Johannes Cabal the Necromancer
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- ISBN13: 9780767930765
- Condition: New
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Product Description
A charmingly gothic, fiendishly amusing Faustian tale about a brilliant scientist who makes a deal with the Devil, twice.
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 small wager: Johannes has to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever. This time for real. Long-suffering the bargain, Jonathan is agreed one calendar year and a traveling carnival to perfect his task. With small time to waste, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire to help him run his disreputable road show, resulting in mayhem at every turn.Amazon.com Review
Book Description
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 small 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 appealing, 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 small 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 amusing, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer combines the chills and thrills of ancient-fashioned gothic tales like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the harmful humor of Wicked, and the sophisticated charms of Jonathan Weird & Mr. Norrell and spins the Faustian legend into a fresh, irreverent, and irresistible new adventure.
A Q&A with Jonathan L. Howard
Question: You’ve been effective on Johannes Cabal in its various iterations for many years now, how did it feel spending so much time with such disreputable characters?
Jonathan L. Howard: It’s something of a cliché to say that villains are more appealing than heroes, nor is it even very right, so I shan’t be trotting that particular axiom out. I would suggest that it is the inner life of the character that makes them appealing, and that is right of the virtuous as much as the vile. Cabal does some rather horrible things, it is right, but he never does them purely to give himself the opportunity to curl his waxed moustache—he’s clean-shaven, for one thing—and declaim his wickedness. He permanently has a reason, and it’s usually a excellent one. I find fictional villains who are evil because they are evil unengaging. Cabal, on the additional hand, has motivations and drives that most can sympathise with, even if the actions he commits based on persons drives can be loathsome. For him, the ends permanently justify the means, and damn the consequences.
Question: The carnival in your book is used as a contrivance for collecting souls; was there a real life inspiration for the carnival? Do you find there to be something generally sinister about carnivals?
Jonathan L. Howard: There’s no real life inspiration for the carnival, really, but plenty in fiction. The obvious inspiration was Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is a deserved classic. I liked the Disney film version, too, and dearly wish that its original incarnation as a screenplay in the fifties produced by Gene Kelly—Gene Kelly!—had come to fruition. Something Wicked’s Cooger & Dark’s Carnival wasn’t the first threatening carnival in fiction, and it certainly wasn’t the last, but it is probably the best. It was the persnickety question of where such a carnival might come from and how anyone would end up as a proprietor that inspired my novel.
As for how sinister they are, that is to an extent a fictional conceit on my part too. You have to bear in mind that carnivals like that are unknown in the United Kingdom, and I haven’t heard of the traditional British travelling honest being transported by train either. The Cabal tales take place in a slightly blurry world where things come together because they aesthetically appeal to me, and not because they’re historically accurate; a magical realism of sorts. I wanted an American-style carnival travelling by train, and that’s what I got. That said, there are plenty of stable fairgrounds around the country, and they tended to have a slightly creepy air about them. The real Ghost Trains in Blackpool and Porthcawl, for example, inspired the exterior of the Ghost Train in the novel.
Question: In addition to writing you work as a video game designer, how does that work compare to the experience of writing fiction? Are there any surprising similarities?
Jonathan L. Howard: There are certain similarities, but I wouldn’t say that they are surprising. The games I’ve worked on tend to have certain narratives, so it’s exactly the same process of inspiration, development, pacing, and polishing. The main difference is that a novel can have significant sequences in which physically small happens, which is considered heretical in games. In fairness, there’s excellent reason for that—the player wants to be involved, and there isn’t a fantastic deal of opportunity for that in a scene consisting of two people talking over a cup of tea. That’s not to say it hasn’t been attempted, and pretty successfully. I remember a game a few years ago based on the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. It hit all its target, being very atmospheric, right to its source, even thought provoking, and all lacking Pit and the Pendulum platformer or Fall of the House of Usher first person shooter sections. In commercial terms, but, it was never going to be the next Tomb Raider.
Question: Have you permanently been a fan or horror and supernatural lore? When did this sort of thing first capture your imagination?
