The Angel of the Crows is a 2020 Gaslamp Fantasy novel by Katherine Addison, heavily inspired by Sherlock Holmes. "Heavily inspired" as in "the Holmes, Watson, and Mycroft equivalents have different names and backstories, but the supporting cast is almost identical, except for changes made to adapt them to a fantasy setting." It tells the story of Doctor J.H. Doyle, the narrator, a former army surgeon retired after being physically and metaphysically injured by a wartime encounter with a Fallen Angel, and Doyle's friend and flatmate Crow, a most unconventional angel. They fight crime. Specifically, they solve supernatural mysteries based on iconic cases from the Sherlock Holmes stories, while assisting with the Jack the Ripper investigation.
This novel contains examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Doyle, compared to Watson, despite more emphasis on the long-term disabling nature of their war wound. Because the other long-term effect of said injury is turning into a giant Hell Hound.
- Adaptational Heroism: This version of Moriarty is not the Big Bad and has his surprisingly helpful moments.
- Affably Evil: Vampires are manipulative predators, but they understand the value of cooperation, good manners, and avoiding unnecessary violence.
- The All-Concealing "I": Used with Doyle's first-person narration to obscure certain biographical details until they become relevant to the plot.
- Alternate History: Apart from the magic and monsters, America still seems to be a colony of Britain in the late 1800s in this universe, the Mormons have established their own territory of Deseret, and airships have become the default long-distance transportation.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The Fallen. Some are able to stay rational enough to make alliances with humans, but they are all driven to destruction.
- Ambiguous Gender Identity:
- Doyle, depending on how you interpret "I'm not a man, but I'm not a woman, either."
- Angels as well, particularly the Nameless. When asked why there are no female Nameless, Crow responds that there aren't technically any male Nameless either and they'd more properly be compared to sexless drones, like you'd find in a bee hive. Angels with a habitation present as either male or female, but this is noted to be more based on human perceptions when they claim their habitation than something intrinsic.
- Beneath Notice: Angels in general, but the Nameless in particular. Doyle takes some perverse joy in thanking angels who try to give (unwanted and unappreciated) help to the invalid in their habitations and then basking in their shock at being addressed so directly. The Nameless take the place of Crow's baker street irregulars and form his informant network. What the Nameless get out of the arrangement is vague, but they seem to flock to Crow when he's around them.
- Clever Crows: Crow, who is Sherlock Holmes as a corvid-themed angel. Overlaps a bit with Creepy Crows, given that he applies a lot of his intelligence to solving murders.
- Driven to Suicide: Lestrade had a brother who was infected by a hellhound. After being discovered he decided to take his own life rather than be put in prison. It gives the man a very lenient view of Doyle's own secrets.
- The Fair Folk: Vampires have quite a few of the standard traits on top of their feeding habits. They are vulnerable to iron and silver, bound to keep any promise they make, have a Compelling Voice, and their social units are called hunts.
- First-Name Basis: A particularly poignant one between Crow and Joanna Henrietta Doyle. Crow is perhaps the first person Doyle has ever willingly told.
- Friendly Enemy: Crow and the Moriarty Hunt of vampires. Angels and vampires are opposed in many ways, but their extended existences compared to humans can give them disturbingly similar outlooks at times and they both value curiosity almost to a fault.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Vampires proper (as opposed to the Feral Vampires hemophages) all seem to behave like this.
- Gaslamp Fantasy: Angels, hellhounds, and vampires in alternate Victorian London.
- Genius Loci: Angels are technically aware of everything that happens within their habitation, but prefer to focus only on the things immediately surrounding their physical bodies to avoid sensory overload.
- Gratuitous French: A few period appropriate French phrases get tossed around, particularly if a character is culturally refined.
- Hive Mind: The Nameless are governed by the consensus and don't have distinct identities. Angels with habitations have access to the consensus but aren't subsumed by it, and can be expelled from it if given sufficient reason (*cough* Crow). Inhabited angels can use their connection to the consensus to contact neighboring habitations, and large groups of habitations can contact other large groups to conveniently pass information - they are supposed to be messengers, after all.
- Invisible to Normals: If a vampire concentrates they can invert their Hypnotic Eyes and make themselves functionally invisible, although it does take a bit of effort to pull off in a crowd.
- Magically-Binding Contract: Sworn oaths have magical resonance in this universe. True names have a similar quality, and it's why Doyle will only ever give out their initials and last name. Going by an alias would be a dead give away that something was up, but going by the initials just indicates there's an embarrassing name they'd rather not be known by.
- The Mind Is The Plaything Of The Body: One of Doyle's problems with their hellhound form. Everything is just so interesting from its altered perspective it can be hard to remember what she was doing while human. It can still remember general tasks, but why they were important starts to get a little fuzzy. It also views Crow simultaneously as a trusted friend she wants to protect and an intimidating being made of fire whose presence is inherently harmful.
