by Kieth DeCandido
Review by: Skitty
Warning: All reviews may contain spoilers.
Reader Beware!
Everything is not as it seems in Keith DeCandido's book, Nevermore. Though Supernatural fans may feel their hearts flutter at the sight of our boys on the cover of a book, they may have to learn the hard way that things are not always as they seem. New fans of the show may be ready to dive into the pages, but old hats, well, we'll be cringing from start to finish. DeCandido's writing style is, to say the least, flat and unengaging. Exposition of past events like the breaking of Sam's hand and the rebuilding of the Impala are glossed over in paragraphs that are so devoid of description they are hardly worth reading. It doesn't appear that Keith has put enough effort into them to make the recap worth our time. Even the supposed cliffhangers and suspenseful plot turns lack the punch that we expect from anything involving the Winchester Brothers and, more than once, resulted in an eye roll and a groan from this humble reader. The characterization of Sam and Dean was probably the most unforgivable transgression. It was so lacking in both depth and understanding that I was frequently left with the feeling that the writer had been watching some other show and clearly not my beloved Supernatural (I'm sure there's some rule for how to underline or quote TV shows, unless the site requested that nothing be in italics, bold, etc., for ease of posting). Though he does seem to at least have a slight handle on Sam, Dean is left as little more than the muscle of the duo, with no brains to speak of (you really shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition, but I can't think of anyway around this one). He is bumbling and ignorant. I, for one, do not believe for a second that Dean would not know who Edgar Allen Poe was, nor that he would have enjoyed the movie Madagascar so much he would be willing to discuss the "cool penguins" with his little brother. DeCandido does not seem to realize that Dean is, in general, better at hunting than Sam. He comes off as boorish, slow, and unable to handle situations that don't require him to hit, shoot, or flirt. He may be a bit of a male pig from time to time, but Dean has never been a stupid man. And what of the plot? Well...what indeed. For starters, there are two of them. That's right, you heard me. Two completely separate stories regarding two unrelated hunts happening simultaneously. Not so terribly crazy, I know. The boys are talented and I'm sure they can handle it. But it does leave our somewhat novice writer in a bit of a bind. The first storyline, regarding an ex-girlfriend of a guitar player in the Bronx, is over before it really begins. And, though our boys do come through in the end by finding the murderer and the location of the body, they certainly drop the ball. Or maybe it's DeCandido that does, since he whisks the brothers away without salting and burning the body, covering it with a feeble hope that her spirit will now be at rest. This small prayer for luck, though it flies in the face of everything we have been told about this particular haunting, and everything we know about Sam and Dean for that matter, seems all right by everyone involved as they trot off to their next adventure. It's not the Winchester way to leave a job undone like that, but Keith seems fine with making the boys run out on the check just this once. The second storyline is a bit more involved, describing a complex ritual surrounding multiple murders, resurrection of the dead, and Edgar Allen Poe. This story actually had potential and I was moderately intrigued by it. That is, until the writer let the cat out of the bag. Any reader with two brain cells to rub together would be able to tell who the murderer was the moment he came into the story. A two-year-old could have figured out this plot. Add to that a climactic ending that really isn't all that climactic and you've got a book that might be more effective as kindling. The book's one saving grace is the detail put into just about everything else. DeCandido's love of the Bronx is evident as each description of the borough reads like a love letter, but it's the background characters that really make this story worthwhile. Each and every one of them is a delight. Hell, Monica, the hotel clerk, who we see for all of two pages, is more fleshed out than either Sam or Dean. Manfred Afiri, the man who's haunted house the boys have come to inspect, has a life that is instantly tangible and real. The whole thing feels less like a story about the Winchesters and more about the people they meet. It's almost as though Sam and Dean are an excuse to introduce us to these vastly interesting characters. I almost wish that Keith would go ahead and write some original fiction with his own characters, rather than mangling my old favorites. So, you have been warned. For those of us loyal fans who had awaited this book with the kind of anticipation only two desperately good-looking demon-hunting brothers can inspire, the disappointment is crushing. I, an ardent book lover and Winchester fangirl, am left with no choice but to admit...the best part of this book really is the cover. |