Read this review, and many more on my blog October Tune!

Ever since I found out Supernatural has novels as well, I got very excited. I got even more excited when I found out about John Winchester’s Journal, the book Sam and Dean use a lot in the first couple of seasons (not sure what happens to it in the later seasons, seeing as I haven’t watched any further than s3). I saw this book at the Forbidden Planet in Newcastle, and I knew I had to take it with me.

John Winchester’s Journal is about John Winchester’s journey to find Azazel, or the ‘Yellow-Eyed Demon’, as it is named in the series a lot. This demon killed Mary, John’s wife and Sam and Dean’s mother, when Sam was only six months old. And it doesn’t stop there. The Yellow-Eyed Demon has done it a lot more often, as we find out in season two of the series, but in case I have any readers who haven’t seen those episodes yet, I won’t say anything about it anymore.

What I liked:

This journal is filled with information about all kinds of creatures, from werewolves, to spirits, to demons and angels (though no hunter has ever seen one, thus they don’t believe in them). I liked all the information, though sometimes I found myself skipping to the end of it because I wanted to know more about the Winchesters, rather than the spirits of slaves who had been killed by their owners (for example).

John does talk about his family. Of course, he talks about the day Mary died, 2 November 1983. The day Sam was six months old. He also talks about Sam and Dean’s birthdays (2 May and 24 January), about Mary and his wedding anniversary (17 May, the day before my birthday, yay), and of course about the ‘anniversary’ of her death. I liked reading these small entries, because I just like the Winchesters. Near the end, there aren’t a lot of family-related entries anymore, mainly because I guess John was so obsessed with trying to find the demon; but also probably because Sam and Dean were grown-ups who had their own lives, but still I would have liked to read more about them.

There were also some references to the show in it, stuff that the Winchester brothers read in the journal, like information about the Wendigo (which they encounter in Season one’s “Wendigo”), and a little entry about how Sam nearly didn’t make his fifth birthday (because of a witch-like creature which they encounter again in Season one’s “Something Wicked”), and talk about the infamous Colt that can kill anything, even if it can’t be killed by any regular weapons.

What I didn’t like:

There was one major thing that I didn’t like much about this book, and that was the fact that there were two different fonts. One normal, typed one, which was perfectly readable, and then there was another handwritten looking font, which was also quite readable, but sometimes I found it a bit hard. There was also the fact that there were large entries written in Latin, and at the time of reading I had no computer with me to translate, so I just skimmed those huge parts, even though I really wanted to know what it said (Okay, I am going to Google-translate it now!)

The journal ends with an entry on 28 October 2005, around the same time the Pilot episode happens (I guess the pilot happens somewhere around Halloween).

In the end, I really liked this book, I know now a lot more about all kinds of supernatural creatures, and I know how to perform an exorcism, but I really would have loved more family-related entries, because like I said before, I have a special place in my heart for the Winchesters. ( )

I am so glad I finally finished the book . To be truly honest the book gave me a mixture of displeasure and enjoyment. Do not get me wrong, I truly liked the book, unfortunately I read it from two points of view, one of a Supernatural fan and one of a bookworm. As a fan of the series I definitely recommend all other fans to read it, because it gives you an insight on Sam and Dean's childhood and basically how they became the hunters that they are today. You also get to know John a little better, although he never goes in depth about anything personal. The best thing would definitely be the accumulated knowledge on the occult and supernatural creatures. But, there is also a downside. I know it is supposed to be a journal, so John had a reason for every research he wrote down, but sometimes it was hard for me to see that reason. In addition to that, there were also some researches you could not possibly understand, unless you speak Latin. My "favourite" journal entry: from 1987(pages 36-41) the whole Rituale Romanum, which had no translation. Also the Enoch/Viking runes had no translation. I am very meticulous when it comes to details and that is what I missed sometimes. The next big thing I did not like reading about was John Winchester's character, which up to this day I had not paid much attention to. I never realised how selfish and blindly driven by revenge he was. He kept reminding "us" that he became a hunter to revenge his wife, many would say it is a act of love. I disagree. My personal opinion is that, if he had truly loved his wife, he would not have ruined his sons' future and probably should have given up after 5 or 10 years, since he could not have brought Mary back to life anyway. At some point he should have realised he is not driven by love any more but by revenge. I also disliked John's choice of dates for his entries, Sam and Dean's birthdays, his wedding anniversary and Mary's death, which I found annoying at times, inasmuch as I wished that he wrote more about different things. To summarize it all I did actually like the book with all its flaws. I believe it is a book every Supernatural fan should read, but not so much others, as it would be harder to understand. ( )

If you have not watched the television show Supernatural, then you should not read this book. You will probably be lost. It's based on the show's father, who wrote in a journal about his findings as he searched for his wife's killer.

For those that have seen Supernatural, the book does not always coincide with the show. There are certain things that don't match up with certain episodes. Therefore, if you are looking for an exact replica of the journal, this is not it. If, however, you would like to be entertained by what could have and might have been in the journal or you wanted to learn a little more about John's thinking, you should be okay.

The book has pictures and different handwriting/font. The pages look like it is part of his journal - crinkled edges, paperclips and tape (drawn on the pages) that hold different headlines or drawings.

I think the thing that I liked best about the journal was just seeing how Dean and Sam spent their birthdays. ( )

As tie-ins go, this one is very well done. If you're a fan of Supernatural and have always wondered what was in John Winchester's journal, here's your chance to find out.

There was more exposition from John as he details his thoughts about losing Mary and taking care of the boys through the years, but it was nice. Another reviewer said the journal makes John come off as more of a jerk than he did on the show. I actually think it makes him seem like less of one. Even though he and Sammy were always at odds and arguing up until Sam leaves, John constantly checks up on him to make sure he's okay. That's something I never would have suspected from watching the show.

The really interesting thing, for someone like me who is legitimately interested in the occult and the paranormal, is that the books John mentions in his journal are all real. While many writers create their own books within the framework of their fiction, Alex Irvine and the Supernatural showrunners have decided to keep at least partially grounded in reality as far as the literature referenced goes. Good for them.

All-in-all, an enjoyable read for fans of the show or fans of paranormal fiction. ( )

Supernatural: John Winchester's Journal is a novel that gives you a good insight into the world of Supernatural before the TV show started. I am an avid fan of the TV show and must say I'm disappointed that they had mistakes in the Journal compared to what they say in the TV show. Other then those minor mistakes this is a good novel to read if you are like me and love the TV show Supernatural. ( )