I finished my favorite book of the upcoming span last night: Johannes Cabal The Necromancer. It carries much of the same spirit and British Wit that was present in Marci-blessed and Pearl-blessed first novel The Gone Away World. This is another novel that just has a way with words. The title character is one of my favorites ever, a smart, stubborn, bespectacled font of hilarious nastiness. A good man at his foundation, he’s made a wager with the devil in attempt to get his soul back so that he can continue his Frankensteinian endeavors. Now he finds himself running a soul-collecting carnival with a staff of goofy undead and his vampire-esque brother, Horst. He’s at his funniest when semi-peeved:
“I’m not holding a soiree either. You have a problem with sarcasm, don’t you? Now do you have anything else fascinating to impart or can I kick your wrinkly little carcass down the embankment as I so dearly wish?”
This book is GREAT for lots of laughs. I wanted Johannes to be real and be my best friend so I could just follow him around and watch him interact with people (and demons, and zombies, and ghosts, etc.) Be sure you don’t miss this debut!
-David