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Supernatural #12

Supernatural: In Fleisch gemeißelt: Roman zur TV-Serie

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After Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious supernatural force as young children, their father taught them how to hunt and destroy the paranormal evil that exists in the dark corners of America. After their father’s demonic death, they discovered that they are descended from a long line of hunters and chose to continue their mission.

Rumors of a big black dog roaming the Brennan, Ohio area along with the local discovery of newly dead but desiccated corpses attract the attention of Sam and Dean Winchester, and when they catch the monster canine it turns out to be a "Frankenmutt", a reanimated patchwork of pieces from separate dogs. Soon the brothers are on a trail that leads from mad scientists and biotechnology to a centuries-old alchemist, walking corpses, and an ancient and malevolent power.

A brand-new Supernatural novel, set during season 7, that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from the hit CW series!

Paperback

First published April 19, 2013

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5370 people want to read

About the author

Tim Waggoner

282 books756 followers

Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

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5 stars
621 (43%)
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290 (20%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
Profile Image for Jim C.
1,779 reviews35 followers
December 29, 2020
This is a book based on the television series and takes place in the seventh season. In this one, people are getting drained of all their liquids and their remains are dried up husks. Sam and Dean investigate.

I have read several of these media tie-in novels from this universe and this is definitely one of the better ones. This is basically their take on Frankenstein. As for the portrayals of the two main characters it was serviceable. It didn't particularly stand out in a good way or a bad way. And with media tie-in novels there will be no character growth because the author's hands are tied and that is left for the actual show. What sold this book was the story. It is well done with the new take on Frankenstein. It has the nods to the old aspects while incorporating new aspects to the lore. The story also incorporates aspects of the Supernatural lore. The reason I really enjoyed the story is the message behind it and accepting a loved one's death and the grieving process. We see this in the main story and a flashback story of a young Dean and Sam.

I am a sucker for a take on an old classic story if it is done right. This one is and I enjoyed every second of it. I am not expecting serious literature when I read a media tie-in book. All I want is something to entertain me and this one exceeded my expectations.
Profile Image for Paper Droids.
130 reviews38 followers
June 2, 2013
Carved in Flesh, the latest in the Supernatural series of expansion novels, is punchy, memorable, and raw in all the best ways. A tip of the hat is due to the author, Tim Waggoner. This is really a book you can sink your teeth into.

The story details Sam and Dean investigating a “Frankenmutt” — a dog that drains the life-force from whomever it bites. Of course, things spiral quickly out of control and we are introduced to a cast of memorable characters (desecration of the dead being the most minor of their shared traits) and even more entertaining variations of the “Franken-” prefix. The plot thickens when the Norse Goddess Hel is thrown into the mix, and from there, it’s just another Wednesday for the Winchesters—how many “pagan” gods have they put down to date? Granted, a goddess of death (no capital; it’s a plot-point) has a bit more life to her than most, but this is Supernatural: it’s the Winchesters you should fear, not the things that go bump in the night.

Complete review: http://www.paperdroids.com/2013/05/14...
Profile Image for Wendy.
1,477 reviews6 followers
June 28, 2020
Loved this book. Great plot.Lots of suspense, angst, and brother bonding.
Profile Image for Mis_Reading.
Author 4 books7 followers
October 15, 2018
Let me start by saying I am not a fan of Tim Waggoner's writing. I've found all of his books to be flat, slow, and often OOC and breaks canon. Unfortunately for me, TitanBooks keeps hiring him to write them, and they have me over a barrel regarding Supernatural tie-in novels and content. I can only hope they hire writers aside from Waggoner and Passarella in the future. I was only able to finish the book because I used my audio equipment to record the book using Text-to-Speech and turned it into an audiobook. Text-to-speech.

