Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

2 reviews

inkwellimps's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A very enjoyable read! Early in the book, I found myself wanting to compare it to what I remember of A Series of Unfortunate Events (although admittedly I haven't read that series in over a decade). I found myself quite endeared to Johannes Cabal and his brother. I began the book laughing at him and found myself empathizing with him at many points throughout the book. I will be reading the sequel.

For cons, I'm not sure if the ending (or the whole final arc, really) is satisfying to me or not. Also, the audiobook version has a reanimated corpse underling that sounds, to my ears at least, like Christopher Cazenove doing an impersonation of Rochester from the Jack Benny Show. I'm not sure if that's in poor taste or not.
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bebidocrimes's review

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

While I was hoping for a closer look at how necromancy works in this world, I really enjoyed the premise and characters. From a mortal perspective, it's chilling how far Cabal was willing to go with or without influence, but writing wise it felt cheeky, like the demons in Good Omens and it struck that balance well. The moral dilemma carried the weight it needed to, just to turn around and remind us that Hell is just constant menial paperwork. I want to read more about Cabal
(and his brother, RIP Horst I love you) and what he's doing with that lady in his basement.
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