The UrbanWire

By Bibek Gurung

Imagine reading about a demonic circus, about a necromancer who commands the dead, about his quest to reclaim his soul from the Devil… and yawning. Such is the effect that Jonathan Howard has achieved with Johannes Cabal the Necromancer.

The premise of the story had a lot of potential. The story’s protagonist, Johannes Cabal, is a necromancer. Necromancers can raise the dead and liaise with demons from Hell. This dominion over the dead came at a price however: Cabal’s soul, which became the property of the Devil.

Pretty soon, Cabal starts having buyer’s remorse and wants his soul back. The Devil agrees, in exchange for 100 other souls. Cabal has to lure in victims as the ringmaster of a demonic circus with his estranged brother Horst.

The book’s biggest flaw is the lack of freshness. Howard tries to straddle the line between dark fantasy and comic whimsy, but is not as successful as many other writers who had better results with it. An example is Terry Pratchett’s Eric, which explored Faustian archetype in comedic form back in the 90’s.

Also, in this book, Howard depicts hell as a particularly diabolical (pun intended) bureaucracy, where souls have to wait in line for literally centuries. I did find this mildly amusing, however it is nothing new in the comic fantasy genre. For a more original take on Hell-as-bureaucracy, read Tom Holt’s JW Wells series.

The book does have its strengths. The relationship between Cabal and his brother was quite engaging, which involves a conflict I shall not spoil here (hint: vampires). Unfortunately Howard does not spend as much time on this sub-plot as he should have.

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer can be entertaining for those uninitiated in comic fantasy. And despite the book’s flaws, Johannes Cabal’s character has promise. Perhaps we shall see more in the sequel.

The UrbanWire gives it 3/5 stars.

Title: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

Author: Jonathan L. Howard

Genre: Comic fantasy (fiction)

Publisher: Headline

Book courtesy of Penguin Books Singapore.

By Dhevarajan Devadas

18 years ago, 15-year-old Norma Jean Judd disappeared under unexplained circumstances. Now, her twin brother Bryan Judd is found dead in a hospital incinerator- and it is not accidental.

Over time, rookie Detective Peter Shaw and his more experienced partner Sergeant George Valentine establish that Bryan was no upright citizen and the mystery of his death deepens as the duo chase down possible links to his sister’s disappearance, encounter bodies dumped in a harbour and endure a suspicious power outage. Tension builds as the circle of suspects narrows down to Bryan’s friends and family.

The book is filled with well-placed plot twists and turns that keep the suspense without derailing the story into a confusing tangle. The main characters are properly fleshed out and the solid writing keeps the narrative flowing smoothly.

A sub-plot explores Shaw’s relationship with Valentine, who once worked with Shaw’s father until a disastrous murder case ended the elder Shaw’s career while Valentine was demoted, under suspicion of trying to create evidence to ‘prove’ their case. Shaw and Valentine are still trying to find fresh evidence and get the case reopened, so they can clear the names of the detectives involved.

But some parts of the plot seem a tad implausible with Shaw and Valentine getting lucky once too often. The minor characters also seem somewhat unpleasant and the reader would rather ignore them completely in favour of concentrating wholly on Shaw and Valentine.

Jim Kelly, in his second book on the detective duo, has once again displayed his prowess in penning crime novels that keep the reader glued to the pages till the criminal is caught and justice achieved. The British author, who won the British Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger in the Library award in 2006 “for giving the most pleasure to readers”, is truly a master of his craft and his latest offering is a treat to all devotees of crime novels.

Title: Death Watch

Author: Jim Kelly

Genre: Crime (Fiction)

Rating 4/5
Book courtesy of Penguin Books Singapore.

By Amala Kannan

‘The Silver Bear’, meaning “great assassin” in Russia, is told in the first-person perspective by professional assassin Columbus.

He is cold, and does not care if his targets deserve to die or not. The jobs arrive from his handler, following which he spends a few weeks hunting down the target, and then completing the job – no emotions, no humanity, and no second thoughts involved.

The crux of the plot involves the assassination of Abe Mann, speaker of the House of Representatives and congressman from New York. Columbus knows the man behind the social status from past research. He knows of the corruption and the dirty linen of Mann. He knows because this target is his father.

His transition from mild-mannered child to great assassin is interspersed with flashbacks from the past, portraying Columbus as a teenager, a lover, and a rookie assassin.

Haas has managed to capture this essence of a thriller novel in just 215 pages, because of his experience in screenplays.

He was the co-writer of action screenplays 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted. He does the book justice, captivating and sustaining the reader’s interest throughout the novel.

Books do not have to be thick as long as the action is.

Haas has not left this novella hanging, and has another sequel appropriately titled ‘Columbus’.

The UrbanWire gives it a rating of 3/5.

Title: The Silver Bear

Author: Derek Haas

Genre: Thriller (fiction)

Publisher: Jove Books, New York

Price: $17.12

Available in: Kinokuniya & Times Bookstores

Book courtesy of Penguin Books Singapore.