The Book Store

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is Dresden, for The Book Store.

I'm aware that it has indeed been awhile since there was any new activity on this blog, but I felt it was high time to change that. In this edition of The Book Store, I'll review one of my new favorites, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, by Johnathan L. Howard.

I myself am a huge fan of TV Tropes. Any Tropers who may be reading this, keep in mind that TV Tropes will ruin your life. But, I'm getting off topic. I found this book on one of my frequent Trope binges, and just from the title alone, thought it looked interesting. I was soon proved wrong. This book was not only interesting, it was enthralling. Set against the backdrop of a Steampunk world, the dry wit and fatalism of the eponymous character is especially entertaining. Every twist and turn of the plot had me reeling.

The story starts with our... protagonist... Cabal entering hell to have a chat with Satan. It's revealed rather early on that Cabal once sold his soul to the devil in return for understanding the secrets of Necromancy. However, he has come to realize that the fruits of his labors would be pointless without a soul to enjoy them with. Therefore, he has come to hell in order to strike a new bargain with the Father of Lies. Satan agrees to a wager: if Cabal can, with the assistance of several demonic helpers and powers, deliver one hundred freely-given souls to Satan within one year, he will win back his.

I loved this book. I even got the sequel, and plan to keep reading the series as long as Howard continues to write novels in it. The main character is a cold hearted, manipulative, and all-around emotionless and inhuman bastard, but he is written so cleverly and appealingly, that one cannot help but root for him to succeed. I would recommend any fan of Fantasy to pick up this book. Likewise, any fan of clever wit and sarcasm. Or any fan of the printed word. Basically, I'm telling you to go buy this book. Just... go buy it. Right now.

Final Score: 9.5/10 The only negative thing I can really say is that much of the cast, apart from the main character, seemed disposable, and a bit two dimensional. The superb dialogue and writing makes up for it, for sure, but you'll hard-pressed to remember the names behind the wit.