The story starts with Sam and Dean during Season 7, Cas and Bobby are both dead-- though Dean's reactions to their deaths was OOC. This story very much fills like a filler episode. There are reports of people getting killed and seemingly mummified, and soon, the boys have their run-in with "Frankenmutt", while also telling a story of the boys when they were in their tweens-- the author seems to forget there's a four year age gap between the brothers and writing them almost as though they were the same age and competing for the same girl and a tragedy of the past that very much parallels the motivations of the present.

Waggoner's writing seemed to shine most when he wasn't writing about Sam and Dean, who he seemed unfamiliar with, but when he was writing the original characters he'd created for the story, as well as the more gruesome scenes. You could tap and point them out, "Okay, this is his speed. This is what he wants and writes."

You aren't missing anything by not reading this, and you aren't gaining anything if you do. We don't get to see any character development or diving into Dean's suicidal depression after the loss of Cas and Bobby nor Sam's madness and hallucinations after the wall in his mind was broken. Mentions of both of these things feel perfunctory at best-- and they are just mentioned.

I finished the book, but found it, like his others, to be so utterly boring and flat to read. With a start-stop feel to every sentence and paragraph like a homage to Hemingway in the use of short sentences, few commas, and fewer adjectives and adverbs. All of this while also managing to be all Tell and no Show, as well as repeating, several times, details he's already described.

Would not recommend, though if you must: Text-to-speech makes it easier to get through.
Profile Image for Brian McCullar.
82 reviews3 followers
November 13, 2025
I'm continuing my journey into the Supernatural series tie-in novels and, I've said this before but, we have a new best book in the lineup (so far) and it's by a wider margin than I would have EVER expected from a book meant to tie in to a low budget TV show.

This book was incredible, a complete cut above the rest that came before it, including the other books that ranked (and still rank) highly to me. How could I best describe this book? Well, I'd say it can be summarized as a fusion of Stephen King's Pet Semetary and Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, set in the familiar, urban fantasy world of Supernatural. And I mean that in all the best ways, and quite literal ways.

One thing I wanna point out is, this book DOES conflict with some official lore, specifically from Season 10, but this book predates that season by a year so, that's no fault of the author, because when he wrote this, he was delving into what was, at the time, an untapped source of inspiration. Besides, I like to think that these novels happen in one of the alternate universes created by Chuck. We know Sam and Dean exist in many of them, we know many of them are nearly identical to the main universe, but with slight differences, and these novels could easily just exist within on of, or multiple of, those alternate realities. Whatever the point, this minor complaint does nothing to affect the quality of the story, of its writing or its charm.

Set during Season 7, this book has our boys going off to deal with a strange dog that seems to be draining the life force of the people it kills, and while they originally believe it may be a spectral Black Dog, it turns out to be a sort of Frankenmutt (not a spoiler, it's literally on the back cover). While this isn't the first time a Frankenstein like character has appeared in the series, that would be Doc Benton from Season 3, it's still a damn fun premise and one that feels very at home within Supernatural, while also being a break from the run of the mill ghosts, angels and demons drama, that the later seasons would find themselves hopelessly locked into.

The "Monster of the Week" is hard to pin down here though, since, in a way, there are multiple, the main of being someone I can't mention due to spoilers but, holy hell did I love the way they were handled, and the way Tim Waggoner handled incorporating other lore surrounding similar aspects of what they embodied, into the story to help explain them. I know that's confusing to read but, you'll understand once you read the book.

Sam and Dean's characterization is SPOT ON, something not every author of these tie-in novels can claim, and was handled so well, it reminded me of Supernatural's peak writing for those characters.

And that's what truly sets this book apart from the previous eleven tie-in books, its writing. The prose in this book is a step above the rest. It's not just good for being a TV show tie-in book, it's actually, outright, very good. I usually say these books are only consumable by die-hard fans of the show, who know it inside and out, and sure those kind of people would still get more out of this book than the average reader, but, this one is so damn good that I'd recommend it to them too, as it has such a quality story to be enjoyed, and does a good job of explaining the necessary info to the reader to understand the context of the show itself and why the boys are doing what they're doing.

