• The Fall of the House of Cabal

  • The Johannes Cabal Novels, Book 5
  • By: Jonathan L. Howard
  • Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
  • Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,101 ratings)

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The Fall of the House of Cabal  By  cover art

The Fall of the House of Cabal

By: Jonathan L. Howard
Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
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Publisher's summary

The fifth novel in the acclaimed cult favorite series starring Johannes Cabal, necromancer.

Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has come into possession of a vital clue that may lead him to his ultimate goal: a cure for death. The path is vague, however, and certainly treacherous as it takes him into strange territories that, quite literally, no one has ever seen before. The task is too dangerous to venture upon alone, so he must seek assistance - comrades for the coming travails.

Assisted - ably and otherwise - by his vampiric brother, Horst, and by the kindly accompaniment of a criminologist and a devil, they will encounter ruins and diableries, mystery and murder, the depths of the lowest pit, and a city of horrors - London, to be exact.

Yet even though Cabal has risked such peril believing he understands the dangers he faces, he is still underestimating them. He is walking into a trap of such arcane complexity that even the one who drew him there has no idea of its true terrors. As it closes slowly and subtly around them, it may be that there will be no survivors at all.

©2016 Jonathan L. Howard (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc., and Skyboat Media, Inc.

What listeners say about The Fall of the House of Cabal

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One selfish plea

Let this not be the end. Mr. Howard has said he's not sure if the Cabal series will continue. This would be a wonderful and satisfying ending but dammit I want more!

I fell in love with Cabal with the first book and have been loyal ever since. I assure you I am not that guy. Though I love the genre I find most fantasy books tedious. I don't get wrapped up in characters and frankly I find short and good much preferable to long and tedious. Yet I want more.

It helps that Mr. Howard is a master of the language. He has a vocabulary that puts many to shame and knows how to use it. He is never short of a clever and impactful turn of phrase.

And I so enjoy a loveable bastard which Cabal epitomizes to the highest degree.

So get them all. As a bonus, the audio versions of all the books are amazingly well read.

So thus falls the House of Cabal. And here's to hoping for a rebuild.

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Funny, Morbid, Horrific and Entertaining

I began listening to the Johannes Cabal, neuromancer, novels a few years ago and unusually for me, I ended up listening to them in order. While I think that with the assistance of the author's voice at times, this works as a stand alone novel.

Johannes Cabal's much loved wife has been dead but preserved by his necromantic arts since before the first book. He has been seeking through the entire series something that would allow him to bring her back to life. Now he thinks he has found a solution and takes off accompanied by his brother, Horst, a gentlemanly vampire that Cabal had wronged early on; the devil succubus Zarenyia, part woman and part spider with whom Cabal had earlier made a pact; a criminologist who Johannes met in the first novel, when he and Horst were running a traveling carnival and a witch.

I stayed up late to finish this occasionally startling the dog and cats by laughing out loud as the story spins on to its satisfying end. I have my fingers crossed that this will not be the last I see of these characters.

Narrator is Nicholas Guy Smith who has narrated most of the Johannes Cabal books and short stories and he, as alwaysl, does a stand out job.

I don't give a full five stars frequently but this book deserves it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful characters and writing.

This series has been one of my favorites.. The author is a very good writer, has created complex and interesting characters and is often very funny. Highly recommend this series and this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Cabal Is The Best !

If you could sum up The Fall of the House of Cabal in three words, what would they be?

Adventure, Comedy,Smart

Who was your favorite character and why?

Johannes has always been someone I can relate to and also would want to be.

Which scene was your favorite?

Zarenia and her commentary by the machine gun nest.

Who was the most memorable character of The Fall of the House of Cabal and why?

Cabal is the main character and he stands out as he is an utter bastard but his verdammt soul makes him into a decent guy by accident.

Any additional comments?

Johannes Cabal never disappoints he is a great well rounded character and the story reads well. I have loved all the books I read including the short stories. I hope there is more to come as I am saddened now that no other series will compare....

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

That is not a suitable conclusion.

Positives First.

Nicholas Guy Smith brings a unique cast of characters to life with every line of dialogue, the protagonists and sole antagonist alike. His delivery of the prose also wins the day. I look forward to enjoying his narration in future stories.

Now for the negatives and hard truths. (Spoilers by implication)

The story, however, is another matter. It is enjoyable, however, it is not satisfying. Johannes Cabal starts the series with a goal. We follow him for five books where that goal is being pursued, or at least in the back of his mind, and here we see him get closer than ever before, but it still doesn't happen! That may be true to life but if the character is written as determined to keep going then the author must be as well. The journey of Johannes Cabal is most certainly not over, not according to the character and not according to the threads laid down by the author. Calling this a conclusion is like calling a half baked cake done. If Jonathan L Howard writes another book I will read and or listen to it gladly, if he calls it done then the entire series is not worth it.


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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

both author and narrator are amazing can't wait for the next one to come out

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    5 out of 5 stars
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wonderful!

I wish there were more. I have listened to this at least 4 times and it still delights.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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More Please!

I will be lost without my Escape into the world of the Cabal brothers. More, if you please!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I need more Cabal

A great book that is a great addition to a great series. You will not regret this one!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it despite the rough spots

This book was ace, and I really enjoyed it despite the fact that it clearly skimped a few edits and re-takes. The text has occasional gaps ("started by her startling innocence") and the narrator has quite a lot of odd choices of word emphasis.
That aside, the increasing humanity of Johannes Cabal makes it increasingly difficult to keep the oddball flavour of these books going.
Still, recommended.

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