Book review: SUPERNATURAL: ONE YEAR GONE by Rebecca Dessertine
(Also published over at Amazon.com.)
Should you spend your hard-earned $7.99 on this book?
My answer would be "no." Buy yourself lunch instead. Buy a different book. Buy ANY other book. This isn't worth your time, or your money.
In hopes of locating a powerful witch who can help him use a spell in the ancient Necronomicon to raise Sam from Hell, Dean drags Lisa and Ben on "vacation" to Salem, Massachusetts - not knowing that Sam, who's already been mysteriously resurrected, is watching him from a distance, together with their also-resurrected grandfather, Samuel Campbell. That's an interesting concept. But concept isn't everything, particularly when the author doesn't seem to understand what makes real people tick, or what might motivate them to take a particular action (and avoid another).
The book is riddled with instances where things happen "just because". For instance: Dean thoroughly trashes his room at a bed and breakfast, searching for a witch's hex bag - and instead of throwing him out, and/or calling the police, the inn's elderly owner simply transfers him to another room, then prods him to attend her "haunted house" tour!
Later on, in search of a disguise, Dean goes through his luggage and finds a ski mask - which is there because "Lisa overpacks." Overpacks? She thought they'd be skiing, in Salem, in shorts-and-t-shirt weather? She thought there'd be a blizzard? She thought they might be robbing a liquor store?
To add to an already problematic situation, the book is full of spelling, word choice, grammar and punctuation mistakes that any decent editor should have caught and eliminated.
"We're going foreword on the boat."
She would lead him right to the resurrection sight.
In the truck, Dean popped open his laptop, it seemed that Lisa's cell phone had been disarmed.
Satisfied, the Escalade sped off.
"Get into the truck," she said opening the door and pushing Dean headfirst into the large trunk.
I'm an English major, a writer, and a voracious reader. Can I say "One Year Gone" is fun? Entertaining? Interesting, at least?
I can't.
If you're looking for a good, solid Supernatural read, pick up Joe Schreiber's "The Unholy Cause." Fast-moving, intriguing plot, interesting supporting characters, great moments between the brothers - none of which can be found in "One Year Gone."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'll add, for the benefit of you guys: she gets Sam's birthday wrong. The woman who has easy access to every bit of information SPN-related gets Sam's birthday wrong.
Also: if a publisher expects its customers to lay out money for a book, and doesn't even bother to have the manuscript line-edited for simple, clumsy mistakes? Come ON.
The blurb for the book says it'll help fill in the missing year between Seasons 5 and 6, but ... it doesn't. There's nothing of substance here. Soulless Sam and Samuel are even more annoying than they were onscreen. Lisa seems to exist only to whine and carp at Dean about not spending enough time with her and Ben. A good chunk of the book is flashback chapters focusing on Campbell ancestors that were so clumsily written I skipped reading all but the first one.
Dean, though? Dean blows up a mall bookstore with C4. And I guess you have to love something like that. I suspect Dean would.
Carry on, dudes. Just don't buy this book.
Should you spend your hard-earned $7.99 on this book?
My answer would be "no." Buy yourself lunch instead. Buy a different book. Buy ANY other book. This isn't worth your time, or your money.
In hopes of locating a powerful witch who can help him use a spell in the ancient Necronomicon to raise Sam from Hell, Dean drags Lisa and Ben on "vacation" to Salem, Massachusetts - not knowing that Sam, who's already been mysteriously resurrected, is watching him from a distance, together with their also-resurrected grandfather, Samuel Campbell. That's an interesting concept. But concept isn't everything, particularly when the author doesn't seem to understand what makes real people tick, or what might motivate them to take a particular action (and avoid another).
The book is riddled with instances where things happen "just because". For instance: Dean thoroughly trashes his room at a bed and breakfast, searching for a witch's hex bag - and instead of throwing him out, and/or calling the police, the inn's elderly owner simply transfers him to another room, then prods him to attend her "haunted house" tour!
Later on, in search of a disguise, Dean goes through his luggage and finds a ski mask - which is there because "Lisa overpacks." Overpacks? She thought they'd be skiing, in Salem, in shorts-and-t-shirt weather? She thought there'd be a blizzard? She thought they might be robbing a liquor store?
To add to an already problematic situation, the book is full of spelling, word choice, grammar and punctuation mistakes that any decent editor should have caught and eliminated.
"We're going foreword on the boat."
She would lead him right to the resurrection sight.
In the truck, Dean popped open his laptop, it seemed that Lisa's cell phone had been disarmed.
Satisfied, the Escalade sped off.
"Get into the truck," she said opening the door and pushing Dean headfirst into the large trunk.
I'm an English major, a writer, and a voracious reader. Can I say "One Year Gone" is fun? Entertaining? Interesting, at least?
I can't.
If you're looking for a good, solid Supernatural read, pick up Joe Schreiber's "The Unholy Cause." Fast-moving, intriguing plot, interesting supporting characters, great moments between the brothers - none of which can be found in "One Year Gone."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'll add, for the benefit of you guys: she gets Sam's birthday wrong. The woman who has easy access to every bit of information SPN-related gets Sam's birthday wrong.
Also: if a publisher expects its customers to lay out money for a book, and doesn't even bother to have the manuscript line-edited for simple, clumsy mistakes? Come ON.
The blurb for the book says it'll help fill in the missing year between Seasons 5 and 6, but ... it doesn't. There's nothing of substance here. Soulless Sam and Samuel are even more annoying than they were onscreen. Lisa seems to exist only to whine and carp at Dean about not spending enough time with her and Ben. A good chunk of the book is flashback chapters focusing on Campbell ancestors that were so clumsily written I skipped reading all but the first one.
Dean, though? Dean blows up a mall bookstore with C4. And I guess you have to love something like that. I suspect Dean would.
Carry on, dudes. Just don't buy this book.