Sadly, I can't give the book a 100% perfect rating, because of the ending. The way the big bad is dealt with was... Underwhelming. Seriously underwhelming given the nature of who the hell they are, and whole what happened after that went back to being amazing, I just dislike the handling of the being's ultimate defeat.

That said, this book is still an incredible read, and it deserves the 4.5 out of 5 stars that I'm giving it. Pick this one up!

Wanna check out my other Supernatural book reviews? Check em out below!

Nevermore (Supernatural, #1) by Keith R.A. DeCandido Nevermore: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Witch's Canyon (Supernatural, #2) by Jeffrey J. Mariotte Witch's Canyon: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Bone Key (Supernatural, #3) by Keith R.A. DeCandido Bone Key: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Heart of the Dragon (Supernatural, #4) by Keith R.A. DeCandido Heart of the Dragon: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Unholy Cause (Supernatural, #5) by Joe Schreiber The Unholy Cause: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

War of the Sons (Supernatural, #6) by Rebecca Dessertine War of the Sons: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

One Year Gone (Supernatural, #7) by Rebecca Dessertine One Year Gone: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Coyote's Kiss (Supernatural, #8) by Christa Faust Coyote's Kiss: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Night Terror (Supernatural, #9) by John Passarella Night Terror: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Rite of Passage (Supernatural, #10) by John Passarella Rite of Passage: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fresh Meat (Supernatural, #11) by Alice Henderson Fresh Meat: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Men of Letters Bestiary Winchester Family Edition (Supernatural) by Tim Waggoner Men of Letters Bestiary: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Profile Image for Lee Cushing.
Author 84 books65 followers
December 28, 2024
I must mention once again that I began this book with low expectations because supernatural books generally a history of being disappointing. However, I must say that this is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read in the published 'fanfiction' series. story is a giant roller coaster ride from start finish, leaving you breathless as you read it. There is truly dull moment in this book. While some reviewers mentioned the ending boring, I found it perfect. Moreover, the characterisation is impeccable and will genuinely you feel you are reading the story of the real Winchester brothers from the show, rather than just fanfiction.
Profile Image for Jen.
53 reviews5 followers
July 8, 2013
This book is set during season seven, which means there's talk of the Leviathan and Bobby being dead, and generally all manner of things I didn't much like about season seven. But I suppose that's not the book's fault, it just happens to be the timeline it had to be set during. At least that stuff doesn't overtake the plot, but sometimes it feels like a bit of an afterthought. Oh right, there's these Leviathan, better mention them now before I forget!

First, the positive: This book does a good job at keeping Sam and Dean at the forefront of the story while also mixing in information and detail about the villains, without going too overboard. Perhaps the most compelling part of the entire book, for me, was a flashback story that was told throughout the book in bits and pieces. It relates back to what's going on in the main story well, though maybe a little too on the nose...

Read the rest at Fresh From The...
Profile Image for Connie.
1,593 reviews25 followers
July 27, 2015
Source: I own this book.
Cost: £2.79 on eBay

Title: Carved in Flesh
Series: Supernatural #12
Author: Tim Waggoner
Overall Rating: 2.9 Stars

This spin off book is set in season seven between Time After Time and the Splice Girls.

IT CONTAINS SEASON SEVEN SPOILERS.

The story line of this book had so much potential, I feel like it would've been something that I would've enjoyed if it hadn't have been written so flatly? I mean, I come from a post Supernatural obsessed life, so I have read many a fanfiction in my time. And the thing that bothered me is that I have read fanfictions by fourteen year old girls who understood the characters and their mannerisms more than a professional author who was hired to write this book...

Dean's character was the one that bothered me most.

Ain't nobody making my baby as flat as an A4 sheet of paper.

Needs must when the devil drives.
Profile Image for Ayu Ikhwani.
120 reviews14 followers
April 24, 2014
For me, this is one of the best books in the Supernatural series.. or maybe I just miss the time this TV series wasn't as ridiculous as it is now?!?

