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Blake's 7 - Books and Ebooks #2
Archangel
Archangel finds the rebels trying to move on from the horrific death of crew-member Olag Gan.
When an old friend of Blake’s – believed to have been murdered five years earlier by the Federation – is discovered alive in a labour camp on Sigma Minor, the rebels decide to mount a daring rescue attempt. But the talented cybernetic engineer Blake once knew is a shadow of his former self. His memory has been wiped, his family are prisoners of the Federation, and his name is inextricably linked to a sinister project known only by a codename: Archangel. Archangel: an ultra-secret experiment so dangerous, so horrific, so terrifying that it was shut down by the High Council and ordered never to be reopened… until now.
This time, death may be the Liberator crew’s best option.
When an old friend of Blake’s – believed to have been murdered five years earlier by the Federation – is discovered alive in a labour camp on Sigma Minor, the rebels decide to mount a daring rescue attempt. But the talented cybernetic engineer Blake once knew is a shadow of his former self. His memory has been wiped, his family are prisoners of the Federation, and his name is inextricably linked to a sinister project known only by a codename: Archangel. Archangel: an ultra-secret experiment so dangerous, so horrific, so terrifying that it was shut down by the High Council and ordered never to be reopened… until now.
This time, death may be the Liberator crew’s best option.
- GenresScience Fiction
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2012
6 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 19, 2013
Somewhere in space, a grissling project is being brought back to life. What is it, and why is a cybernetics engineer so intend on putting a stop to it? Blake and his crew take up uncovering the terrible truth about Archangel, a project that should never have existed.
When you read books based on tv shows, there's always the danger that it's going to be a generic story with characters that happen to share the names of those you know from the show in question. If you're lucky, though, you'll get an author who knows the universe and the characters very well and who can write within those perimeters. Archangel is a perfect example of the latter. Not only is it and engaging read, a real page turner, but Scott Harrison has the characters's voices down *perfectly*. Imagining Avon, Vila and Blake speaking was no efford at all, and the snark and the humor was spot on as well. Since Vila is my favorite character, I was glad to see him feature quite a lot. The horror elements of the story are very fitting and gives the story a dark edge which I quite enjoyed. If you love Blake's 7, don't miss out on this one!
When you read books based on tv shows, there's always the danger that it's going to be a generic story with characters that happen to share the names of those you know from the show in question. If you're lucky, though, you'll get an author who knows the universe and the characters very well and who can write within those perimeters. Archangel is a perfect example of the latter. Not only is it and engaging read, a real page turner, but Scott Harrison has the characters's voices down *perfectly*. Imagining Avon, Vila and Blake speaking was no efford at all, and the snark and the humor was spot on as well. Since Vila is my favorite character, I was glad to see him feature quite a lot. The horror elements of the story are very fitting and gives the story a dark edge which I quite enjoyed. If you love Blake's 7, don't miss out on this one!
September 30, 2023
I’m not going to pretend this is up there with Hyperion and Dune. It’s Blakes 7 (sic) which means you know what you’re getting before you open the book. On the assumption that “you get what you came for”, I can’t fault this book. It’s well written and most of the characters manage to find something to do other than repeat their catchphrases.
I actually rather enjoyed the story, even though it was a bit of a fetch quest in the first half. The nice thing about reading this stuff instead of watching it is that the special effects are better.
I actually rather enjoyed the story, even though it was a bit of a fetch quest in the first half. The nice thing about reading this stuff instead of watching it is that the special effects are better.
August 15, 2014
Good book. Blake's 7 is my current obsession, so I'm reading what I can and watching the old shows when ever possible.
February 5, 2023
A step up from The Forgotten’s cartoonish version of B7: the plot’s again fairly generic but the realisation of the brutal universe of the Federation and portrayal of the regular characters means it’s the most successful attempt to bring B7 to the printed page yet.
May 14, 2021
An enjoyable and pacey read that matches the flavour of the show. Not a true classic, which is why I've given it a four instead of a five.
February 22, 2025
Very good book
True to the TV series
True to the TV series
April 20, 2020
Set in Series B (after the death of Gan) the remainder of the B7 crew (Blake, Jenna, Avon, Vila & Cally) investigate rumours of a mysterious Federation project called Archangel.