- Money Dumb: Crow alternates between forgetting currency is a thing people expect in exchange for goods and services, and handing over all the money he has in his pockets. He quickly learns that it's easier if he just gives all of his money to Doyle to look after.
- The Needless: Angels do not eat or sleep.
- Our Angels Are Different: They operate on Earth rather than in Heaven, and are Winged Humanoids with avian physical features and bee-like social tendencies. The majority of the angelic host, known as the Nameless, exist in a Hive Mind. Angels need a specific area of responsibility in order to maintain individual consciousness, which for the vast majority of them is a building, known as their habitation. Destroying the habitation usually kills the angel, and abandoning it severely weakens them. Angels Cannot Tell a Lie, but the more creative of them are capable of being deceptive by asking leading questions. Fallen Angels, known as the Fallen, are believed to be Always Chaotic Evil and are The Dreaded among supernatural beings.
- Our Demons Are Different: Demons here are disembodied spirits that possess people - called demoniacs - to cause misery and havoc, and it can sometimes take years to diagnose the afflicted. They're treated as something between a mental illness, a spiritual infection, and a congenital defect. They're said to be the opposites of angels, but are not to be confused with the Fallen who are very much corporeal beings.
- Our Vampires Are Different: At least two type of bloodsuckers exist in this universe: hemophages and vampires. Hemophages are feral brutes who kill to feed (although they can be reasonably calculating when not overcome with bloodlust) and are understandably unpopular. Vampires are subtle and seductive predators who operate openly in society in exchange for solely feeding nonlethally on willing victims - and due to their potentially addictive Kiss of the Vampire and hypnotic mental powers, willing victims are seldom in short supply.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: At least two kinds of canid shapeshifters exist in this universe: werewolves and hellhounds. True lycanthropy seems to be an inherited condition (werewolves come from werewolf families), and werewolves are well-integrated into mainstream society and generally regarded as trustworthy, although not people you want to rile up. They change involuntarily during the full moon and voluntarily at other times. Hellhounds are once-normal human beings who contracted a metaphysical affliction after close contact with malign supernatural forces, and transform into giant The Hound of the Baskervilles-style canid monsters under stress.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- In this version of the tale, Lestrade is always eager to involve Crow in whatever case is stumping the police at the time. While he values Crow's abilities to discern subtle details others miss, he often dismisses Crow's theories until he is almost inevitably proven correct. At least he's trying and doesn't hold being proven wrong against Crow. He also willfully overlooks the clear fact that Doyle is a hellhound due to his own past experiences with the registration act.
- The Angel of Whitehall is responsible for trimming Crow's wings and generally acts as his parole officer, but he is clearly concerned for Crow's well being and was genuinely touched when Doyle calls him part of Crow's family. He approves of Doyle's presence and influence in Crow's life, so much so that he calls in a few high level favors for Doyle after Doyle was outed as a hell hound.
- Rules Lawyer: Crow. He is quite skillful at abusing Exact Words and people's preconceptions to get around his angelic Cannot Tell a Lie restriction. Then there's the way he is able to exist without a habitation by keeping a pebble from his original habitation in his pocket. It let him keep just enough sense of self to stay out of the Consensus, and the joking nickname of Crow was able to jump start him back to full awareness. The other angels are deeply concerned that he managed to do this and are worried that he has discovered a whole new way to Fall.
- Sherlock Homage: Crow, very blatantly, since he originated as a fanfic AU version of Holmes. His original habitation was even called The Sherlock Arms. Doyle is likewise a Watson Homage.
- Snake Versus Mongoose: Teddy the mongoose (with his human handler) gets called in to deal with the Animal Assassin from "The Speckled Band."
- Stock Unsolved Mysteries: The protagonists become involved in the Jack the Ripper investigation.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Doyle, in the military and afterwards.
- The X of Y: Crow styles himself as The Angel of London. This is a bit of a nonsense phrase in-universe given how angels work and usually prompts some confused questions, but Crow maintains that it is true enough.
- Victorian London: With a supernatural twist.
- Vampires Are Rich: Old established masters are typically wealthy, sometimes fantastically so, but a new master just starting out is like any other young person making their way in the world. It can take them a few centuries to establish a secure territory, and even then they have to contend with upstart masters at their fringes.
- Viral Transformation: Close contact with malign supernatural energy ("metaphysicum morbi"), such as being attacked by a Fallen Angel, can transform humans into monsters of various sorts.
- Wings Do Nothing: Despite all angels having wings, only the Nameless use them to fly. Inhabited angels refuse to use them as a way to further distinguish themselves from their Nameless kin. This is enforced in Crow's case, as one of the conditions for the other angels tolerating his presence in London is for him to submit to a process that prevents him from flying even if he wanted to.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Crow sticks to Doyle most of the time, but breaks out Joanna when he needs to get her attention in an emergency - such as when she's in her hellhound form and needs to be talked down.
- Zeppelins from Another World: Airships appear to be a standard method of long-distance transportation, although since most of the action takes place in London and its environs, they're not used much.
