The novel “Touched by an Angel” by Jonathan Morris was published for the first time in 2011.
After eight years, Mark Whitaker hasn’t yet recovered from the death of his wife Rebecca. One day he receives a letter he wrote himself but doesn’t remember it at all. That’s even stranger because the letter contains a series of instructions and tells him that he can save Rebecca. Mark is still trying to figure out that letter’s origin when he’s touched by a Weeping Angel and finds himself 15 years in his past.
After the initial disorientation, Mark realizes the opportunity he’s having and starts planning his new life with the ultimate goal of reaching the day of the car accident in which Rebecca died. The effects of his activity draw the attention of the Eleventh Doctor, who comes to investigate along with Amy and Rory. When he finds out what Mark is planning, he tells him not to change anything and the presence of Weeping Angels clearly shows that they want a paradox to happen to get its energy.
“Touched by an Angel” is part of a series of novels connected to the new “Doctor Who” series. They’re targeted to a wide audience by being linear enough to be appreciated even by very young readers but sophisticated enough to interest more mature readers. With the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor, there was a small change in the size of the novels about “Doctor Who” new series’ adventures, which have become slightly larger.
The Weeping Angels appeared for the first time in “Blink”, an episode of the third season of the new series of “Doctor Who”. It’s already become a classic that is mentioned as an example of an episode to show to people unfamiliar with the show despite the Doctor’s very limited presence. Later episodes expanded the Weeping Angels’ mythology and they also appeared in some novels.
Jonathan Morris has considerable experience with “Doctor Who” mainly as a writer of audio adventures, but has occasionally written novels as well. In “Touched by an Angel”, the Doctor uncovers a plan by a group of Weeping Angels to create a paradox by sending a man who lost his wife in a car accident into his past. The intertwining between the lives of the two versions of Mark is extremely dangerous because time can be rewritten and the Weeping Angels would obtain a lot of temporal energy from a paradox.
The plot spans many years of Mark’s life showing us moments of his normal life and the years that have passed after he was sent back in time by a Weeping Angel, so he’s the real protagonist of the novel. Unlike “Blink”, the Doctor and his companions are still present on many occasions to try to prevent the paradox.
Despite the Doctor’s jokes and the lighthearted moments between him and his companions, “Touched by an Angel” generally has a dramatic tone that is shown from the start as it begins with Rebecca’s death, the key moment in Mark’s life. The Doctor repeatedly explains to him how dangerous it is to change history, especially his own, but Mark only thinks about the possibility of saving his wife. He’s a very human character in his way of dealing with the terrible loss of his wife and trying to take advantage of the chance to save her.
The story works because the human drama is well mixed with the time travel element, possible paradoxes included, making the most of the Weeping Angels. The basic idea of using time travel to save someone’s life is a classic, in this case in my opinion it’s well developed. Overall, “Touched by an Angel” seemed like a novel in which Jonathan Morris put the best of “Doctor Who”. The story can be sad to read, but if you don’t consider the drama too painful, I think it’s one of the must-read novels for the fans of the saga.
