''Soul Trade'' is an original novel based on the U.S. television series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

''. Tagline: "The black market is trading on humanity."

Plot summary

Angel, better than most, understands the importance and meaning of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. Angel's soul have driven him on his journey of redemption. Now Angel discovers those who would pay for a soul. Doyle, Cordelia, and Angel find a girl whose soul has been taken away from her. It seems a soul trade is developing its own

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

; the soul is an item of wealth to gamblers, junkies, and others in

L.A. Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

's vast underworld. The soul of an innocent girl is a desirable item... until Angel appears on the scene, with a soul that is- literally- one-of-a-kind.

Continuity

*Characters include:

Cordelia Cordelia is a feminine given name. It was borne by the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' (1606), a character based on the legendary queen Cordelia. The name is of uncertain origin. It is popularly associated with Latin '' cor'' ( geni ...

and

Doyle Doyle is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a back-formation from O'Doyle, which is an Anglicisation of the Irish (), meaning "descendant of ''Dubhghall''". There is another possible etymology: the Anglo-Norman surname ''D'Oyley'' with agglut ...

. *Supposed to be set early in ''Angel'' season 1, before the episode "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

", but after "

The Bachelor Party "The Bachelor Party" is a 1953 television play by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a 1957 film. The play premiered to critical acclaim. Plot Charlie Samson is a hard-working married bookkeeper in Manhattan, struggling to advanc ...

". *Doyle mentions that his ex-wife Harry dumped Richard since recent events. *After he meets the little girl, Angel is strongly reminded of his little sister Kathy, one of his first victims as Angelus. *When seeking information about the soul-eating demons the Kurgarru, Doyle initially suggests Angel contact Giles for information, but Angel asks Doyle to talk to Harry first as he is reluctant to contact anyone in Sunnydale unless he has to

Canonical issues

''Angel'' books such as this one are not usually considered by fans as

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

. Some fans consider them stories from the imaginations of authors and artists, while other fans consider them as taking place in an alternative fictional reality. However unlike

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...

, overviews summarising their story, written early in the writing process, were 'approved' by both Fox and

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

(or his office), and the books were therefore later published as officially ''Buffy''/''Angel'' merchandise.

External links

Reviews

''Litefoot1969.bravepages.com'' - Review of this book by Litefoot
{{Angel novels 2001 novels Angel (1999 TV series) novels 2001 fantasy novels