Johannes Cabal the Necromancer
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4.3 • 82 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The page-turning first novel in the charmingly gothic, fiendishly funny Faustian series about a brilliant scientist who makes a deal with the Devil, twice. • "The spot-on work of a talented writer." —The Denver Post
Johannes Cabal sold his soul years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. Now he wants it back. Amused and slightly bored, Satan proposes a little wager: Johannes has to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever. This time for real. Accepting the bargain, Jonathan is given one calendar year and a traveling carnival to complete his task. With little time to waste, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire to help him run his nefarious road show, resulting in mayhem at every turn.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Johannes Cabal, a haughty sorcerer, finds that the absence of a soul is an impediment to his occult studies, he strikes a bargain with Satan in British author Howard's darkly funny debut: in one year's time he'll deliver the bartered souls of 100 unfortunates so that he might repossess his own. Cabal and his vampire brother, Horst, mount a traveling carnival to scour the countryside for men and women desperate enough to consign their souls to an infernal eternity for whatever will relieve their misery of the moment. Cabal proves marginally competent but maximally amusing in his dealings with a competing necromancer, an asylum of escaped lunatics and a staff of slowly decomposing carnies conjured from the dead. Howard capably synthesizes two classic themes of macabre fiction the pact with the devil and the dark carnival but the book's episodic structure and unconvincing ending betray it as a freshman effort. Still, Howard's ear for witty banter and his skill at rendering black comedy bode well for the future.
Customer Reviews
A good book
If u are looking for a book with great dark humor this is the book for you. I didn't give it five stars bc I felt the ending was lacking. Still a must read.
I'm writing a review
The app made me write a review or else I couldn't read another book.
Simply Great!
I found out about this book online and it seemed interesting, so I looked for it on iBooks. Being a poor college student, I was apprehensive about purchasing a book that I might not like. Throwing care to the wind, I went ahead and bought it, and I am very glad I did so. As soon as I started this book, I couldn't put it down. If you want a creepy fiction with plenty of dry humor, this is definitely the book for you.