Johannes Cabal the Necromancer [Hardcover]

Johannes Cabal is not only a necromancer but a total jerk who suddenly finds giving up his soul to Satan has caused him a bit of a problem when it puts a stop to his research. In order to solve this he goes to Hell to meet with the Lord of Darkness in order to get his soul back. A wager of sorts is agreed upon with details set by Satan. The wager consists of bringing forth a dark carnival to help Cabal capture 100 souls in a year's time. If Cabal can accomplish this next to impossible task in the time allotted his soul will be returned to him. The Dark Carnival is of the of the soul-snatching kind, which apparently is not the only one Satan has in operation around the world. However, the one Cabal is given has to be totally reconstructed and revived. To accomplish the revival of the Dark Carnival Johannes enlists his estranged brother Horst, who is not very happy with him for reasons I won't mention here, but agrees to help him with a little arm twisting. Once Johannes resurrects his carnival workers and puts together some `freak show' entertainment he starts his journey to collect 100 souls.

Jonathan L. Howard's writing is outwardly humorous, dark, and brings to mind works by Terry Pratchett (`DiscWorld'), Douglas Adams (`Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'), and Christopher Moore (`Fool'). Sometimes the laughs are real `groaners' and the quirkiness leaves you feeling a little off center due to the rapid pace of the book. The unpredictability of one strange situation after another quickly building on each other is part of the charm of this book, so fasten your seat belt and give in to it to achieve maximum enjoyment.

Though I enjoyed the book I still felt there were portions of it that were hastily written. There are areas where it seems the author only gives the reader a glimpse of the surface when it feels like things should have dug a little bit deeper with the characters and how things impacted them. However, this is not to be considered a `deep' novel and Johannes Cabal doesn't even take his `badness' seriously as he somehow manages to show some emotional depth upon occasion. I enjoyed the laughs along with the light and easy writing style. If you enjoy reading Pratchett, Adams, and Moore you will enjoy `Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer'. Author Jonathan L. Howard has done himself proud.

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof was to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." Douglas Adams, `Mostly Harmless'

Johannes Cabal has sold his soul to the devil - with immediate possession - in exchange for magic and arcane wisdom that will help him further his research. But he discovers he needs his soul, not for any particular spiritual reason, but because he believes that being without it is hindering his work. And so he sets out to strong-arm Satan into giving it back. He's willing to make a deal, but both he and Satan drive hard bargains, and in the end, Johannes agrees that within the space of a single year he will deliver one hundred other souls in exchange for his own. And just because he's an okay guy, Satan gives Cabal a carnival. Not your fun-and-games, cotton candy and wild rides sort of carnival either, but one which has the potential to corrupt and destroy human beings.

There's something about this book which reminds me a great deal of Gaiman's and Pratchett's "Good Omens" which is one of my favorites. Probably it's the sense that what's going on in the narrative is serious stuff, and should be taken seriously... except it's not. The danger, the corruption, the infernal interference would all make a terrific horror novel, if it wasn't so damn funny. I guess that in the final analysis, evil isn't majestic or magnificent, but rather it's small and petty and even bureaucratic in nature. Evil is less being rent limb from limb by hell hounds and more getting pecked to death by ducks.

But there is an underlying seriousness within this book, and it's about the nature of the individual soul, about the relationships that have made the characters what they are, and which drive them to do what they do. That is, at least, deadly serious, and rightly so. And yet, that seriousness, and the sadness behind it, is always overlaid by a lively sense of the absurd, kept at arms length until the end when the bet with Satan ends and the truth about Cabal's work is made clear.

In spite of a few slow spots along the way, "Johannes Cabal, The Necromancer" held my attention both through my own sense of the absurd and my curiosity about how it would all turn out in the end. And I have to say that I was satisfied. I enjoyed the heck out of the book, and I think anyone who is willing to go along with the often hilarious narrative, will too.

Kudos to Jonathan Howard, who has conjured up a fiendishly clever and intelligent novel in the delightfully campy "Johannes Cabal, the Necromancer". Playfully poking fun from "Faust" to Stephen King, Howard's keen insight of human behavior matches his razor sharp prose and dialogue, spinning an offbeat and macabre yarn as whimsical as Arthur Phillip's "The Egyptologist", but told with the literary flare and sophistication of Louis Bayard's "Pale Blue Eye".

Johannes Cabal is "the Necromancer" - a cold-hearted but brilliant scientist who made the proverbial "deal with the devil" to gain the tools of his nefarious trade. He is also an insufferable snob who applies his caustic wit with rapier accuracy on all of those unfortunate enough to cross his path. But recognizing the mistake he's made, Cabal journeys to Hell to make a new deal with Satan: his own soul back in exchange for one hundred more, signed and delivered in exactly one year. With that backdrop, Johannes sets out, with the help of his accidental vampire older brother Horst, leading the literal "carnival from Hell" - an outrageous collection of ghouls straight from "Night of the Dead" central casting, but toned with Three-Stooges grade slapstick and the inventiveness of J.R.R. Tolkien. Howard spices his yearlong rail journey across England with one neat predicament after another, including a thought-provoking, Einstein-inspired visit to Oblivion, while the action never wanes and the dark chuckles continue to build. In keeping with the style and Johannes' genius, Howard will keep even the most accomplished linguist on his/her toes with "tatterdemalions" and "thaumaturgists" and a touch of "excrescence", the "peripatetic", or the "perspicacious", making a good case for Kindle's build-in dictionary. But aside from the black humor and camp, Howard tucks a moral message between the pages, finishing with a poignant and more than satisfying flourish.

In short, an original and highly entertaining new novel from a writer who masters the rare combination of elegant prose and great storytelling. Easily in my top five of the year.