Jonathan L. Howard: Yes, I’ve permanently loved the grotesque and the macabre, right from an early age. I recall that I somehow saw Dana Andrews being chased around the woods by a fireball in Night of the Demon when I was about four or five, and being fascinated. I grew up on a diet of black and white Doctor Who, The Avengers, snatched glimpses of the first few minutes of Out of the Unknown episodes before being sent to bed, and any number of slightly disturbing imports like The Tinderbox and The Singing, Ringing Tree. I remember that I got a book for Christmas sometime in the very early seventies called Weirder Than People, which was basically a young person’s guide to Fortean phenomena, interspersed with tales like “The Yellow Monster of Sundra Strait,” and Poe’s “Metzengerstein.” I loved that book; I read it so many times that the take in fell off.
Question: What sort of research did you do for the book? Was there anything you came across in the process that really surprised you?
Jonathan L. Howard: I really did very small research for it; it was mostly lurking in my mind already. I can remember small necessary for day to day living, but if you question me the birth name of Dr. Crippen’s wife, I can tell you off the top of my head. I needed a bit of nomenclature for something or additional in the running of a carnival, which a librarian friend establish for me, but that was the only real piece of research for it. Even things like the Grand Conjuration to call together a demon—which is an authentic ritual, you may be horrified to hear—was in a book I already had. I have a large collection of books on assorted esoterica to the extent that my wife, a bibliophile herself, rolls her eyes and says, “Not more bloody books?” whenever I come home with a bookshop bag and a sheepish expression.
Question: There is a lot of red tape in your version of Hell. Did you hold an especially bureaucratic job somewhere before effective as a game designer?
Jonathan L. Howard: No, I’m very pleased to say. I remember as a child considering the inevitability of growing up and wondering what the worst thing about it would be. It all looked pretty excellent from that perspective: money, going to bed when you liked, being able to go into any certificate film, and so on. Finally, I spotted a terrible point, and that terrible point was having to fill in forms. And I was right. There’s just something about completing a form that fills me with dread in its consideration, and depression during its commission. Which reminds me; I have two to fill in this week. Oh, joy.
Question: Johannes is a bit of an anti-hero and his motivations are to some extent mysterious. Do you reflect that he’s misunderstood by persons around him?
Jonathan L. Howard: He’s certainly misunderstood, although if he were understood, it still wouldn’t make him well loved. The fact that he’s labeled a necromancer gives him a public relations problem, as the vast majority of them are power hungry lunatics. Cabal’s essential aim is to defeat death, and to have the ability to bring people back just as they were when they were alive, physically, mentally, and mentally. No lurking demonic possessions, no uncouth brain gobbling. His researches in that direction, but, have not been conducted in the most advantageous light.
Question: What’s next for you?
Jonathan L. Howard: I handed in the submission draft of the second Cabal novel Johannes Cabal the Detective just the additional week, so that will be going through the editorial process before long. I also have to choose what the next Cabal novel after that will be; I have a couple of thoughts so it’s a case of weighing pros and cons before building a choice. I have a couple of non-Cabal novels, one of which is concluded but needs a second draft, and the additional is about 80% done. I’d like to get them polished, and then see if we can get them into print.
(Photo © Emma L.B.K. Smith)
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After reading about this book I knew that is was either going to be really excellent or really terrible. Sorry to say, the results were disappointing. Here’s why:
- The writing is extremely forced; it is very obvious that Jonathan Howard is trying to make a style of prose that is humorous, intellectual and witty. That is exactly the problem- the reader should never be able to tell just how hard the leader is trying.
- So many pieces of dialogue, plot details and characters simply made me roll my eyes. A vampire brother that can conveniently go out into the sun in a hat and dark glasses. An hour glass that ticks down the year that Johannes has to turn one hundred souls over to Satan (they make sure to point out it can’t be reset by turning it over… please, did we reflect Satan would allow that loophole?). A demonic, possessed prize doll that can overpower an abuser. Not to mention the fact that there’s a carnival run by creatures Johannes has brought back to the dead. Any of these things could have passed and hilarious, if done the right way. As a replacement for they just appear cheesy.
- There’s absolutely, positively no depth in any of the characters. So many back tales and idiosyncrasies are alluded to, but are never developed.
- Lacking giving anything away, the ending is ridiculous. Let us not forget that Satan is ultimately evil. That’s the whole point he presides over hell.
