Scan barcode
maryann573's review against another edition
A book like this really should get negative stars.
On hearing that there was a book purporting to be John Winchester's Journal, my first thought was how boring is that for a reading experience? But then someone on my flist put up an excerpt from it and was talking about how fascinating it was, and I am a total sucker so I bought it and started reading it. I think it was Doris Lessing who said that as soon as you lose interest in a book you should put it down and read something else, and I totally agree with her, but I am unable to follow her sage advice. Once begun, I am unable to quit, and so I continued on with this drivel to the bitter end.
Here's the thing. Just because this book ties into a TV show does not mean that it must therefore, be awful. Really, it doesn't. When I read something this bad, I can't help but think about all those boo hooers saying ebooks will deprive writers of a living, and feel that that might be a good thing in cases like this. This book was completely phoned in by a person who wants to make a living as a writer and doesn't care what the writing is about or its quality.
This could have been a mildly decent read, if someone who was a tad interested in the show had written it, but as a book supposedly written by Papa Winchester and full of advice about how to kill various supernatural creatures, there wasn't really anything in it about how to kill various supernatural creatures. It's padded with long passages of Latin blah blah blah which serves no purpose except to increase the page count. Also, the drawings are arbitrary and hard to decipher, though some of that may be due to reading it on my kindle.
I despair of my ability to learn from my mistakes.
On hearing that there was a book purporting to be John Winchester's Journal, my first thought was how boring is that for a reading experience? But then someone on my flist put up an excerpt from it and was talking about how fascinating it was, and I am a total sucker so I bought it and started reading it. I think it was Doris Lessing who said that as soon as you lose interest in a book you should put it down and read something else, and I totally agree with her, but I am unable to follow her sage advice. Once begun, I am unable to quit, and so I continued on with this drivel to the bitter end.
Here's the thing. Just because this book ties into a TV show does not mean that it must therefore, be awful. Really, it doesn't. When I read something this bad, I can't help but think about all those boo hooers saying ebooks will deprive writers of a living, and feel that that might be a good thing in cases like this. This book was completely phoned in by a person who wants to make a living as a writer and doesn't care what the writing is about or its quality.
This could have been a mildly decent read, if someone who was a tad interested in the show had written it, but as a book supposedly written by Papa Winchester and full of advice about how to kill various supernatural creatures, there wasn't really anything in it about how to kill various supernatural creatures. It's padded with long passages of Latin blah blah blah which serves no purpose except to increase the page count. Also, the drawings are arbitrary and hard to decipher, though some of that may be due to reading it on my kindle.
I despair of my ability to learn from my mistakes.
chloemar1e's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
dutchgreenrider's review
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
2.0
For the fans of the TV show Supernatural, this may seem like a great title to pick. The much-hyped journal of the Winchester brothers' often-absent father is like the Holy Grail for hunters. Unfortunately Irvine's take misses the mark on many points.
Many of the contents of the book hinted at throughout the series do not appear. Other events included in the book so boldly foreshadow some of the shows biggest revelations that you wonder how Sam and Dean hadn't figured them out earlier.
Then there's my belief that the reason we see so little of John Winchester on TV is because he is the least compelling of the Winchester men. All he can do is moan about how his wife's dead and he still hasn't found her killer and why can't Sam be more like his lying, cheating, womanizing brother Dean.
Plus most of the space is taken up with what I like to call John Winchester's Encyclopedia of Hunter Miscellanea. Dry doesn't even begin to cover the collection of detailed Latin incantations, excerpts from ancient sorcery, alchemy, and spiritual texts, and random snippets of obscure folklore. Practical it may be, but compelling reading it is not
Even if you're a fan of Supernatural, feel free to skip this one. Halfway through I started skimming just to make sure it didn't get better. It didn't.
Many of the contents of the book hinted at throughout the series do not appear. Other events included in the book so boldly foreshadow some of the shows biggest revelations that you wonder how Sam and Dean hadn't figured them out earlier.
Then there's my belief that the reason we see so little of John Winchester on TV is because he is the least compelling of the Winchester men. All he can do is moan about how his wife's dead and he still hasn't found her killer and why can't Sam be more like his lying, cheating, womanizing brother Dean.
Plus most of the space is taken up with what I like to call John Winchester's Encyclopedia of Hunter Miscellanea. Dry doesn't even begin to cover the collection of detailed Latin incantations, excerpts from ancient sorcery, alchemy, and spiritual texts, and random snippets of obscure folklore. Practical it may be, but compelling reading it is not
Even if you're a fan of Supernatural, feel free to skip this one. Halfway through I started skimming just to make sure it didn't get better. It didn't.
elodiethefangirl's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
korolrezniii's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
didn't think i could hate john winchester even more than i already did
glindaaa's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to read this book for a very long time, basically, the moment when I started watching Supernatural and figured out this book existed. I don't even watch Supernatural anymore, still call myself a bit of a fan of at least the first seasons but this book was not really what I expected. I don't see how Dean and Sam learned from their dad's journal how to defeat a monster as basically from all the entries, 4-6 write down what to do. Bury the bones or the remains and use salt beforehand thank you very much.
It was still very interesting but I expected more grandeur. Oh well it was worth to read at some point :)
It was still very interesting but I expected more grandeur. Oh well it was worth to read at some point :)
exhaustedchaitea's review against another edition
3.0
Meh
Had some interesting things mixed with a lot of latin. I enjoyed some of the Sam and Dean back story but this did mostly focus on monsters and revenge.
Had some interesting things mixed with a lot of latin. I enjoyed some of the Sam and Dean back story but this did mostly focus on monsters and revenge.
deanlover88's review against another edition
5.0
People who are not fans of the show wouldn't understand it. I on the other hand LOVE IT!!! it gave be a different perspective than the show did about John and I really loved that. Plus it is a bonus when ever they mention the journal in an episode you can see what they are looking at and to me that is really exciting 😂 I feel like I'm a real Hunter !!!!
starrrynighht's review against another edition
3.0
Meh
Had some interesting things mixed with a lot of latin. I enjoyed some of the Sam and Dean back story but this did mostly focus on monsters and revenge.
Had some interesting things mixed with a lot of latin. I enjoyed some of the Sam and Dean back story but this did mostly focus on monsters and revenge.