Review - Dark Shadows: Angelique's Descent

Dark Shadows: Angelique’s Descent
BY: Lara Parker
PUBLISHED BY: Tor
PUBLISHED IN: First Mass Market Edition 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7002-0
PAGES: 336

    Now cured of the vampire curse, Barnabas is ready to start a new live as a mortal, starting by furthering his relationship with his savior Dr. Julia Hoffman. He is now living in the Collinwood estate and plans on becoming a productive member of the family. The night before the demolition crew is scheduled to tear down the Old House, he returns there just before a mysterious fire occurs, burning down almost the entire house. The only item that survived the burning was a journal. The journal of the witch Angelique Bouchard.

    Despite of Julia’s demands for him to toss the book into the fireplace, Barnabas begins reading the haunted tale that takes place on island of Martinique. At a young age Angelique is ripped from her mother’s arms and forced to live with her father, a plantation owner. Voodoo witchcraft had been in her family line and at an early age her father recognized it in her. Angelique is treated more like a slave than a daughter as she is used in her father’s scheme to control his slaves, leading her into pledging her soul to darkness and becoming immortal.

    Angelique’s early life is one with heartache and bloodshed. She escapes her father’s clutches and eventually ends up as a maidservant to Josette du Pres, Barnabas’s lost love.

    Barnabas becomes obsessed in reading the journal after he realizes he had met the Angelique at a young age but at the time he didn’t know her name. The property of the Old House has been sold. Barnabas is in shock when he meets the new owner Antoinette, who resembles Angelique.

    Angelique’s Descent was original released in 1998, followed by Dark Shadows: Dreams of Dark written by Elizabeth Massie and Stephen Mark Rainey, the latter is currently out-of-print. Angelique’s Descent was re-released this year, as well as its sequel The Salem Branch, due to the remake being released on Friday. The author Lara Parker, who played the original Angelique, has nicely created a back-story to the witch, which explains where she came from before falling in love with Barnabas Collins, and eventually cursing him into a vampire. The book is a little darker and more erotic than the series ever was and should satisfy most old fans while introducing new fans to the character.

About the Author:

Lara Parker played the role of Angelique on Dark Shadows. She grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, attended Vassar College, majored in drama at the University of Iowa, and received her M.F.A. in creative writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. She lives in Topanga Canyon, California.