Supernatural: The Unholy Cause
Paperback
By Joe Schreiber
Titan Books
Release Date: May 4, 2010

So now that the Season 5 finale of Supernatural has passed, we have some time before we are going to see Sam and Dean get into trouble again in the new season. What better to do with that time than read a book of one of their crazy adventures? Surprisingly, I can’t think of anything better. So Joe Schreiber, author of Star Wars: Death Troopers, Chasing the Dead, Eat the Dark, and No Doors, No Windows, gives it a shot with Supernatural: The Unholy Cause.

First of all I didn’t pick up on the Supernatural “bug” until a few months and went back and watched the entire series in a couple of weeks. I immediately loved the show and all of the characters. All that being said there is definitely a formula to the adventures of Sam and Dean and this book definitely captures the feeling of an episode of the show. Basically Sam and Dean start investigating a weird murder involving Civil War re-enactors and prop weapons. This obviously leads to trouble when the demons involved decide that Sam and Dean need to be taken care of. The story definitely seems to be a lot more serious than some of the others that have been told by dealing with some of the very important overarching themes especially when dealing with Sam’s predicament.

I am extremely impressed with Schreiber’s grasp on all of the characters and the feel that is needed to truly capture an authentic Supernatural adventure. The best books about already established characters are the stories where you can actually picture the characters doing what is written. I definitely heard Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles speaking the lines and saw the Winchester brothers getting into all the trouble they normally get themselves into. We have the same old Dean with his ladies man personality and the same old Sam who has so much compassion for everyone around him. Schreiber has a knack for both of them and even accurately depicts some of the minor characters like Bobby and Castiel.

Not only was I transported into the Supernatural universe, but I was also introduced to Schreiber’s true loves and realized that I have a lot in common just through his references. Let me just name a few of these references and pique your interest: Oceans 11, Batman, Indiana Jones, and Reservoir Dogs. So not only is Schreiber a fan of Supernatural, which is obvious by his grasp on all the characters and the situations that they get themselves into, but also he is tuned into what I would definitely call geek culture.

Another thing that really stands out in this book is the use of a Civil War setting. Even if this is just re-enacting the Civil War, you can definitely see that Schreiber feels comfortable in a “war” scenario. The description of on-going battles between the demons and the innocent are very engaging and are definitely paced very well. There wasn’t very many slow points in the story and this is in no way a bad thing especially when in a mystery type setting where authors can very easily get bogged down in trying to set up the answers and forget that there needs to be some sort of action.

Overall I enjoyed the book a lot and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the show. I give Supernatural: The Unholy Cause a 4 out of 5.