It wouldn't be fair to compare this novel to the actual Constantine canon, but as an adaptation of the Keanu Reaves-starring film I would say that it is pretty accurate. Shirely's writing stlye is a bit more juvenile than the graphic novels, and decidedly less dark, but he manages to capture all of the major aspects of the film. In a few cases I would say that he strayed from the source material a bit (over-emphasizing the potential romantic entanglement between Constantine and Angela, and de-emphasizing Gabriel's duplicitous role), but that could just be how I viewed the film. ( )

Film adaptations are the stuff of fandom. Only read by those who are fans of a film, they are usually job lot productions, written on contract by writers with no personal investment in the story. They are usually placed very low in the scale of literary productions, but they do have a place and have been produced since the earliest time of film production in the 1890s. There are basically three types of film tie-ins: 1. the original work upon which a film is based, e.g. Gone With the Wind, The Maltese Falcon, Pride and Prejudice, etc. In this case the book, fiction or non-fiction, stands alone and predated the film. 2. The book written specifically with a film in mind. A good example of this is the work of German author Thea von Harbou, one time wife of director Fritz Lang. In 1924 von Harbou, following discussion with Lang, wrote a book / treatment for what was to become the film Metropolis. The work of fiction was published in 1926 as the movie was being made and appeared as a fully fledged book in 1927 with the release of the movie. The book and film varied in part, though they both had a singular origin. 3. The post production film tie-in novelisation. And here is where Constantine fits in, as do the majority of film tie-ins. It is a workmanlike production, written by a professional writer and adherring closely to the movie as seen by the public, though fleshed out in parts. And this is the value of such works - for fans of a movie wanting more, the opportunity exists to read a bit more about the characters, the background to the action and fill in some of the gaps which may have been edited out. Constantine therefore compliments the Keanu Reeves film in many ways, and is particularly useful due to the editing out of elements which any fan would consider important. This particular film tie-in is therefore recommended to any fan of the movie who wants to know more. ( )