One thing I love about Supernatural (the book series) is they're reminiscent of the earlier seasons of Supernatural. Sure, the books are here and there, in between episode of all the seasons but still, it has that quality that had made me fall in love with the series in the first place.

This time around, we meet a mad scientist. Cliche? Too boring? Wait till you read it =) I for one, could not put it down!

I especially like all the nick names Dean had, over-using the Frankenstein word in almost all of them.. typical of Dean! You need to read it to enjoy it too =)
Profile Image for DLS.
484 reviews8 followers
October 1, 2016
As a fan of the series, this book could easily have been a filler episode for season 7. The book merged the usual Supernatural elements with a slight hint of science-fiction which reminded me of the episode 3x15; Time is on My Side. I liked the flash backs to the previous hunt the boys had when they were younger, which we've seen little of on the series itself.
Profile Image for Laurie.
99 reviews
December 31, 2023
3.5

Waggoner absolutely is a good writer - thank god, 'cause he has two more books coming up - even if I personally didn't care for the MOTW in this one. (A little too body horror, I think.) (Someone with prophetic abilities also should have told him what happens in season 10.)

So yeah, good story-telling for sure. Pretty great side characters even. I was missing something with Sam and Dean, but I can't put my finger on it, so it wasn't a big something. Maybe it was because Dean is so angry in this book. Either way, I really liked the addition of the Reaper and the fact that he was fleshed-out so well! I wonder if Waggonner had recently watched the earlier seasons when he wrote this. It gave me those vibes sometimes and there's a line that comes almost straight out of "Tall Tales". (I had just watched that one myself, okay? No, I'm not obsessed with Gabriel, it was a coincidence. Shut up.)

The ending was, again, a little rushed, but overall a satisfying read.
Profile Image for Alan.
1,670 reviews107 followers
June 19, 2020
A decent SN tale, though Waggoner writes too much in a "dude-bro" style, using Dean's euphemisms not just when he's speaking, but in the descriptive prose. And elements of this story were way more grotesque than the usual SN level almost like he threw some ideas he had for graphic horror story into this SN narrative. However, it was a relatively quick read, under 300 pages, and more adventures of Sam and Dean are always welcome.
Profile Image for Kim Bergshoeff.
91 reviews8 followers
June 11, 2023
This one is quite bad but the flashback parts were good in my opinion.
Profile Image for Hannah Marae.
Author 3 books41 followers
October 11, 2021
Overall, this was a solid installment in the Supernatural book series. Sam and Dean were written well and the mystery was so fun (and creeeepy.) I did think the pacing was a little off and the flashbacks didn’t really do anything for me. Otherwise, it was a great read!

Merged review:

Overall, this was a solid installment in the Supernatural book series. Sam and Dean were written well and the mystery was so fun (and creeeepy.) I did think the pacing was a little off and the flashbacks didn’t really do anything for me. Otherwise, it was a great read!
23 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2016
Personal Response
I like this book because how descriptive of how it is in the show. It says what is happening to the characters in the book. I also like where it's set in a season and not just a off put eps. The gore was also was there.It was very descriptive of what was happening in the story.

