Celebrate!
Oh, reader, if you are unacquainted with Johannes Cabal you are in for a distinctively scrumptious literary treat. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer
is not only a consummate work of literature that will bring to mind
such luminaries as Wilkie Collins, Hugh Walpole, Arthur Machen and M.R.
James, but Jonathan L. Howard has created an unforgettable novel (and
series) that's actually loads of fun. Be prepared to smile, chuckle or
laugh-out-loud as you read each outrageous scene.
How does our
Brit author do it? As a way of answering this question along with
picking up (I hope) on the novel's elan, I'll employ the format of the
novel's chapter titles, such as IN WHICH CABAL PRACTICES HIS MAP-READING
AND MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE and IN WHICH CABAL APPLIES HIMSELF WITH
MIXED RESULTS. Here goes:
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR CREATES AN UNFORGETTABLE MAIN CHARACTER
On
the very first pages readers are introduced to Johannes Cabal by way of
the necromancer performing a ritual to summon a demon. “He drew a deep
breath and sighed, bored with the ritual.” The ritual works; Lucifuge
Rofocale appears and the narrator describes the demon ending with “He
had a fat anteater's tail, and a silly little Hercule Poirot moustache.
As is often the case with demons, Lucifuge looked like an anatomical
game of Consequences.”
With this short snip we're given an
example of narrative voice: acerbic, condescending and laced with black
humor, a voice sharing and reinforcing the world according to Johannes
Cabal. Indeed, it is this double dose of Cabal that sets the tone and
makes the novels and short-stories featuring the dashing necromancer so
incredibly distinctive.
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR (WITH THE HELP OF SATAN) PLACES CABAL IN A QUIZZICAL QUAGMIRE
To
gain the needed power as necromancer in order to overcome the
phenomenon of death, Cabal sold his soul to Satan. However, there's a
problem: not having a soul is preventing Cabal from conducting effective
research. Thus the necromancer must go to hell to retrieve what he so
desperately needs. Turns out, Satan is willing to strike a deal: he'll
return Cabal's soul if within one year Cabal persuades a hundred men and
women to sign over their souls to eternal damnation (forms provided; and
the signatures don't even have to be in blood).
Ridiculous! And
how exactly will Cabal go about securing those one hundred signatures?
With a twist of sadistic gallows humor (after all, he is Satan), Cabal
will be obliged to revive and operate a traveling carnival that he,
Satan, provides - 'Brown's Carnival. Doctor Brown of World Renown.'
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR CREATES A UNIQUE SETTING AND OUTLANDISH CHARACTERS
Cabal
inspects what he's been given: “It was the most astounding piece of
engineering he thought he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a few. A massive
locomotive that even here, dead and neglected, its firebox long cold,
demanded and received unthinking respect.”
If you take to
Steampunk, you're in luck - Jonathan L. Howard provides just enough 19th
century retrosteam and just enough rustic England to ground his tale
but, and here's the beauty, as readers we're provided space to engage
our imagination to fill in the gaps. Same thing goes for Johannes' one
year timeline/deadline. 
When
it comes to those beings charged to help run Cabal's carnival - what
characters! To take one example: "The circling rag swept in and flew a
complex weaving pattern over the surface of the body, and where it flew,
clothing appeared. Like ghastly toast, the skull popped up from the
neck and grinned maniacally in the way skulls do. Even when the skin
wrapped over it, it continued to grin at Cabal with immodest glee."
So
Bones came into the world and Bones confronts Cabal, "I could have been
a fine-lookin' man, guy. Instead of which, I'm nothin' but a bag of bones."
He fails to elicit Cabal's sympathy but quickly comprehends, as does
everyone else, Johannes Cabal is a necromancer with brass balls wrapped
in silk (my description - as a avid new fan, I simply can't help
myself).
Lastly, there's one additional character who joins
Johannes, a special someone who adds so, so much but I hesitate to be
more specific - not for me to insert a spoiler into the author's comic
yarn.
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR PUTS CABAL TO THE TEST
Having been
on the receiving end of a diabolical spell, Cabal must deal with a
garden world where time has stopped. How exactly Cabal solves the riddle
to extract himself from this noxious predicament requires the
necromancer to draw on all his faculties as acutely perceptive
scientist. Most impressive, Cabal!
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR SHIFTS FROM THIRD TO FIRST
One
chapter features Cabal's carnival from the point of view of Timothy
Chambers, a schoolboy who writes a short essay about his weekend
experience for his teacher, Miss Raine. You see, young Tim always wanted
to be a space pilot and what happened to him at the carnival
beginning with his encounter with a Mr. Bones brings a measure of alarm
to Miss Raine; in point of fact, she judges the lad a potential serial
killer, arsonist and cannibal. Really, Miss Raine? At a fun carnival?
How can this be?
IN WHICH THE AUTHOR ADDS A HELPING OF MELODRAMA
Will
Cabal actually hand over to Satan a pair of pure souls belonging to, in
turn, a desperate young mother and a beautiful devoted daughter? Is
Cabal capable of taking on the role of villain, becoming another Snidely
Whiplash or Simon Legree? Or, will Johannes Cabal outwit even the king
of the dark realm and have readers give him the ultimate high five?
I urge you to read this outstanding novel to find out. If you're like
me, you'll become a fan of the author and look forward to joining
necromancer Cabal on his future adventures. 
"Yes,
I'm a necromancer, technically a necromancer. But I'm not one of those
foolish people who take up residence in cemeteries so that they can
raise an army of the dead. Have you ever seen an army of the
dead? They're more expensive than a living one, and far less use. A
shambles; they march ten miles and their legs fall off."
British author Jonathan L. Howard
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