Based on the hit TV show, Supernatural!

…Which I don’t watch.  Friends and fellow writers, Rob and CrysLewis, love the hell out of Supernatural.  They’ve even recorded two podcasts, which you can find right on this site, to talk about the series.  I however, have never watched it.  Something about the CW — Arrow aside — just turns me off.  So this will be one of the few book reviews on the internet from someone with no familiarity with the source material.

The story is a good gross monster tale with a bigger threat behind the obvious one.  The Winchester boys are chasing a monster lovingly called the “Frankenmutt”.  While searching for the origins of this patchwork pooch they uncover many creepy people and things behind this freak of nature.  Its a good tale with everything expected from such a book but therein lies the problem.  It is based on Supernatural.

Removing all knowledge of anything called Supernatural its an average book.  Characters are introduced, given enough back information, and sent on their way toward adventure.  However, it is impossible to remove the book from the franchise.  There is so much in the book that I can just tell would mean much much more to a Supernatural fan.  Now that I’m done with the book, it will be based on to one of those fans for a fan’s perspective review later on this site.

From a non fan though the book is just too dependent on all that came before.  Apparently the book takes place during season 7 of the show, but that is over 100 episodes of knowledge that I don’t have while reading the story.  Descriptions are given, references are made, but they fall short.  Damn shame too because I really wanted to read about the Frankenmutt.

None of this is to short change Tim Waggoner’s writing.  I liked many of his ideas and choices in the novel and would love to read something from him that isn’t based on characters from another media.  (Or even one I’m more familiar with like his Nightmare on Elm Street stories.)  If he ever re-uses this idea elsewhere with his own characters someone let me know about it right away because I know I’ll enjoy the hell out of that.  Its just too much to read a book with 7 seasons of information preceding it.

(A review copy was provided by Titan Books.)