The Death of Me

Johannes Cabal #3.2

by Jonathan L. Howard

Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has this much in common with Emily Dickinson; because he could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for him. Well, perhaps not that kindly.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Horror, Fiction, Steampunk, Humor, Supernatural

32 pages, Unknown Binding

First published September 10, 2013

About the author

Jonathan L Howard is a game designer, scriptwriter, and a veteran of the computer games industry since the early 1990s, with titles such as the 'Broken Sword' series to his credit.

After publishing two short stories featuring Johannes Cabal (Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day and Exeunt Demon King) in H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer was published in 2009 as his first novel.

Since then there have been three sequels, with a fourth due in 2016. He has also written two novels in the YA SF "Russalka Chronicles" series, and the ongoing "Goon Squad" serial of superhero stories. October 2015 will see the publication of "Carter & Lovecraft," the first in a new series of novels.

He lives with his wife and daughter near Bristol.

http://www.jonathanlhoward.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/JonathanLHoward
http://jonathanlhoward.livejournal.com/

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johannes needs to run to town and pick up a few things, only in his case it doesn't come close to a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. This is a fuller story, more developed, with the acerbic tone that so characterizes the series.

"Walking helped him to think and, today, he was thinking what an unpleasant day it was to be walking... Cabal regarded sweating as one of Nature's more subtle revenges upon humanity and its pretensions to Prime Species."

In the traditions of many a Grimm fairy tale, he meets a black coach drawn by black horses, a mysterious and beautiful woman inside.

"They looked at each other for a long moment, she in her widow's weeds, he in his disgruntlement."

It is dark tale, giving some background to Cabal's environment and showcasing his immoral side, so recently found in "Johannes Cabal the Necromancer." Mood is well developed. I don't suggest it if you are looking for a charming protagonist, but it's a rather interesting little challenge.

Three and a half fairies stars.

Read it at Tor: http://www.tor.com/2013/09/10/the-dea...

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 3 out of 5]

💀 Let's Bring the Dead Back from the Dead Again Buddy Reread (LBtDBftDABR™) with the MacHalo Necromaniacs 💀

➽ And the moral of this reread is: my second time reading this Jojo story and the Despicable 3-Star Rating of Doom (D3SRoD™) remains? It just HAS to be the silly fae, there is NO other plausible explanation.



Right. It's official then, mystery solved and stuff.

👋 To be continued and stuff.



[May 2019]

No bloody fishing wonder this is my least favorite Jojo Cabal Necromancing Adventure (JCNA™) so far! It's about the bloody shrimping silly fay/fey/fae/fair folk/whatever! And it is a truth universally acknowledged that the silly fay/fey/fae/fair folk/whatever ever-so-slightly tend to awaken the homicidal maniac in me and stuff!



No, I'm not usually that green. Must be something I ate and stuff.

Need I say more? Didn't think so. But. Just in case: QED and stuff. Ha.

💌 A very private message to my Necromancing Boyfriend: worry not, my Jojo, for let the silly fay/fey/fae/fair folk/whatever come between us I shall never, and 💕lurves💕 you to death and back I shall forever and always and stuff.



· Book 0.5: Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day ★★★★★
· Book 0.75: Exeunt Demon King ★★★★
· Book 1: The Necromancer ★★★★★
· Book 2: The Detective ★★★★★
· Book 2.5: The Ereshkigal Working ★★★★★
· Book 3: The Fear Institute ★★★★★
· Book 3.1: The House of Gears ★★★★
· Book 3.3: Ouroboros Ouzo ★★★★
· Book 4: The Brothers Cabal ★★★★
· Book 5: The Fall of the House of Cabal ★★★★★

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

because he could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for him.
Well, perhaps not that kindly.

For some reason I'm picturing The Woman in the Black Carriage as Jessica Chastain.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this great, short story Johannes Cabal experiences a very unusual (even by his standards) day. He has to go to the town and there are three reasons he hates the place (all valid): the people are petty in their fear, the place itself is loathsome and there is what other people might call paranoia but a necromancer knows better.
Then he meets the woman of his own.

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not entirely necessary to read the others, it can be a standalone, but I highly recommend at minimum reading the first. Trust me you will be hooked!

This short story (Kindle version) actually contained a long sample of "The Fear Institute." So if you want to try out the waters for only .99, it's a good deal.

In this tale, Johannes, makes a visit to town, to see a "supplier" who provides him "specialty" items for his research. On the way, he comes upon a black coach, driven by black horses by a coachman wearing all black. He has no choice but to meet with the carriage rider inside who does more than remind Johannes of his mortality.

Content concerns: Blood, violence

[Melora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even a very slight Johannes Cabal story is entertaining.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was fun! Loved the book he chose to read.

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 5 out of 5]

MacHalo Buddy Read

Another "absolute favorite" in Cabal's novellas.

This novella keeps true to Cabal's persona. It also reference back to the first book, which I base Cabal's persona on. Makes sense, eh?