Again this is a really high quality story with a plot that unfolds just like an episode of the show. You really do feel like you could be watching this one.
The characters are all on point: Avon, Servalan, Blake, Vila... Heck even Jenna gets a little bit of action. My only niggle is the complete uselessness of Cally - She is utterly wasted in this one and I feel that is really bad oversight. We're dealing with a group of cyborgs who communicate telepathically - there's some suggestion of a hive mind and we certainly get chunks of them interacting mentally with 'the program' - Cally is the ideal choice to play a central role here - she could communicate with them, heck at least sense their consciousness but that idea doesn't ever get used.
Other than that though, I really liked this. I particularly love the nature of the project - the next step up from mutoids seems very plausible and the possible application of fusing them with ships... is a concept I find fascinating.
The continuity/B7 universe is solid in this as well. We get a mention of Jenna's friend Virna who crops up in the Liberator Chronicle 4.2: Epitaph, and we get a Gauda Prime Blake epilogue in which he encounters and helps Katri Tam. This one feels very Blake's 7 not only in good depiction of character, but in the representation of the Federation, technology and the nature of the project.
Lastly I also like the way this is written - we get various flashbacks 'artefacts' from different perspectives, and cut scenes which help the pace and make it feel even more like an episode script.
So far I'm highly impressed with the Big Finish B7 spin off range, it's of much higher quality and consistency than a lot of other sci-fi show tie-in fiction. It rarely feels rushed and you get the feeling that the writers are as much fans of the show as the readers. Archangel is a good example.
Again this is a really high quality story with a plot that unfolds just like an episode of the show. You really do feel like you could be watching this one.
The characters are all on point: Avon, Servalan, Blake, Vila... Heck even Jenna gets a little bit of action. My only niggle is the complete uselessness of Cally - She is utterly wasted in this one and I feel that is really bad oversight. We're dealing with a group of cyborgs who communicate telepathically - there's some suggestion of a hive mind and we certainly get chunks of them interacting mentally with 'the program' - Cally is the ideal choice to play a central role here - she could communicate with them, heck at least sense their consciousness but that idea doesn't ever get used.
Other than that though, I really liked this. I particularly love the nature of the project - the next step up from mutoids seems very plausible and the possible application of fusing them with ships... is a concept I find fascinating.
The continuity/B7 universe is solid in this as well. We get a mention of Jenna's friend Virna who crops up in the Liberator Chronicle 4.2: Epitaph, and we get a Gauda Prime Blake epilogue in which he encounters and helps Katri Tam. This one feels very Blake's 7 not only in good depiction of character, but in the representation of the Federation, technology and the nature of the project.
Lastly I also like the way this is written - we get various flashbacks 'artefacts' from different perspectives, and cut scenes which help the pace and make it feel even more like an episode script.
So far I'm highly impressed with the Big Finish B7 spin off range, it's of much higher quality and consistency than a lot of other sci-fi show tie-in fiction. It rarely feels rushed and you get the feeling that the writers are as much fans of the show as the readers. Archangel is a good example.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2015
Well this was alright.
Not as good as the first one, but still just as entertaining. Again, this series' authors show a deep knowledge (maybe they actually watched the original) of the characters traits.
Have to say these are like missing episodes from the TV series at best ; at worst reminiscent of those awful Audio CDs the Beeb chucked out back in the 90's.
Buy these if you were a B7 fan (like me) avoid if you aren't.
Not as good as the first one, but still just as entertaining. Again, this series' authors show a deep knowledge (maybe they actually watched the original) of the characters traits.
Have to say these are like missing episodes from the TV series at best ; at worst reminiscent of those awful Audio CDs the Beeb chucked out back in the 90's.
Buy these if you were a B7 fan (like me) avoid if you aren't.
March 28, 2013
It was OK. I do love Blake's 7 so it's nice to just be able to hear the characters with a new voice. A lot of going from one place to another but no real depth to the story I'm afraid. Sweet final chapter though.
February 3, 2016
Slightly less body count than a televised episode, although what it (slightly) makes up for in body count it more than makes up for in graphic depictions of violence and general horror. Still, a good story.
August 30, 2013
Short like a tv episode and of similar quality. This is one for Blakes 7 fans but others may find it less appealing.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews