Customer Reviews

Supernatural: The Unholy Cause

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a huge Supernatural fan. I have watched every episode of all 5 seasons twice, and some more than that. I have also read all the pervious Supernatural books, including the recent Heart of the Dragon. I must say that I couldn't be more impressed with Supernatural: The Unholy Cause.

The Winchesters get word that there has been a bloody murder/suicide at a Civil War reenactment, which should have been impossible since the murderer was only using replica weapons. Drawn to what they think is a simple case, they quickly find that they have uncovered a horror as old as Jesus, so vile that even Lucifer is keeping one step back. How it all plays out and ends is a wonderfully rich, entertaining episode.

What delighted me the most about the book is that the main characters, Sam, Dean and Castiel (Bobby isn't in the book much at all) all act so much like themselves that at times you forget that you are reading and not watching a very well written episode of the show. I could see it all play out in my mind so easily. There was a minor point where Cass used a power he shouldn't still have but that was the only time at all anything was `off'. The rest of the time it was an effortless read, one I accomplished in a little over a day. I cannot stress enough what a good job Schreiber did. With a theme like the Civil War, and Confederate reenactment soldiers, he could have been playing with fire. Instead, he handled the issue with grace, dignity and respect for all sides. I have a mixed family and I was not insulted by anything that was said.

If you are a Supernatural fan, you MUST read this book. You will enjoy it. Just don't plan on getting anything else done until you have finished reading, because I promise you won't want to put it down.

Highest recommendations.

Like the best episodes of the series, Joe Schreiber's "The Unholy Cause" grabs your interest in its opening moments and doesn't let go until the end. It twists and turns and surprises, moving so fast that you'll find yourself at the last page completely out of breath...and wearing a big, satisfied smile.

I've been a fan of the series since the pilot episode, and was delighted to discover that Mr. Schreiber seems to be a fan as well. His portrayals of the Winchesters and their supporting cast are spot-on, to the point that you can see (and hear) them in your mind's eye as you read. Not a single note rings false. His original characters are presented in just enough detail to make them interesting, and each of them offers a surprise or two along the way. His villains are scary (and smart) and present a worthwhile challenge to our heroes.

Yes, it's a TV tie-in. It's not great literature. There are a few typos and a couple of small continuity glitches. But overall, the book is great, great fun, and I recommend it highly.

I read this book in only 2 days because I hated to put it down. Finally, the brothers visited my home state of Georgia! The book was well-written, jumped right into the action, and was a good tie-in with the TV series history. My only complaint is that the end was a little bit of a let-down in that it was a little predictable, kind of drawn-out, and rather chaotic. I guess the rest of the novel was so well-written, I just expected a slightly better wrap up. But this is still a better book than the last 2 Supernatural novels I read ("Witch's Canyon" and "Heart of the Dragon"), so by all means, give it a read!

I've read a few of the novels for supernatural now (all, actually) and some are better than others. I have to admit I liked this one because Cass was in it and all three main characters were true to what you see on television. The writing picked up the vibe of the show and the repartee between the brothers, as well as having an interesting bad guy (the ultimate, you could say) and was a good read in itself. Well written, good plot, keeps the feel of the show. This is the best one I've read so far. If you like the show, you'll like this.

Too many tie-in novels are either flat and uninteresting stories, or have characters that follow the TV or film characters too loosely. This novel manages to avoid these problems, providing a relatively entertaining story with recognizable characters. This book is set during Supernatural's season 5, which is a rather challenging time period to be writing in given the issues that exist between Sam and Dean Winchester, and the general absence of the angel, Castiel. Castiel's story doesn't fare any better in this novel than it did on screen during this season. The author can't be faulted for leaving his storyline as vague as did the series.

The problematic relationship between the brothers isn't ignored, but neither is it explored with any depth. Instead this is largely a case story that brings an epic sweep to the battle between good and evil while still confining it to a small town. In short, this fills out some of the apocalyptic happenings that occurred largely off screen during S5.

This is not a riveting read, but for those looking for published stories set in the Supernatural verse they could certainly do worse. I would be interested in seeing further stories this author might produce for Supernatural.

