Book review
Written by Jonathan L. Howard
Headline hardback / paperback
Release date Out now

Grave-robbing scientist Johannes Cabal makes a wager with the Devil: in one year he’ll get 100 individuals to hand over their souls or he’ll forfeit his own. To help Johannes on his way, the Devil gives him a travelling carnival…

Jonathan L. Howard’s debut novel is an amusing spin on the legend of Faust. Here, it’s the titular necromancer who makes a wager with the Devil, and the majority of the tale is taken up with Cabal’s travels from town to town, as he enchants punters with ghoulish sideshows in the hope of ensnaring their souls. For the most part, the morally bankrupt visitors are destined for Hell anyway. But is Johannes prepared to sacrifice true innocents in order to preserve his own soul?

Though some of the jokes fall flat and the narrative eventually runs out of steam, Howard’s novel has a trump card in its well-drawn protagonist. Rude, humourless, irascible and yet somehow endearing, Johannes Cabal is a genuinely compelling anti-hero rather than the caricature he so easily could have been. Surrounding Johannes is a host of intriguing supporting characters, including his far more reasonable brother Horst (who was previously turned into a vampire by Johannes) and a chatty, playful Satan who is attended to by minions of varying uselessness.

The finale is both surprising and oddly moving, making the upcoming sequel a welcome prospect. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 7/10
A light-hearted and mostly successful mix of Faust, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Frankenstein.