My Rating: 
Author: Jonathan L. Howard
Narrator: Christopher Cazenove
Publisher: Random House Audios
My Review:
Story: Johannes Cabal The Necromancer is a page turning, dark, comic fantasy told from the point of view of one necromancer sans a soul. The story begins as Cabal summons a demon and is transported to hell where he forces his way through to see “The Man”. Cabal is there to request the return of his soul which was previously bartered away to Satan. Surprisingly, Cabal finds Satan in a fairly agreeable mood. Cabal convinces Satan to bargain with him. The deal? Cabal has to collect 100 souls within one year in order to reclaim his own. So begins Cabals quest.
I had a great time listening to this book. The characters were dark, deep and mysterious with perfect comedic timing. Howard did an excellent job “fleshing out” each character with sinister wit. The dark humor displayed by Cabal and the carnival crew was probably my favorite part of the book.
That being said there were a few areas that were disappointing.
With the help of Satan’s Carnival the bulk of the 100 souls needed seemed to just collect themselves. There really wasn’t much drama associated with the monumental task until the end. At one point, Cabal even charted the status of his collection and was comfortable that he would finish with several weeks to spare. Of course, shortly after that chart was created Cabal suffered a few set backs but nothing that truly threatened the completion of his task.
I also expected some drama from the amount of Satan’s blood that was provided to Cabal for invoking demons. I assumed that at some point this allowance would dry up and cause Cabal some problems but it never seemed to be much of an issue.
My last complaint is that the environment seemed to just be a mashup of villages, farms, graveyards and train stations. The characters were masterfully developed but the world in which they lived was not.
Audio Production: Christopher Cazenove was excellent. I’m eager to listen to more of his work.
Overall: I found the story to be a very entertaining twist on the Faustian legend. Howard’s depiction of Cabal’s antics made me laugh out loud on several occasions. Just imagine the audacity it must take to stroll into hell and start making demands and pulling practical jokes on demons.
I would have preferred a little more of a revelation at the end of the book to completely explain Cabals motivation to become a Necromancer but the reader is given just enough to make them think. Maybe we will learn more in the sequel?
