Author: Jonathan L. Howard
Genre: Fantasy, Humor
Publishing year: 2009
Johannes Cabal has never pretended to be a hero of any kind. There is, after all, little heroic about robbing graves, stealing occult volumes, and being on middling terms with demons.
His purpose, however, is noble. His researches are all directed to raising the dead. Not as monstrosities but as people, just as they were when they lived: physically, mentally, and spiritually. For such a prize, some sacrifices are necessary. One such sacrifice was his own soul, but he now sees that was a mistake – it’s not just that he needs it for his research to have validity, but now he realises he needs it to be himself.
Unfortunately, his soul now rests within the festering bureaucracy of Hell. Satan may be cruel and capricious but, most dangerously, he is bored. It is Cabal’s unhappy lot to provide him with amusement.
In short, a wager: in return for his own soul, Cabal must gather one hundred others. Placed in control of a diabolical carnival – created to tempt to contentiousness, to blasphemy, argumentation and murder, but one that may also win coconuts – and armed only with his intelligence, a very large handgun, and a total absence of whimsy, Cabal has one year.
I found myself picking up this novel by mere acciden. Left with nothing else to read while I was waiting for my car to be fixed, I “stole” this off a shelf. I can’t say I was expecting anything more than a few pages of entertainment before I would cast it aside for something better. As with other emergent authors, such as Scott Lynch (The lies of Locke Lamora) or Mark Hodder (The strange affair of Spring-heeled Jack), that proved far more difficult than I would’ve imagined, seeing as I was confronted with sharp wit, subtle dry humor, an unambiguously morally bankrupt protagonist and a sharp turn of the phrase.
Well, color me surprised…
Johannes Cabal, our necromancer, is as far removed from the general mold of novel heroes as you would be likely to find. His morals are all but absent, his wit is sharp and poignant, and the way he conducts himself makes loving him an almost instant act. This is not someone who would pull a rabbit out of a hat at the end and prove to be uncharacteristically just and heroic…no, kind reader, this is a character that would shoot on sight and never bother with the implications, as long as his purpose is served.
In a way, Johannes is incredibly refreshing as a maniacal character. His quest for getting his soul back only cements his nature, the author playing an apt game of smoke and mirrors in everything regarding his own character’s evolution and development.
And the plot offers ample opportunity for Cabal to shine.
Halfway through the book I found myself slightly tired, after an extended reading session. It wasn’t that the book was failing to keep my interest; it was just how it presented the sequence of events, almost ruthlessly going from one scene to another, without a moment to allow the character –and the reader- to take everything in. And then, Jonathan L. Howard proves he has writing chops: he devotes an entire chapter to a well deserved break, to fleshing out the world that Johannes inhabits and his own character, allowing us a much desired glimpse into the core of this very flawed, very enigmatic necromancer.
And such breaks appear again, mixing up the flow of the narrative and offering us a very good view into the heart of the Carnival, front row seats to the madness and, to my surprise, the methodology of the whole thing.
This is a tightly constructed, tightly held together book. The characters offer surprises –few, but they are there –, the story is held together marvelously and ties up nicely and the rules, and I stress this, the rules never go amiss. There is a lot of restraint shown here as things are worked into shapes, plot points are driven home and Cabal is at the center, cane in hand, scalpel ready at the moment to slice and dice – metaphorically speaking, of course -.
The Necromancer is a wonderful start to a series, offering enough to keep you entertained and amazed, just like the Carnival itself. But peer too deeply into the darkest recesses and you may catch a glimpse of the monsters that lurk there, of men and demons alike, ready to pounce on any fear you may secretly harbor. This is not a work for those that require a morally just character, nor is it one for the pure sadist of heart as there is little blood here and little horror for those seeking easy thrills, easily stomached gore and everything as childish as that.
The Necromancer is a book for those willing to accept a few flaws and embrace a dark protagonist in his quest not for redemption of his soul, but mere ownership.
There is room for growth here and there is talent to fuel said growth. Give it a try if you like your humor dry, you story tight and your characters intelligent.