Plot
A middle aged couple were out by the pond with trees around them, 5 minutes in they hear a hungry growl coming from the woods and the couple got frightened by the noise. The thing was a big black dog, the dog went for the man and sucked the life out of him, then the women ran into the woods, the wolf ran after her and then she got the life sucked out of her. A guy named Conrad made another monster and its name was Byron, it had 2 heads and 6 arms. Conrad was leading it towards the people he wants to kill. He could make people that are dead come back from the dead but they have no soul. Sam and Dean tried to kill the Frankenmutt with a fake baby and then they shot it so it won't kill them both. Conrad also made a company that makes new skin for his parents it's called NuFlesh and its for burned victims he also gives them a cream that makes the patient stop from scratching their skin off. Sam and Dean find the person who has been making the NuFlesh for the other people who got killed by the monsters. The person who made Bryon killed his owner and conrad took over Byron. Catherine was preparing her husband and her daughter's dead body and replacing anything that was beginning to be rotting. Conrad was at her house with a gemstone that makes the dead bodies alive. After they tested on her husbands body to make sure the gem worked,
Conrad had to leave or the Winchesters would kill him. Cathrine had to do her daughter's body, and she turned into hel, a death for the vikings. Sam and Dean were' there to stop Cathrine daughter from ruling the world, Dean shot the gem in her daughter's hand and the gem let out a reaper of some sort. Bekah (Catherine's daughter) sped Conrad's age and he became nothing more than a pile of dust. Sam kill's Bekah and her mother had to disassemble the body so Bekah won't be put together some how. Sam and Dean went to Washington to find someone else.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to people people who watched the show and people who like horror fiction and action. Also the people who somewhat knows the 2 main characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Robin Burks.
Author 6 books25 followers
June 16, 2013
Knowing that I was a fan of the Supernatural television series, Titan Books sent me a copy of Supernatural: Carved In Flesh for a review. Having just finished the last page, I'm happy to report that although the book takes place during the dreadful season 7 of the series, it's actually a great story that was very difficult to put down.

Carved In Flesh begins with Sam and Dean Winchester chasing down a new case. Reports of dried up husks of bodies have been reported in a small Midwestern town and they're pretty sure that finding the person or thing responsible is something only they, as hunters, can handle. But once they discover what Dean lovingly refers to as "Frankenmutt," all Hel breaks loose (and yes, I intentionally spelled that word without the extra "l" - read the book to find out why).

What I liked about this book is that although it takes place during the whole awful Leviathan incident (and what I would argue as the worst villains of the show so far), it is its own complete story. Waggoner wrote the book in such a way, though, that even new fans of the series will be able to enjoy this adventure, even if their knowledge of the Winchester brothers is limited. Waggoner does a great deal to explain their particular quirks: things like Dean's fondness for pop culture references and Sam's more secretive nature.

The plot itself is as good, if not better, than a lot of the past few season's episodes and honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing it turned into a future storyline for the brothers (minus the mention of the Leviathan). It has a lot of twists and turns and it's one of those where you think you know what the brothers are dealing with, but it turns out to be something entirely different. But at the same time, it's also similar to other villains they've had to fight. Waggoner obviously has a good handle on the show's mythology and he's used it very well in this book. What's even more fascinating is that he has created a few new back story incidents to correlate the brothers' history with what's happening to them in the present.

Supernatural: Carved In Flesh is now available, so if you're a fan of the series, it's definitely a well-done must-read.
44 reviews
June 15, 2014
This is one enjoyable read, it had everything I love about the series, lots of supernatural action, Dean being a smart-ass and of course lets not forget the ever present bromance he-he. He got the brothers perfectly it feels like I am watching an episode of the series. He got Dean's character spot-on from his humorous side making-up words using frankenstein to his protective big brother save Sammy at all cost persona. His Sam is actually more of season 8 being all emotional about failing Dean as such. The plot is actually engaging as they fought centuries old necromancer hell bent in raising his goddess. The usual problem about novelization of a tv series is how to stretch a story that should amount to a filler episode in the series. Tim Waggoner solved this by giving us flashback scenes of when the boys are teenagers. He even did the flashbacks like how they do it in the series, in bits and pieces until at the end you have two stories in one book, or it could be more right to say one and a half story in one book. If I am going to nitpick, i think the ending is kinda rushed, I expected better from goddess Hel, she has a potential to be one amazing character reminiscence of Apollymi in the Dark-hunter series.
Profile Image for Craig.
6,340 reviews177 followers
September 23, 2014
I've only watched the television series upon which this novel is based once or twice, but I picked it up anyway because Waggoner always produces a good read. There are several references to events from the series with which I was unfamiliar, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. It's a fun romp with a Frankenstein theme complete with an ancient evil, mad scientists, and a flame-thrower tossed in for extra fun. (I suspect the author was as impressed as I was with a wonderful film starring Ray Milland and Roosevelt Grier called "The Thing With Two Heads" when he was in the fifth grade or thereabouts.) Here are a couple of lines of cool dialog:

