The Crow City of Angels

Crow Rating: 4 Crows

Author: Chet Williamson

Published: July 1996 (250 pages) **Out of print**

Book Overview
This is a novelization based on the screenplay written by David S. Goyer. The book follows the screenplay of COA, offering a lot more detail and diverse changes, including a broader and more complete ending than that offered by the movie. The premise is the same as the movie. Ashe Corvin and his son Danny are killed by a gang after they witness them kill a man near Ashe's shop (he is a mechanic). Sarah, from the first movie, is now in her 20's and living in Los Angeles working at a tattoo parlor. Sarah is haunted by dreams of a man and boy being murdered (Ashe & Danny) by a gang. The Crow leads Sarah to the place where Ashe and Danny died. She helps Ashe to understand his mission, to set the wrong things right. During the course of taking his revenge, Ashe falls in love with Sarah, complicating his mission. Judah Earl, the leader of the gang that killed Ashe, is aware that one of his "victims" has come back to settle things with him. Judah discovers that the way to stop Ashe is by breaking his connection to this world, which is the Crow. Ashe must complete his mission before his feelings for Sarah overcome him, and Judah is successful in severing the link that keeps him here.

Personal Thoughts
I saw the movie before reading the novelization. I had always felt, after seeing the movie, that there was a lot more to the story than what we were given. I was not wrong. Chet Williamson does a fabulous job filling in the gapping holes left by the movie. As readers, we are given a lot more detail and emotion in regard to the relationships between the main characters. We can see and feel the love between Danny and Ashe. We sense more clearly the conflict within Ashe over his mission and his love for Sarah. The most important aspect of the novel is that we are given a much-improved ending. It is not a "Hollywood" ending, but it is one that makes more sense and is more in line with the story's premise. Chet Williamson has become my favorite author of Crow stories. His character detail adds immeasurably to his stories. After his work on this novel, he was given the job of writing an original Crow novel for the HarperPrism Summer series, from 1998 (reviewed later on). He also has an original tale in the Crow anthology "Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams".

Where to find this book
This novel is out of print. You can, however, find it though retailers who have access to warehouses that may contain out of print items (Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Walden's, Hastings). You can also try Amazon.Com. They can conduct a search for out of print items. Another online place is eBay online auctions. Just go to www.ebay.com and do a search on "The Crow" from the book section.