Johannes Cabal the Detective

By: Jonathan L. Howard

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Johannes Cabal, necromancer of some little infamy, returns in this riotously clever and terrifically twisted tale of murder and international intrigue.

In this genre-twisting novel, infamous necromancer Johannes Cabal, after beating the Devil and being reunited with his soul, leads us on another raucous journey in a little-known corner of the world. This time he’s on the run from the local government.

Stealing the identity of a minor bureaucrat, Cabal takes passage on the Princess Hortense, a passenger aeroship that is leaving the country. The deception seems perfect, and Cabal looks forward to a quiet trip and a clean escape, until he comes face-to-face with Leonie Barrow, an enemy from the old days who could blow his cover. But when a fellow passenger throws himself to his death, or at least that is how it appears, Cabal begins to investigate out of curiosity. His minor efforts result in a vicious attempt on his own life—and then the gloves come off.

Cabal and Leonie—the only woman to ever match wits with him—reluctantly team up to discover the murderer. Before they are done, there will be more narrow escapes, involving sword fighting and newfangled flying machines. There will be massive destruction, not to mention resurrected dead . . .

Steampunk meets the classic Sherlockian mystery in this rip-roaring adventure where anything could happen . . . and does.

©2010 Jonathan L. Howard (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"Johannes Cabal would kill me for saying this, but he's my favorite Zeppelin-hopping detective. The fellow has got all the charm of Bond and the smarts of Holmes -- without the pesky morality. Seriously though, don't tell Cabal I so much as mentioned his name." (Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising and the forthcoming Robopacolypse)

“Is there life beyond death? Definitely! That is, if Johannes Cabal is on your side…The mysteries of past and future--science fiction and the occult, Jules Verne and Robert Anton Wilson--are all wrapped up in Jonathan L. Howard's fast-paced escapade of esoteric adventure.” (Katherine Neville, New York Times bestselling author of The Eight and The Fire)

Can't get enough

A little confusing on the start, but when it comes together.....WOW. Love the author and the story. Gotta get started on the next book.

It's OK

Not that impressive as the first book, this one is just OK. The author tends to oversimplify the story and the bad guys are constantly acting like idiots allowing Cabal to make his last-minute escape. It would be OK if this just happened once in a while, but the entire book (and the life of Cabal) 100% depends on the idiotism of his opponents. This book has an aftertaste of a Hollywood movie and didn't live up to my expectations.

Still, I enjoyed some moments, but in my opinion, the first part is way superior.

Excellent!

I love the Cabal series & hope they keep coming. Robin Sachs delivers a great performance & captures the essence of the characters.

droll and enjoyable

I enjoyed this very much. The mystery is compelling, the narration is superb, and Johannes is...well...Johannes. He gets a few chinks in his armor and it's just enough to keep him human, barely. And yet he remains a sympathetic character you can't help but root for. There's a wonderful short story at the end of this novel, too. Just a warning- it could be considered a bit slow for those used to quick-paced action, but I absolutely love the use of language in this novel- it's part of its charm.

intellectually funny

i enjoy the wit and dry attitude of johannas cabal
the educated humor. he is a dark Colombo

A good time

The story is good, the characters are good. the only complaint I have is that the narrator could have stood to emphasize who was speaking through more inventive reading. other than that, it's a very fun, imaginative, maybe-not-so-accidental-steampunk romp, with just a hint of the darkest darkness.

Johannes Cabal makes more enimies

What did you love best about Johannes Cabal the Detective?

I liked the character of Leoni Barrow. A strong female character, who has a working relationship with the protagonist that does not devolve in to silly romance and kissy bits. She hates him but understands him as well. As for Cabal, he does not get rapey at any point in the book. This should go without saying even for an antihero but lot of fantasy writes use rape as a way to define an anti-hero.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Leoni Barrow

Have you listened to any of Robin Sachs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

As good as the others.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Johannes Cabal and the Princess Hortenz.

One of my new favorite series

I absolutely love the character Johannas Cabal!!
I love the situations we find him in and his demeanor during troubled times.
On to the next book!

U.S.S Mystery

Great book and all but I didn't care for the narrator. Well I knew something was off when I read the first book and jumped straight to this one and the narrator's voice has gotten deeper. He did a good job but it's not Cables voice that I know and love. It was pompous for Cable. Yes sophisticated, arrogant, and a smart alek but not pompous.

It's a good book that takes a back seat to the supernatural and discusses human nature, motives, and how Cable handles himself without taking the easy way out due to hiding his identity and a growing conscience.

Fantastic

Give it a listen, you’ll love it. I feel like the characters would fit nicely in the Discworld.