"So we've got another rogue god on our hands, huh?"
"Can you believe it? The damned things are crawling out of the woodwork like cockroaches."
"And it sounds like she plans to take over the world," Sam added.
"Yeah. Big surprise. You ever wonder if these jokers actually give any thought to what they'd do with the world once they've conquered it? It's a pretty big place."
"Be a real bitch to keep clean," Sam said.

It's a fun book!
Profile Image for Stacy.
290 reviews
April 12, 2014
Overall this was an enjoyable Supernatural book, close to 5 stars actually. It had all the things I want from a Supernatural spinoff - character dialogue that feels right, new "monsters" and good action, and a story that just simply couldn't be pulled off on a tv show budget. The only thing that kept it from the full 5 stars was that there simply wasn't any new character that really pulled me in. The new Reaper came close, but not quite. And, the god named Hel was a little under developed and uninteresting. However, if Tim Waggoner writes another Supernatural book, I'll happily grab it and read it!
Profile Image for Wit.
537 reviews12 followers
February 1, 2016
This was not one of the better Supernatural tie-in novels. First, you had to suspend your disbelief in that Sam and Dean wouldn't recognize Sam seeing a Reaper even though the events in this novel take place well after Sam and Dean have had several experiences with Reapers. Then you had to just accept there was this Nu-Flesh stuff that was some sort of modern miracle as it came to transplanting limbs and organs. The author also didn't seem to research very much into Hel, not that it mattered as she was only the big baddie for 5 pages and was stopped rather easily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Braveheart.
137 reviews
March 22, 2021
Favorite Quote: Dean- "Man, I can't get over how fast that thing was. The way it looked, it should've had trouble just walking, but it moved faster than a cheetah on meth."

Cheetah on meth, really? LOL.

I read the ebook format of this but I'd love to own one of these novels. Not this one, though. Where can you buy the series? Just wondering.

I will give it to Waggoner: he's a solid writer. He mostly (and the key word is mostly) got Sam and Dean's dialogue down. They felt like the characters: you could sense Dean's silent, hyper-masculine stoicism and Sam's never-ending struggle with what was real and what was fiction). I ended up feeling an emotional connection to the victims, especially since Waggoner describes them so in-depth, makes them so human with backstories, lives, and tragedies. It's different than them just being nameless victims, shown in a space of 2-5 minutes, at the beginning of an episode.

The character I felt the most empathy with: Catherine. The best subplot of this novel: Trish's story. I loved seeing lil' Sam and Dean. Waggoner did a really great job at making them realistic. That is, I felt like these really could be the teenage Winchesters.

Throughout this novel, I really had a hankering for a double espresso. That was because of how many times it mentions Sam drinking coffee. (I used the search bar and guess how many times the novel mentions the word "coffee?" Drum roll, please. 43! Jesus.)

This was the first SPN novel that I have read; therefore, I had no idea it was the twelfth in a series. I also had no idea what I was getting into. Personally, I don't like anything past season 5. I know it's a slightly controversial topic, but seasons 1-5 were the best, in my opinion. This was set in season 7 and dealt, in part, with Sam's hallucinations and Dean's guilt over Bobby's death. The monsters in this one were, uh, a little out there. I didn't really understand how they could drain life forces (besides magic) and I wish that was explained a little more in-depth. There were some parts that I just shook my head and went, like, "What?" Namely, the reaper, Daniel. I also thought it was horrible that Sam was in the midst of dying throughout most of the novel, and when Dean found out, he wasn't all that shocked. I know this had to do with the fact that we, as the readers, knew there was no way Sam was going to die so why focus on this weak subplot? Why have it in there at all?

