Doctor Who: Magic Of The Angels Review (3/5)

The Quick Read format holds it back, but Magic of the Angels is an enjoyable filler Who romp nevertheless.
It never ceases to amaze me that esteemed authors such as Jacqueline Rayner can manage to squeeze in entire fully-fledged storylines into around one hundred pages for the annual Quick Reads range, but that's exactly what Rayner has managed once again with Magic of the Angels. As you'd guess by the title and the cover, the novel's returning antagonists are the Weeping Angels, this time threatening to convert the world into their race using a televised magic show, thrusting the Doctor and the Ponds into a fast-paced adventure involving illusions and fantasies. Once again, this format does constrain the potential character arcs that can be developed here, and because of this you may well be left feeling as if you'd rather have spent a little more time with new additions to the main 'cast' like Sammy Star and the elderly women whose fate and origin is fairly predictable- thankfully Rayner capitalises on this early on rather than promoting it as a big twist at the end and looking silly for it as some authors do in longer pieces- in a full hardback novel as part of the New Series Adventures range. Despite that, the author does manage to get her characterisations spot-on in the time we get to spend with them, and that many readers will be left wishing there was more can only be a good sign in some ways. Doctor Who: Magic Of The Angels still isn't quite the piece of media fans of the show might be looking for to fill the void until the new season's Autumn broadcast right now, but it is at least a fun diversion from other more dense examples of literature, and will certainly provide some light-hearted fun for developing and natural readers alike. Let's get Jacqueline on the Series Seven writing team, please, Mr. Moffat!