Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

I was smitten by the first scene: (tiny irrelevant spoiler ahead) “Lo!" cried the demon. "I am here! What dost thou seek of me? Why dost thou disturb my repose? Smite me no more with that dread rod!" He looked at Cabal. "Where's your dread rod?" "I left it at home," replied Cabal. "Didn't think I really needed it." "You can't summon me without a dread rod!" said Lucifuge, appalled. "You're here, aren't you?" "Well, yes, but under false pretences. You haven't got a goatskin or two vervain crowns or two candles of virgin wax made by a virgin girl and duly blessed. Have you got the stone called Ematille?" "I don't even know what Ematille is." Neither did the demon. He dropped the subject and moved on. "Four nails from the coffin of a dead child?" "Don't be fatuous." "Half a bottle of brandy?" "I don't drink brandy." "It's not for you." "I have a hip flask," said Cabal, and threw it to him. The demon caught it and took a dram. "Cheers," said Lucifuge, and threw it back. They regarded each other for a long moment. "This really is a shambles," the demon added finally. "What did you summon me for, anyway?” If somebody had told me earlier that Johannes Cabal is the amoral embodiment of sarcasm on earth, I'd picked up The Necromancer immediately! I adore the witticism and sharp mind of our MC and his brother Horst Cabal. Despite being the unfortunate bearer of one of the ugliest german names, Horst is the moral compass and handsome eyecandy in the story. Johannes, despite being a very inteligent man and deep down a sensible soul, made the classical wager with the Devil: A soul in exchange for necromancer skills. Being not pleased with Satans meddling in his research, Johannes marches into hell, calls the deal off and demands his soul back. Satan being Satan twists the situation into a new wager: Hundred souls in exchange for one. Johannes gets a year and a shabby carnival train to help him collect the souls. Being a proper scientist Johannes is lousy at everything that has to do with the living. His brother Horst is the key to success. Despite the bad blood between them, Horst takes the deal and together they start their journey with the Undead Carnival hunting for souls. Until things start to go wrong. And it's not always Satans doing. The story is character driven. We follow Johannes' moral escapades through the towns and villages his creepy carnival stops in. I loved the delightfully evil characters, the dark atmosphere of the carnival with it's creepy stuffed toys and undead denizens. The pinch of supernatural is just right. The classic theme of the Faustian pact and the amusing character of Satan reminded me of the series Supernatural with it's light urban take on it. It's bit of an adventure story with detective elements and a devilish cast of characters and a bit of self-discovery for both Cabal brothers. "Yes, you'd sold your soul and I'd become a monster, but, apart from that, it would be just like old times." "And now you're saying you were wrong?" "Now I was saying I was half wrong. I was wrong about which of us had become the monster." All this is crowned with, the dryest, dark british humour that makes this book such a gemstone! Can't wait to pick up the next book in the series~