Hopefully the next novel I choose in this series I'll enjoy a bit more.
Profile Image for Sarah.
348 reviews
August 1, 2020
Carved In Flesh is the twelfth book in the series of TV Tie-in novels from the CW show Supernatural, and is written by Tim Waggoner. It takes place during season seven between episodes 12 (Time After Time) and 13 (The Slice Girls).

This novel has the Winchester brothers travelling to Brennan, Ohio to investigate a series of desiccated corpses, and sightings of a large black dog.

In similar fashion to the last book, Rite of Passage, Tim Waggoner’s Carved in Flesh is also missing the much-loved Metallicar, the other main character of the show along with Sam and Dean. Regardless of whether I’m reading the novels or watching the TV series, I’ll probably not be happy until the Leviathans have gone and the Impala makes a welcome return.

The main story is ok, not thrilling or page-turning but interesting enough to read. In a similar vein to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it’s not a new or unique story and is therefore a bit too predictable as plots go.

However, interspersed within this tale are dream sequences that take the reader back in time to when Sam and Dean were young kids living with a hunter friend of their Dads. While dreaming both brothers reminisce about their friend, Trish Hansen and the monster hunts and stories that the three of them shared. I’m not sure what these dream sequences are supposed to achieve, other than to bulk up and extend an otherwise fairly simple story. It begins with a discussion about werewolves, which is how Trish’s Dad discovered the hunter life, then progresses on to a ghost hunt that the three kids take to a local haunted house. It correlates with the main theme, but I don’t feel like it really adds anything to the overall story.

The book also includes the Norse Goddess, Hel, and I couldn’t help but imagine Cate Blanchette’s character from the movie Thor: Ragnarok every time she got a mention in the story. In a way this made the novel more enjoyable, but I’d still only rate is at about 2 out of 5 stars. Carved in Flesh is ok but not great.
Profile Image for Lea.
1,111 reviews298 followers
September 4, 2020
I read (and write) so much Supernatural fan fiction, I figured I should the official tie-in novels a try. I didn't expect them to be good, because tie-in novels mostly aren't written by people who a) can write very well and b) are really knowledgable of the show.

For the first few pages I was pleasently surprised: it was readable and Dean's voice sounded true to character. Except - then I realized this story is set in season 7 and the way Dean talks and quips (extremely dude-bro-y), and especially the way Sam and Dean talk to each other sounds like they did at the beginning of the show. In fact, pretty much everything in this novel reads like a bad filler Monster of the Week episode from the first season. You can't really get more trashy than "A frankenstein dog" and some misguided scientist whose face is melting off as an antagonist. There's a lot of body horror and not a lot of substance to the case. And there's too many people and too many POVs who no one cares about.

Another big minus: although Dean was in character (even though the timing was off), Sam really wasn't. Although there were a lot of good ideas - the fainting, the infected dog bite, the lying to each other - it just never felt like the Sam from the show. Both he and Dean just seemed like background characters in a really cheap and trashy horror novel.
45 reviews
October 9, 2021
The boys investigate a series of weird deaths that are leaving people mummified, they discover weird monsters put together with different body parts something right out of Frankenstein. Although this story had promise to be a great adventure for the boys along with fighting something they haven't encountered before an alchemist, this book also had a pointless side storyline from the boys childhood. The dreams of the the two that centered around a young girl named Trish with who they had stayed with while John Winchester had gone on one of his many hunts. While I usually enjoy snippets from the boys childhood this one in particular had nothing to do with the actual story at hand and seemed to be just filler.
The chapters were longer then they really needed to be, I would have preferred more chapters separating what the alchemist was doing and what the boys were doing rather then having the breaks in the chapter flipping back and forth.
This book's storyline had a lot of potential being wasted by making the big bad another God which has been done too many times throughout the series, the actual ending was a major disappointment and Sam and Dean didn't have much to do with the actual ending.
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645 reviews3 followers
January 22, 2021
Season10 Episode 12 ”About Boy"と"Halt & Episode 13 "Catch Fire"の間のお話。

