March 2001), the sixth original novel in the “Angel” line, isn’t exactly a surprising affair, but it does have a nice mix of original characters and insights into our heroes. John Passarella, who had previously penned the solid “Buffy” young-adult book “Ghoul Trouble,” proves that he knows his way around L.A. and the Angel Investigations office, too.
The primary new character is Elliot, who has made a deal with a demon. He’s a stereotypical Cheeto-dust-covered computer geek who has no luck with the ladies. The ephemeral demon Yunk’sh will magically give him good looks, women, money and power if Elliot helps resurrect him into a corporeal body. Their scheme requires victims belonging to each sign of the zodiac, whom Elliot finds in chat rooms; then Yunk’sh goes out and kills them, leaving an empty skin behind.
Yunk’sh also draws upon Elliot’s essence, causing the computer geek to make a straight-up reference to “The Fly” when his fingernails start to fall out. We can see where this is going from a mile away: Yunk’sh is not going to deliver on his promise; he is just using Elliot. Still, Elliot’s doting downstairs neighbor Shirley adds a nice wrinkle to his arc.
And “Avatar” is an engaging time capsule to 2001, as Elliot and a web programmer named Arnold serve as the voices of the dawning computer age. Just one decade later, “Ready Player One” hit shelves, and no one had any problem following the virtual reality chat rooms in that book. But Passarella spends time explaining what chat rooms are, and what Angel Investigations should have on its website – along with arguments for why a website would be good for business. (Angel, naturally, is resistant to the idea, which comes from Cordelia.)
“Avatar’s” plot is a bit convoluted. In addition to the Elliot-Yunk’sh drama, there’s also a cult that wants to bind the demon to use as its servant. Hence, we’re headed for a multi-pronged battle. But to get there, we require a lot of logistical explanations for what the cult’s goal is, what they need to do to achieve it, and so forth.
The book starts to get bogged down in the various villains’ machinations, but then there’s a wonderful scene late in the book where Angel tries to corner Yunk’sh, using Cordy as bait at a bar. The demon uses a glamour to make its victims see the object of their desire. Naturally, Angel sees Buffy and Doyle sees Cordy. In a delicious surprise, Cordy sees Doyle.
So if we’re to treat “Avatar” as canonical, this is confirmation that Cordelia had feelings for Doyle before the episode “Hero” (1.9). Perhaps Cordelia’s feelings are buried so deeply that she isn’t consciously aware of them, or perhaps she is aggressive about ignoring feelings for a poor, unsuccessful guy that don’t line up with her big-picture aspirations.
Passarella also gives us a side plot about a high-class TV reporter lady who is aggressively interested in Angel – at first for a story, but ultimately as a romance. The author delves into how this is awkward for Angel. We know why he can’t be in relationships, but what excuses will he give to this woman? (It’s interesting to note that Angel eventually does engage in relationships in the series – with Cordelia in Season 2 and Nina in Season 5. At what point does he change his mind? Does he feel like he has enough self-control to not lose his soul again?)
While “Avatar” has a boilerplate plot about a rising demon, it does feel like a legitimate early Season 1 adventure, and the insight into Cordy’s feelings for Doyle give it an extra layer.
Click here for an index of all of John’s “Buffy” and “Angel” reviews.