Johannes Cabal The Necromancer by Jonathan L Howard
The publicity information sent out a warning – in the style of Terry Pratchett. Yeah, right, Terry Prachett has lots of imitators, but no one can match his style. So when this book came in, it spent some time at the bottom of the reading pile. But inevitably it slowly rose to the top. I had had enough crime novels, enough fantasy and even a turgid historical epic and I needed something light. The Necromancer was chosen, and actually delivered what was promised.
Johannes Cabal is a man in trouble. He is a scientist working in an unusual field. He wants to raise the dead, not as zombies that slowly decay, but as living, breathing, healthy humanity in the prime of their life. That research is expensive, and as this book opens the reader discovers that Cabal has sold his soul to the devil. But in order to continue his research, he discovers he needs it back. The Devil offers Cabal a deal, one year to collect one hundred other promises and Cabal can get his back. The Devil is even happy to provide a convenient cover story while Cabal searches. For one year he can take charge of a diabolical carnival.
But our hero is just exactly that. He collects signatures on the Devil’s contract from whores, escaped convicts, bank managers, all different varieties of the damned. But 2 days before the time runs out, Cabal is still short 2 signatures. And the final town on the carnival’s tour is full of honest men and women.
In spite of my misgivings, I really liked the writing style. This could have been a dark and dreary morality tale, but instead it has lines like ‘Have you ever seen an army of the dead? They march for ten miles and then their legs fall off.’ This book very successfully maintains a sense of the absurd. And I must say I adored the character of Trubshaw. I hope he is there to greet me if I ever end up at the gates of Hell.
Humour is very difficult in writing. And everyone’s idea about funny writing is different, and very little writing will make me laugh, but I found Johannes Cabal amusing and more than a little entertaining.