 カインの印がコントロールできなくなることを恐れて、部屋にこもりきりで印を消す方法を求めて資料を読み漁っているディーンを心配して、サムはディーンをハンティングに連れ出す。同じくカインの印を消す方法を必死で探っていたカスティエルだったが、手掛りが消えてしまい、二人のハンティングを手伝うことにする。

 振興開発中の小さな街で臓器と眼球を奪われた男性の遺体が立て続けに発見されるという事件が発生していた。検死官は死因を動物に襲われたと結論づけてはいるが、動物の痕跡が事件現場にも遺体にも何一つ残っていないというレポートを読んで自分たちの仕事とサムは判断したのだ。調べていくうちに被害者は皆、生まれたてのこどもがいるか、妻の出産が近いという共通点をもつことが判明する。

気晴らしにディーンをハンティングに誘ったものの、カインの印がディーンの行動や考え方を支配しつつあるのではないかという不安が拭えないサム。ディーンはカスティエルとサムがそういう心配をしていることを認識していて、それを自分への不信と受け止め、一段と機嫌が悪い。 カスティエルは被害者の子供を宿した若い女性が、ジミー・ノヴェックの娘クレアに似ていたため、心穏やかではない。



 キャスがウィンチェスター兄弟と行動を共にしてくれるということと、ディーンがカインの印に引っ張られそうになっているという大変な精神状態の頃のお話ということでかなり面白いのではと期待したのですが、物の見事に面白くありませんでした。かなしい。

 ディーンは今回の魔物と激しく死闘を繰り広げながらも印にひっぱられることなく。もちろん抑えるのに相当な精神力は要しているようなのですが、その描写が最後のサムの所感だけっていうところで。いまはディーン、コントロールできてるけれど早く消す方法みつけなくっちゃねぇとラストにキャスとサムがディーンを眺めつつ言葉を交わすっていう....。あとはひたすら被害者のエピソードと捜査状況が綴られているだけで、印象に残るようなくだりもとくになく。

  読んでも読んでも話がいまいち進まないそんな印象。

  ”英語の勉強”と思って読んでいるのでなければとっくに投げ出していたような気がします。

 やっぱりこの作者さんとは相性が悪い模様。
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Profile Image for Kyra Yaroscavitch.
7 reviews
May 7, 2021
Finished carved in flesh yesterday after 5am and I’ve got to say with 2 out of 3 supernatural books that I’ve read by Tim Waggoner this one is my favourite (that might change once I read children of Anubis). I got so into this book even before reading by reading the small description the books give on the back. When I read that it was about the boys trying to solve a case with a Frankenstein like dog and a centuries old alchemist I knew right then and there I would enjoy this book and I did. It took me only 5 days to completely read this book and I loved it.
This book is during season 7. Shortly after Bobby was killed and where Sam and Dean learn how to beat the leviathans.

Overall I rate this book 10/10 as like mythmaker Tim did a really good job portraying the boys. An example of how would be Dean and his nicknaming the monsters in the book. And Sam with him recovering after getting his soul back from being trapped with Lucifer and Michael in hell.
16 reviews
March 10, 2023
Thoroughly gripping take on the Frankenstein story model, managing to create a convincing origin story for the original with Deppel and his devotion to the resurrection of Hel whilst injecting humour, drama and pathos through the brothers.

From Frankenmutt to Marshall via the tragic tale of Trish, we see how futile and disturbing resurrection of the dead is and how all are truly monsters devoid of any higher function.

Yet Trish and Bekah as the innocent children serve to highlight the darker side of parental love with desperate parents willing to do whatever it takes for one more chance to be with them and alleviate their grief.

And as both parents must ultimately face a second death of their daughter, is it not simply time and circumstance that separates them? For how many of us would act instinctively to raise a child and detach from reality when the dream would be to achieve perfection as Catherine did?

A truly gripping and emotional ride that ticks all the SPN boxes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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