(4.5)

i wrote a whole review for this & then accidentally pressed cancel. i wish to weep. check back later for my thoughts

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in the who’s who of who writers, gill effortlessly takes to the ranks alongside such authors as rayner and rudden with this hauntingly beautiful insight into some of our favourite villains.

gill has weaved this tale wonderfully into the stories we know & love from the ‘10s, and her tapestry of words is simply breathtaking. in particular, the first two parts stand out as some of gill’s strongest work.

a wonderful read, & i hope to see more poetry in the whoniverse !1 Jon ArnoldAuthor 39 books30

A delightful capstone to this short range: a prose poem narrated by a Weeping Angel that adds depth and lyricism to their race, and adds meaning to a particular encounter with the Doctor. If you’re so minded there are moments here which can be read as tying into the climax of The Star Beast.doctor-who1 Elise26

Beautifully written. I read this in a couple of hours. I read it aloud to my friend and we became absorbed in the word the author created.

The words were poetic and lovingly crafted. There were times where we both had tears in our eyes.1 Michael178 3

A touching light novella from the Weeping Angels' perspective.

A nice life-affirming hour and a half.

Although told in verse, the verse itself does not figure much into the story except to mete out the evocative pacing.

This would be an excellent bedtime read for young fans of Doctor Who or families seeking to share a read-together experience.

One can certainly relate with the story's meditation on loneliness.1 Michael363 29

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Nikita Gill’s Doctor Who: The Angel of Redemption is an “epic poem” about the history of the Weeping Angels the way its synopsis suggests. Not really. But what it is is a genuinely moving, surprisingly personal tale of one Weeping Angel’s journey of redemption - and how that journey leads them across the Doctor’s path. Gill’s verse is simple, yet endlessly emotional. The Angel of Redemption is a poem about loneliness; about one being’s search for love in a universe that’s only ever shown them cruelty. A poem about how even the most wicked of monsters can find goodness and hope and light in the darkest of shadows.

For a poem that takes you from the Weeping Angels’ birth at the beginning of the universe to 21st Century Earth, it’s definitely a bit on the short side; much closer to a novella than a full-length story. And as such, it can sometimes feel Gill blazes through parts of the story, passing by moments that would almost certainly benefit from a bit more exploration. But given how focused the story is on this one particular Angel’s life, it’s hard to fault the brevity.

And the story itself is so good, so tinged with heartache and sorrow and melancholy and hope. It’s exactly the kind of story you’d always hoped the Weeping Angels might get. A story that humanizes them in a way; that sheds a light on the sorrow underneath the monster. And in that respect, it’s hard to find any fault at all.

The best way to experience The Angel of Redemption is via the audiobook, though. Poetry is almost always best heard aloud, and that’s very much the case here. It is, after all, an oral tale of sorts. A legend meant to be passed down from generation to generation; the story of the Angel who found redemption through a Golden God. And Ayesha Antoine reads it gorgeously, her performance adding an immense amount of melancholy, fear, and hope. The Angel of Redemption is a great read, but it’s an even better listen.

At the end of the day, The Angel of Redemption is a sweet, haunting story. It shines a new light on a classic Doctor Who baddie while also being wholly accessible to those unfamiliar with the show. After all, who isn’t haunted by the statues of angels that litter graveyards?favorites1 JamesAuthor 4 books9

This is really lovely. I wasn't quite sure about why this story in particular benefitted from being told in poetry at first, but it soon became very clear. It's a very unique way of telling a Doctor Who story and it uses this uniqueness to tell aspects of a story that wouldn't be half as powerful or emotional - or even conceptual - if they were just told through prose.

The first thing the poetry really benefits is the lore. This is essentially an origin story for the Weeping Angels, and the images that are conjured up by the poems serves this really well. It allows it to remain mystical and hard to comprehend, while still telling us what happened. The second is the more personal story of the single Angel, who carries the majority of this book. As you slowly realise *who* this Angel is, and what their significance is, and the poem moves from being about gods and stars to being about experiences of people and feelings and monsters, it can't help but draw you in more and more. The book manages to convey lots of big themes and thoughts while its telling its story, and poetry was the right choice to do this.

