Well, even if you have, you shouldn't let that stop you from checking out Jennifer Roberson's Life and Limb: Blood and Bone - Book 1. This book thrusts a pair of "brothers" into an unseen war where they will have to fight all manner of creatures in order to save the world. While the premise might sound like the pitch for Supernatural, that isn't a bad thing as that TV series has shown just how successful the setup can be, and Roberson does a great job of making Gabe and Remi feel like their own characters and not just Sam and Dean knockoffs.
Just after being released from prison, Gabe gets contacted by his "granddaddy," a person he knows he has no blood relationship with, but has been a family friend and frequent teacher all of Gabe's life, to hop on his bike and drive to Arizona and meet the older man at a cowboy bar. Luckily enough, Gabe's granddaddy is officially his parole officer, so the fact that he has left the state isn't really a problem. What Gabe finds at this bar is not only the older man who taught him all manner of survival skills, but a Texan dressed like he fits right at home in the bar. What Gabe doesn't know is that this cowboy, Remi, also knows granddaddy and has had a similar childhood with the man popping in for unexpected visits and lessons.
Then granddaddy levels with the two men - they aren't normal people. Sure, their bodies are made of mortal stuff, but apparently their souls aren't human souls. When they were young, they were both sick and their parents prayed for them to be healthy. To answer that prayer, the human souls that inhabited those bodies passed on and two newly born heavenly souls were put in their places. While this isn't unheard of, the fact that this happened at almost the same time for both of these boys is significant and, as far as anyone can tell, it is a first. Not only that, their granddaddy is a full-fledged angel named Jubal who has been training them for the war they are about to enter into, and if they survive long enough, they could become angels as well.
As it turns out, the End of Days has started and demons are getting out of Hell left and right. While they do have the ability to make hosts out of humans, they also have the ability to make any half-believed fiction into reality. While ghosts didn't really exist before now, if people believed a place was haunted, demons now take the shape of those ghosts and actually haunt it. Chupacabras might not have been real before, but they are now, they just happen to be fueled by demons, and so on. As foot soldiers in this war, Gabe and Remi must use their considerable talents, as well as specific inborn gifts, to return these demons to Hell one (or sometimes two) at a time in the hopes of keeping the invading force at bay.
While they will be doing a lot of the fighting on their own, they will have support. For one, there is the The Morrigan, a Celtic Goddess who acts like their Q and helps to outfit them in all manner of holy weapons. There is also a strange computer that acts as Charlie to their Angels. It informs them of their missions and can even help them research their problems on "the dark web," but only when it wants to, of course. Jubal also comes in handy from time to time, but he seems pretty tight-lipped about details. There are also a couple of others that sprout up during the pair's first few assignments, but I don't want to reveal everything out the gate.
Unfortunately for Gabe and Remi, not all of their supporting characters seem to be on the side of Heaven. One such supernatural entity makes its presence known to the pair and warns them that there are multiple agendas afoot and that maybe they shouldn't take everything on faith alone. This puts a seed of doubt into the brothers' minds and their poking into their new lives leaves them asking some interesting questions and learning just a bit more about those that are helping them.
I can't help but look at Life and Limb and think of Supernatural parallels, and given that there is even a reference to the show's pilot in the book, it's clear that Roberson is fully aware of the similarities. To me, that isn't a bad thing though. As the TV series wraps up, there will be a need for something similar and I think that Gabe and Remi's adventures could easily fit the bill. Besides, just because the two stories have a similar setup, doesn't mean they will have to follow anywhere near the same path. Personally, I can't wait to see where Roberson takes these two characters and how they will stay ahead of all the baddies they are sure to face.
