The Mythology of Supernatural

Up until the 5th season, I was an avid watcher of ‘‘Supernatural''. From then on, it went downhill and became too boring for me. Now I only watch a few episodes here and there. Still, this book will appeal to fans of the TV series and to those of us who are interested in the subject. It offers interesting information about the lore of the angels and the demons, about obscure deities of forgotten religions and the way they have been used during the progression of Dean and Sam's fight to retain the balance of the world. My favourite parts were the ones concerning the Fall of the Angels who sided with Lucifer and the stages of the Apocalypse. Why, then, did I rate this with 3 stars, you may ask. Well, there were some issues that hindered my 4-star rating and it would be dishonest on my part to overlook them.

My major problem came with the writer's constant use of the word ‘‘mythology'' to refer to the various religions. In my opinion, there are other words that can be used instead, such as ‘‘tradition'' and ‘‘belief''. This has nothing to do with political correctness or anything like that. It is just something that bothered me personally. I don't know what the writer's views on religion are, nor do I care to find out, but to call the beliefs of the followers of any kind of religion in our world ‘‘myths'' sounds quite rude to my ears.

Then, the writer criticises what he considers to be the spreading of ‘‘inaccurate'' information by the fans of the series. However, his research isn't that immaculate. He presents Freyja as Baldr's mother and wife to Odin, and states that she is sometimes called ‘‘Frigga''. Excuse me? There are certain theories that comment on the common Germanic roots of the deities, but in no way, is this the canon version of the story. I'd like to think that my knowledge of the Norse pantheon is quite adequate, and this was something that made me roll my eyes to the high heavens (failed pun intended...) Also, moving on to the Christian religion, he presents as a verified belief the theory that Mary Magdalene was Lazarus' sister and that John the Evangelist isn't the same John who wrote the Apocalypse. Just stop! There are arguments that support one or the other theory, but he speaks of them as if they are canon and verified beyond all doubt. And furthermore, his description of Plato's parable about the imprisoned men in the cave is widely inaccurate and I know it well, because in Greece, we are taught this myth since our first years in primary school.

I'm sure that most readers will be able to put these things aside and enjoy the book. However, being a picky person by nature, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't bothered or even offended. Otherwise, it is a book that offers much. What I cannot verify after the things I have read, is how much of the information he presents is valid and well-researched...