I wish the poems had been a little more varied in form - I feel there's so much potential here that isn't always realised. There's a moment when a chorus of Weeping Angels speak at once, and though the rhythm of the lines shift, it's a shame they didn't start rhyming, as I feel it would've really differentiated it? I also wonder whether the book is formatted right for a poetry collection - the titles seem to be typed too big, and the poems are so small and connected I wondered whether they really needed individual titles at all? Some are integral to the poems themselves but feel a little disconnected from them.

But! I'm hoping for much, much more Doctor Who poetry, and much more playing around with what that form could do with these types of stories. This is a really exciting, emotional, promising start, though.1 Cafenoirebooks17

The humanity within the inhumane

Doctor who and making me cry go hand in hand bread and butter. And this experimental new novel following the story of a lonely weeping angel is no different.

Written in verse for nearly it’s entirety, it flips the traditional stories of Doctor who and every kind of hero and monster rivalry that have existed in modern media, as we see the pain and suffering of a lonely weeping angel and all that it has lost in contrast to the traditional heroic chivalry of the Doctor.

However, to turn something this on it’s head is an easy task to complete, it is the way in which writer, Nikita Gill provides sense of warmth and beauty in her verse that makes it perfect. As she gives humanity to the aliens and monsters that are typically inhumane and simply bloodthirsty.

This novel exemplifies what doctor who was meant to be. Even without featuring the doctor as the main character, it shows the true power of love and hope that is the purpose and importance of the immortal character of the Doctor.

5/5novels-read-2023 Chelsea-anne Kennedy273 1 follower

The Angel of Redemption is a heart breaking poem about a weeping angel, that is alone. I listened to this via audiobook and I would recommend that as they way to consume this story. Ayesha Antoine narrates it beautifully, they add real depth to the words. The poem follows one particular Angel, their loneliness and search for love. Proving that even though they are considered monsters they are more complex than they seem. The poem covers the start of the angels existence all the way to the 21st century. I wish it went into more depth as it glossed over some things. Although we are focused on one particular angel so it makes sense. I cannot state how much I enjoyed the audiobook, I'm not really a fan of poetry but this made me reconsider. Clare Jackson-Bramwell274 5

Doctor Who books can be full of adventure, they can be philosophical, dark, jolly, violent, well written, formulaic etc. I've never read a Doctor Who book this before. A beautiful, poetical tale from the point of view of a Weeping Angel incorporating Angel history and touching on events on TV before launching into its own tale. Lyrical and touching. More please! Kieran McAndrew2,217 13

The Weeping Angels are amongst the Doctor's most fearsome foes. They capture a person and steal all their temporal potential, casting them back in time to live a full life away from all they know.

In Gill's 'The Angel of Redemption', readers see the loneliness of the Doctor and, through some beautiful verse passages, come to reevaluate the loneliness of the Angels themselves. John Parungao387 1 follower

Fascinating book to read! It's told from the perspective of a Weeping Angel and told mostly in poetry or verse. Had some trouble getting used to this style of writing and storytelling, but eventually was able to follow the narrative, which featured references to the tv episode Angels Take Manhattan. owned-books read-dr-who L.E. HartAuthor 1 book5

Beautiful story. Made me feel quite nostalgic and very sad. Nikita Gill tells a familiar story from a different point of view through the use of poetry and prose. I felt that the unorthodox way of storytelling was the perfect way to tell the story of an unorthodox protagonist. What a way to start the year. Ethan Thompson8

Given the fairy tale themes to the 11th Doctor's story, it's fitting that this tale focusing in on his era has a similar feel. A fable about a monster learning there's more to life than its base nature, and charmingly put together in the style of a long form song or poem which adds to the fairy tale aesthetic.

Excellent read for any 11th Doctor fan Kelsey Hayes31

Wasn't expecting a collection of poems and to be honest I found it annoying at the start. However, it told the story really well once I was able to link them together. Very clever writing
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