Books › Johannes Cabal the necromancer
Johannes Cabal the necromancer
First published 2008 · 291 pages
A delightfully wicked romp through a demonic carnival run by a deadpan necromancer who just wants his soul back.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a gaslit, slightly rotting carnival tent where the ringmaster is a sociopath and the clowns are literal demons. It is a brisk, episodic romp fueled by dry, distinctly British wit and a delightfully cynical worldview. The prose is erudite and deadpan, elevating the macabre subject matter into high comedy. You are trapped in the company of an unapologetic antihero whose cold, calculating demeanor is constantly undercut by the absurd, bureaucratic nature of Hell and the chaotic incompetence of his undead employees. It is a perfect read for those who love their fantasy laced with gothic eccentricity, dark humor, and a begrudging, microscopic sliver of heart.
- Mood
- carnivalesque
- gothic
- delightfully sinister
- eccentric
- Tone
- wry
- cynical
- deadpan
- macabre
- satirical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the cost of ambition · sibling dynamics · the banality of evil · bureaucratic absurdity · unlikely redemption
- The writing
- Erudite, dryly witty, and heavily stylized with a distinctly British, Victorian-gothic flair.
- The arc
- Moves from cold, calculated detachment to a begrudging, slightly warmer acknowledgment of human connection and morality.
- Who it's for
- Fans of dark humor, unapologetic antiheroes, and bureaucratic fantasy who enjoy a protagonist with the moral compass of a sociopathic scientist.
Content notes
- death and dying
- mild gore
- demonic bargains
- violence
About the book
In this uproarious and clever debut, it's time to give the Devil his due.Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is single-mindedly obsessed in heart and soul with raising the dead. Well, perhaps not soul... He hastily sold his years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. But now, tormented by a dark secret, he travels to the fiery pits of Hell to retrieve it. Satan, who is incredibly bored these days, proposes a little wager: Johannes has one year to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever. To make the bet even more interesting, Satan throws in that diabolical engine of deceit, seduction, and corruption known as a "traveling circus" to aid in the evil bidding. What better place exists to rob poor sad saps of their souls than the traveling carnivals historically run by hucksters and legendary con men?With little time to lose, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire (an unfortunate side effect of Johannes's early experiments with necromancy), to be the carnival's barker. On the road through the pastoral English countryside, this team of reprobates wields their black magic with masterful ease, resulting in mayhem at every turn.Johannes may have the moral conscience of anthrax, but are his tricks sinful enough to beat the Devil at his own game? You'll never guess, and that's a promise!Brilliantly written and wickedly funny, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer combines the chills and thrills of old-fashioned gothic tales like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the mischievous humor of Wicked, and the sophisticated charms of Jonathan Strange &Mr. Norrell and spins the Faustian legend into a fresh, irreverent, and irresistible new adventure.
Description from Open Library.
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