Confession time. I really like the TV show SUPERNATURAL. Yeah I know, it's weird and something I don't admit to everyone. I mean, it's on the WB, a television network I have no other use for. It stars two hunky guys and only has the occasional hot chick as a costar so there's no real eye candy in it for me. Lastly, despite its title and premise, I never found it scary. Nope, not once. That said, I do think it's very well written, with two great characters as the monster hunting Winchester brothers, and while not particularly frightening, it is often funny as hell. I am a diehard horror-head but things that make me giggle are always greatly appreciated.

I was a bit dubious when I got the latest SUPERNATURAL novel for review. I was also more than a bit curious. So with as much of an open mind as I could muster, I dove into THE UNHOLY CAUSE.

This book finds the troubled brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester along with their renegade angle pal, Castiel, down south Georgia way looking into murder and mayhem at a Civil War reenactment. Sadly curmudgeonly father figure Bobby doesn't have a big part in this story. What starts off looking like not all that difficult of a case involving murder and suicide, soon turns out to be a battle with an ancient evil. How ancient? Like Jesus Christ ancient.

THE UNHOLY CAUSE replicates the essence and feel of the TV series wonderfully. Author Joe Schreiber has penned a novel that reads like a standalone episode of the show. The characters are very well fleshed out and treated with respect for their six years of television history. The book's plot is suitably mysterious, the mythology it plays with is handled well, and most importantly for me, there's plenty of snarky, sarcastic humor courtesy of the Winchester boys. Those silly bits are the main reason why I keep tuning into the show week after week. I was happy to see them done right in this novel.

After I finished this novel I learned that there are many other SUPERNATURAL books out there. I can't speak for any of those, but if they're anything like this book, I'll have to give them a read. Look, THE UNHOLY CAUSE is a TV tie-in novel. If you are looking for great literature, you might be disappointed with this. Additionally, if you've never seen the TV show, then this one might leave you going "hmmm" as some of the backstory assumes the reader has watched at least some of the series before. But if you are a casual watcher and want a fun, fast, and entertaining read, then give this book a try. If you are a fan of SUPERNATURAL then consider this a must have.

The author has a very creative and well-played storyline. And most importantly for having a Supernatural novel, he kept the Winchesters and their closely bonded relationship, very much involved in all of it. I sincerely hope he writes another one very soon.
This was very smart, very well researched in historical aspects and religion. Nice descriptive writing style and very easy to understand, even if you're not a history buff.
I think that, maybe if I were to personally add an element at all, since he DID use Castiel in the book, it would've been the comedic aspect of the angel; he played a very serious role, as he usually does, but it would've been nice to have a 'confused line' or 'misinterpretation' on Cas's part. But that's just me :). I'd read it again, and I'd recommend it to friends! Awesome book!

I enjoyed a lot about this book. The setting was interesting to me and the civil war theme added a new dimension, being an easy way to create a sold mental picture as it's something that's familiar and there is also the brother-against-brother theme of that war obviously paralleling the experiences of Sam and Dean though seasons four and five. Plus it's also exciting.

The side characters are interesting and well written. The pace is compelling. Dean and Sam and very in character as is Castiel for the most part (though his behaviour in his opening scene made it look like he was in worse mental shape than he appeared to be in for the rest of the book. It was most odd.)

The only real problems I had with it was it seemed to wrap up a little too quickly for my taste at the end and there is a bit where Cas says he's going to help (in what felt like a very important scene, a solemn-sounding commitment), goes to where he's needed and just vanishes for the rest of the fight as soon as the baddies turned up. That left me scratching my head. I got the feeling the author didn't know how to use him, because it didn't make much sense in-character.

I would recommend this book at any SPN fan all the same. When I finished it I wanted there to be more. That's the sign of an enjoyable book.

Dont know much about the author but the book opens with a murder suicide during a civil war reenactment which the winchesters follow up - the book is easy to read, dean and sam are similar to their TV characters, Castiel makes an an appearance for quite a large amount of the book - if you like the show you wont have a problem with this book there are far worse reads out there.

I've read several "based on the hit TV show" books, and, to tell the truth, I usually regret the purchase afterward; however, this book delivered exactly what it promised. It was very much like a season five episode of Supernatural. The action was fluid and fun, the boys actually acted like themselves, and the side-characters added to the plot. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys the series.