Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

4.5 stars. This was actually more fun than I expected. It took a while to get going, but when it did I was hooked.

Right from the get-go, I was cautiously delighted by the sharp humour that characterizes Howard's writing style, particularly suitable for the atmosphere of this book. If I had to nitpick, I'd say sarcasm as a device was used perhaps just a tad bit too often and it made the book felt a little dated, but luckily it was nowhere near overused and insufferable, so I could close an eye to it.

The premise was pretty interesting too, although it took me quite a number of chapters to really get into the groove of things. Johannes Cabal is a brilliant scientist and necromancer who travels into Hell to make a bet with Satan - to get a hundred souls in the span of a year in exchange for his own soul back. To help him do it, Satan provides him with a diabolical carnival which he must run and use to tempt people to sign over their souls. Cabal enlists the help of his brother, charismatic vampire Horst Cabal, to help him run the place.

At first it felt a bit aimless, like I wasn't sure what I was waiting for and what the whole aim of everything was, but when I realised that this was going to be a somewhat episodic adventure where we follow Cabal and Horst as they meet different people and situations along the travels of the carnival, I felt like I could settle into that vibe and finally found the groove of the story.

The ragtag bunch of people/demons Cabal surrounds himself with are generally also quite memorable, if not endearing. The most outstanding of the bunch is definitely Horst Cabal, and the love-hate, push-pull relationship between Johannes and himself. I enjoyed their dynamic and the way Horst was written. Johannes himself as a character was also intriguing - we know he wants his soul back for a reason but he never quite reveals that reason until right at the end. We're given enough glimpses and hints along the way to want to continue reading though. Importantly, Johannes and Horst are also distinctive enough characters that they don't blend into each other, which forms the basis of having a believable and strong character dynamic.

Though this book wasn't without its flaws, ultimately it felt like everything worked out pretty well for me. I enjoyed the tone, the writing style, the premise, and the characters, and I'm curious to know what will happen next, so that's gonna keep me going for the next book!

This book was so funny I laughed out loud multiple times while reading. Love the story and the characters from beginning to end although there was a bit of a wobble there in between. The writing style was really fun and read fast. 

Though I would have liked to see more of Horst, I am glad that many side characters were fairly worked out. Although the little women that were there were fairly one-dimensional, it is forgiven. I would definitely recommend this book to people. 

A brilliant scientist and possible sociopath sells his soul to learn the secrets of necromancy, only to find out that not having a soul is quite inconvenient - his necromancy never quite works right without having one. So he gets himself into another wager with the Devil, this time to collect one hundred souls in exchange for his, using the diabolical means of...a carnival. Johannes is not especially charming, nor is he good at having fun, so he enlists his brother Horst, a vampire, and an army of the dead to help him out. Then, after that book is over, he ends up having to solve a murder on board an aeroship (while on the run from the secret police of a dictatorship), with only one frenemy by his side. So basically: awesome.

Witty and fun Steampunk fantasy.

Let's start with the title character, Cabal himself. Not exactly likeable or relatable–but so much fun. First of all, he's very cold, superior, manipulative. As the plot takes off I wasn't actually sure if I wanted to root for this guy to win or see him fall on his face. Of course his nemesis was the devil himself, so as unpleasant and badass as Cabal may be, he's still the underdog in the competition. Howard absolutely brings this guy to life. I can imagine his appearance, voice, facial expressions. He carries himself with such gravity that when incidents occur to thwart him or even just humiliate him, it creates a lot of humor. For Discworld fans, (like myself) he brought to mind both Vetinari and Moist; an odd combination but it works.

I enjoyed the story too. Cabal had forfeited his soul to the Devil but finds he needs it back for professional rather than spiritual reasons. His deal with the devil–to get one hundred souls to replace his own–is off and running. Cabal goes after his goal mercilessly as you'd expect, and this is the point where I wondered if I really wanted to see him succeed. A plot that offers a little conflict in the reader is a fine thing. The other characters that balance Cabal (his brother, the retired police chief) give the book a moral center. Ironically, his undead vampire brother has a lot more warmth than Cabal. He at least didn't want Cabal to win at the expense of the innocent.

I had a little trouble getting oriented to the time the story took place. It felt sort of Victorian, but then the styles, technology, culture, and so on were more advanced. It's definitely a fantasy world where necromancers, demons, and so on exist. It has a pulp adventure type of vibe. Steampunk-pulp-fantasy is a good way to describe Cabal's world. (The follow-up book, Johannes Cabal, Detective solidifies the Steampunk vibe for me.)

There were a lot of influences present from other classic works. Lovecraft, Through the Looking Glass, Faust, and Something Wicked This Way Comes all come to mind along with a nice dose of Discworld-style humor. Not to say I don't think this is original; all those allusions and resonances of other stories made this even more enticing.

“Cabal dimly recalled that the musical genius who'd decided to put on Necronomicon: The Musical had got everything he deserved: money, fame, and torn to pieces by an invisible monster.”