I despise giving a novel a one. Writing and publishing a novel is extremely hard work and I respect persons that attempt it. I have no problem with novels that are written purely for fun or are satirical. This novel just falls fleeting in so many areas. Sorry to say, I cannot recommend this book.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
Cabal is another one of persons hard books to review. On the one hand it’s any appealing concept piece…where does an evil carnival come from (thank you Bradbury for the thought….Something Wicked This Way Comes)…but on the additional it lacks all the components of a compelling read.
First a small about the narrative. This is your basic quest narrative…a necromancer sets off to win his soul back from Satan by finding one hundred souls/people to damn in his place. The vehicle for this `damnation game’ (echoes of Barker here) is Bradbury’s wicked Carnival….or something very like it. Beyond this I won’t go so as not spoil the tale.
These are pretty rich fields to mine (quest plot, Wicked Carnival, and necromancy…not to mention the Faustian fundamentals) but Howard displays all the grace, eloquence, and perception of a retarded Simpson child…Cartman (see South Park) on a excellent day. His use of dialogue is flat, his characters one dimensional, his use of metaphor trite, his scenes clichéd drivel, his narratives weak. There minimal investigation of motivation, psychology, history, mythology, and all the components which would, could have, made this a compelling read. If I had not known this had been published by a Doubleday I would have thought this was one of the two month novels the self-publishing group like to brag about. [Not that I am opposed to self-publishing...just `some' of the people involved in this].
The essential thought for the book is brilliant and could have been a fantastic comic novel…if the leader was capable of humour. For a comic novel this was very much missing in humour….especially when compared with additional writers in this milieu…Fforde, Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Douglas Adams, etc. In the end, the reader is left with a sad affair that has moments of amusement but nothing consistent. Which is the greatest weakness of this book…inconsistency ~ style, character, direction, etc. Perhaps this is supposed to be the first in a series. Hope this isn’t the case….not worth the trees killed to print this on…nor the e-ink on my Kindle…nor my two days of reading time.
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK…IF YOU MUST READ THIS STEAL IT!!!
NOT RECOMMENDED.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
Jonathan Howard’s “Johannes Cabal the Necromancer” is one of the few books that has lived up to the hype on the take in and was a surprisingly enjoyable read.
No plot spoilers from me: The tale follows Johannes Cable, Necromancer, as he attempts to win his soul back from Satan. It seems that Johannes very shortsightedly sold his soul for the insights he needed into his chosen meadow of study, Necromancy, and now needs it back (but not for the reason you might assume). In the course of trying to win his soul back, Johannes assembles (sometimes factually) a collection of misfits to help in collecting 100 replacement souls.
Set in a slightly alternative reality where the supernatural is to some extent more common than in our reality. This tale is loaded with macabre humor, inside jokes for fans of the genre, and more than a few bizarre twists to keep the reader engaged.
This was an enjoyable book, with a very clear hook for a sequal (at least I hope). Highly recommended!
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
This book had incredible potential, but frankly, I didn’t delight in reading it. It has a fantastic gothic feel, but never seems consistent in which time period it takes place. It could easily be Victorian or modern. I was initially engaged by Johannes’ decent into Hell and his negotiation with Satan to buy 100 souls in one year in exchange for getting his soul back. Subsequently, I was intrigued by Horst, Johannes’ vampire brother who has been exiled to an abandoned tomb until Johannes releases him and enlists his help. But Howard never divulges Horst’s background and is scant on the brothers’ relationship, which is too terrible because Horst was the most appealing character and really could have been developed more. Johannes Cabal himself is completely unsympathetic until the last page, when his motives are revealed. The premise of the circus was (admittedly) very Something Wicked This Way Comes, but felt too contrived and I was never enthusiastic about it as a means of acquiring souls.
Overall, it was a very stylized attempt at gothic humor and fiendish malevolence. I really wanted to like it, but I was on the fence because it really could have been developed into something richer and more meaningful (reflect Jonathan Weird & Mr. Norrell). As a replacement for, it felt like an insufficient attempt bordering on clever.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
This highly entertaining, droll version of the Faustian themes covers a wide scope of authorial talents. By turn wry, satirical, and, now and then, impressive, it has the flavour of ‘ancient’ Faust – lacking the flavour of the mystical or moral. Rather, Satan and the necromancer seem to be exaggerated business executives – and the ‘hellish’ more boredom with the banal than otherwise. The descriptions of hell, for example, make it seem a reasonably familiar spot.
I establish it reasonably a worthwhile and enjoyable gem of humorous literature.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5