"A charmingly gothic, fiendishly funny Faustian tale about a brilliant scientist who makes a deal with the Devil, twice."
This book is a riot. I picked it up off the shelf at the library on a whim because the cover looked intriguing. I read the back, was hooked by the relation to Faust, and took it home with me.
I took this book with me to the beach, and while I did enjoy it, that wasn't the best place to read it. I like easy reads for the beach, and this book was full of witty commentary, and fairly complex plot lines. The writer was able to take a horrible character and make him relatable. I found myself cheering him on as he embarked on his quest to find 100 souls to damn.
The story begins with Cabal lamenting his misfortune of not having a soul. He traded his soul to Satan for the ability to practice magic and raise corpses from the dead. He has a fascination with the human body and wanted to learn everything he possibly could, but he found there was a problem. So, he sets out to trade his soul back and strike a second deal with Satan.
Her is an excerpt that illustrates the humor: (Cabal has just summoned Satan, to make a second deal.)
“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?”
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes to chuckle along the way. I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone who feels weird about sympathizing with a villain. I really enjoyed this book, and would rate it about a 6/10. Better than average, but I'm not sure I would read it again.
Read on!
H.
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