#Titanuary #BookReview ‘Children Of Anubis’ by Tim Waggoner

About the book…

A brand new Supernatural novel inspired by the record-breaking show starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.

Sam and Dean Winchester have spent their lives on the road, battling every kind of supernatural threat. Over the years, after dozens of bloody adventures, they have faced everything from the yellow-eyed demon that killed their mother to vampires, ghosts, shapeshifters, angels and fallen gods. With the help of allies—both human and supernatural—they’ve discovered that every threat they vanquish opens a new door for evil to enter in.

Sam and Dean travel to Indiana, to investigate a murder that could be the work of a werewolf. But they soon discover that werewolves aren’t the only things going bump in the night. The town is also home to a pack of jakkals who worship the god Anubis: carrion-eating scavengers who hate werewolves. With the help of Garth, the Winchester brothers must stop the werewolf–jakkal turf war before it engulfs the town—and before the god Anubis is awakened…

‘Children Of Anubis’ by Tim Waggoner is book number 17 in the Supernatural all new, not seen on tv adventures published by Titan. It was released in 2019 in paperback and Kindle formats and is available wherever good books are sold.

Is it even possible to pick up a Supernatural novel without playing Kansas’ ‘Carry On Wayward Son’?

Not for this #SPN fan it isn’t, I have been watching this series from the beginning, and now, rewatching with my tweens-series 1 to 13 are on Amazon-I realise how we have watched the Winchester Bros grow, mature and become something very special in the hall of tv fame.

Keeping a genre show going for 15 years is pretty damn amazing, it’s not easy getting something like this launched-basic premise is 2 brothers hunting down the demon who killed their mother, heaven, hell and everything in between-the cancellation axe has been hanging over them too many times to recall. And now that they are bowing out, under their own terms, is anyone really ready for season 15?

I’m not!

Anyway, this digression is to show how beloved this tv show is, so much that spin off novels have been written featuring Sam and Dean alongside series regulars in stand alone adventures. Some are spcifically placed to run alongside certain points in the tv show whislst others are there to amplify the universe. This novel takes place during Season 12.

For me, one of the strengths of Tim Waggoner’s writing is how he captures Sam and Dean’s voices-it would be easy to chuck in some rock music refs, Dean getting friendly with a girl or two and Sam’s wrestling with his conscience. However, this book is written with just the right tone of knowin these two iconic characters yet being welcoming enough to anyone stumbling into the Supernatural universe for the first time.

Being caught in between a werewolf and a jakkal war is every day business for the WInchesters. But dealing with an Egyptian god is, I think, a first. They seem to be way out of their league in this trip to Indiana but with some outside help, just maybe, they can save the town of Bridge Valley before it quite literally goes to hell. Featuring flashbacks and characters beloved of the series such as Garth and Bobby, this is absolutely just like reading an episode of the show. Tim Waggoner has clearly done his research into the show, it’s not a case of Dean saying ‘Hey, remember that time when we…’, or doing a literary cutaway to a previous adventure.

As a book, it stands in its own right and as an extension of the Supernatural universe, it slots in so well, even bridging gaps and filling in backstory in a very satisfying manner. Mixing scares with humour and a convincing story which could stand alongside some of my favourite episodes, this is a really enjoyable book.

I genuinely hope that the book series continues, like Titan’s ‘Firefly novels, so that we don’t have to say farewell to Sam and Dean just yet…

About the author…

Tim Waggoner has published nearly fifty novels and seven short story collections, and his articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest and Writers’ Journal, among others. He’s won the Bram Stoker Award and has been a finalist for both the Shirley Jackson Award and the Scribe Award. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.