Cameron Dokey, in her final Buffyverse novel (she also wrote the weak “Buffy” YA book “Here Be Monsters” and two excellent short stories in “How I Survived My Summer Vacation”), has the task of closing out the Doyle era in the ninth original “Angel” novel. She gives the half-demon his due, as Doyle serves as a guardian angel for a lonely woman. But the bizarre developments for some supporting characters make “The Summoned” (December 2001) weaker than most “Angel” books.
The main guest character is Terri, the classic invisible woman – although not literally, as is the case with “Out of Mind, Out of Sight” (“Buffy” 1.11). When she helps Doyle – in the wake of a vision from the Powers That Be – in a supermarket, he gives her some advice about being too trusting of strangers in the big city. A miffed Terri doesn’t heed the advice, and instead joins a fire-demon cult called the Illuminati.
I wasn’t a huge fan of this thread; we had seen a young man join forces with a demon and go through the “be careful what you wish for” journey in “Avatar,” and in that book and this one, the arc is unsurprising. The price for membership in the fire cult is passing a coin onto a stranger, who will then be killed by the demon; anyone with a conscience wouldn’t be able to live with themselves after doing that, and it’s no surprise that’s the case with Terri.
Also, Dokey’s choice of “Illuminati” for the cult is distracting, considering that in the real world that name has a wider-reaching connotation as the group that secretly controls all global politics. On the other hand, Doyle’s attempts to bond with the woman are sweet, and Terri’s journey toward having a true sense of self lands in a satisfying spot.
But the author drops the ball with another supporting player. Deirdre, whose father was killed by a mysterious self-starting fire (which we know is the fire demon at work), comes to Angel for help, having been laughed at by the LAPD detective on the case, Tucker. (SPOILERS FOLLOW IN THIS PARAGRAPH.) The fact that Tucker turns out to be a cult member fits snugly, but when Deirdre is revealed to be the Summoner (the highest-ranking human in the cult, who can directly contact the demon), it doesn’t jibe with her previous behavior. Why is she actively bringing this case to the attention of the police and Angel Investigations? One answer might be that she is working with other players in a wider game, but if so, that’s not revealed.
“The Summoned” brings Wolfram & Hart into play more than any previous novel, as one of its agents aims to use the fire demon to kill Angel. This is a time in the series before W&H decides Angel is more valuable to them alive. A homeless man named Septimus further illustrates the book’s theme about creating a sense of belonging, as Terri is his only friend.
Dokey delivers good passages where Doyle and Cordy reflect on how their time with Angel (who is a bit too prickly in this book) has made them into better people. The Cordy passage is particularly illuminating, as it solidifies something I have long suspected: that Cordelia has an internal belief in goodness and doing the right thing, even if she outwardly projects shallowness. Certainly, she does have shallow values about superficial things (an obsession with designer clothes and career advancement), but ultimately she always comes through for her friends. That may have been accidental in her early “Buffy” days, but not anymore.
So “The Summoned” is certainly readable, and the theme of personal connections does come through – even if was done better in “Lonely Heart” (1.2). But the character motivations of a major mover-and-shaker ultimately don’t make sense, and the contrivance-driven plot doesn’t come together in a satisfying way.
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