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cabal runs afoul of the fae and has a near death experience, somewhere short of his previous full death experience.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Johannes Cabal, but this story was just not him at his best. Sure, it was very interesting, full of danger and that odd sense of humor which seems to permeate from all the books, but at the same time, it was just a bit lackluster. Perhaps, if it were just a tiny bit longer, providing more space to flesh out the characters and the plot, it could have been just a tiniest bit better. So, as it was, I enjoyed it, but it certainly was not the greatest Johannes Cabal story I've read to date.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, (as I usually am in reviews, but for some reason I tend to use that phrase in them,) I think that the biggest reason that this doesn't get five stars is because it was a novelette, and I wanted a full book. I do like the fact that there is not time wasted, but I also just wanted more.
With all of this series, I tend to have more things that I can praise than criticize, and I usually don't know where to start. That's the case here. I love the little references, the bits of German, the villain protagonist...too much to mention. I also love the sort of fairy tale-esque way that Howard writes. It's a good foil to the darkness of the plot/character; it adds to the snarky feel of the whole thing.
Another reviewer said that this is like an appetizer that only makes you hungrier for the real thing, and I absolutely agree. If I was jonesing for the next book thirty minutes ago, I am positively dying for it right now.

[Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was like one of those passed appetizers you get a fancy weddings: they're tasty, but they don't fill you up and they just leave you wanting more. And you can never find the girl with the mini-quiches but the guy with the terrible hummus things, he's always right behind you when you turn around... and my metaphor fell apart just now.

Basically: I want another Johannes Cabal book. I want it now. Now now now.

[Tzurky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not great. The threat seemed very subdued.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

.. In which Cabal is rather less interesting than usual.

meh, I'm a huge fan of Johannes Cabal and have thoroughly enjoyed the other series books short stories I've read, but this one didn't stand out as particularly clever or even all that interesting. Luckily it was quite short. The reader, as always is VERY good though. I'm not sorry I read it, but it doesn't seem like the sort of book that warrants a re-read (unlike the other Cabal books which I think I could read over and over and never get bored).

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore all the Johannes Cabal stories, no matter how long or short they may be, but what I love most about this one is the ending. There is nothing I adore as much as references to my other fandoms in the stories I'm reading. Well done, Mister.

[Sara J. (kefuwa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yup. Cabal books are going in my to-read list.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good one, Mr. Howard. A bit more somber than I expected, but.... still good.
Read The Death of Me at tor.com

[Carson Guillory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lost it at this. "When Cabal had read Peter Pan as a boy, he had fuond himself thinking, 'Yes, I do believe in fairies. But I still want you to die.'"

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to see that even the great Johannes Cabal isn't infallible. The mood is right, the pacing is good and all in all it's a fun read.

[Maria Lampa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars in a Cabal story? Inconceivable! A tragedy of the purest form.
In all honesty, it's still a pretty good rating. And it involves the fae, something that in my audiobook listening of these short stories was a bit lost on me. It seems to me that these days the fae are recurring characters in my reading endeavours.

So the fae and Johannes Cabal. I enjoy a good "day in the life of Johannes", probably more than the next person, even -or rather, especially if - it goes horribly wrong when he encounters Lady Death. At least, all fingers, thumbs and lifeline-less palms point at this.

Something else that was lost on my first read is the parallels between Johannes Cabal and Sherlock Holmes. Even though they should have been quite obvious. But I digress, as far as I am concerned I am not the one with the exceptional deduction skills.

The minus 1 star rating is probably for the humor : story ratio. It's lower than usual for my standards. And because, frankly, I am bitter. There are only a few Cabal stories around the block and I expect every one of them to be mind-blowingly amazing. Alas, no brains were blown with this one. Well, unless you count poor Jones, that is.

[Metagion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story but it was too short for me (if only some stories *had* that problem! LOL)

Mr. Cabal is a necromancer that works alone (as such doesn't lend itself to polite company; after all, how would you go about telling folks what you do for a living without them recoiling in horror or getting the pitchforks and torches?) and as he's making his way home from the store in which he does his "business" (although we aren't told what he needs his "supplies" for) when he is accosted by a lady in a black carriage driven by two solid black horses and a stagecoach driver (again, in solid black) and made to enter the carriage. He is told that he doesn't have a Death (Life) line on his hand, and, having cheated death once before, cannot be expected to cheat it a second time...Can he, though? Read and find out! I really liked it, and the story is a *very* fast read (about 80, 85 pages?) so it can be done fast. Enjoy!

[Skuli Saeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seiðkarlinn Johannes Cabal lendir óvæntum erfiðleikum þegar Dauðinn stoppar fyrir honum og leikur sér dálítið með hann. Óvænt reynsla fyrir Cabal sem sérhæfir sig í uppvakningum og dauðagöldrum. Kaldhæðinn og yfirlætislegur húmor Howard er oft á tíðum fersk tilbreyting frá stílbrögðum annarra rithöfunda.

[David Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Johannes Cabal short. I like best the ones, like this, that give us a taste of his inner world.

“It has been planned for a long time. You should be flattered, Cabal. Both the Seelie and the Unseelie Courts cooperated in this. It takes a great deal to make them sit down together.”

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this because the .99 price was inarguable. However, turns out I had listened to the tale as part of one of the Cabal audible editions, so it turned out to be a second read. It was certainly worth it, as I love the dark dry humor evident throughout the series. Well done, and not disappointed in the least for spending .99 I didn't need to spend.

[Alvaro Tejada Galindo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice although pretty short story. And it's includes an excerpt from Johannes Cabal and the Fear Institute -:)

The story itself is obviously pretty good...but then again short...but still it really helps to keep constructing the Cabal universe...

[minz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book and one other on Kindle and was disappointed to find that I had already read it (probably in a book of shorts).
I love cabal and wish he would do more so he gets 3 stars for getting my hopes up and dashing them to pieces!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a strange day JC has a flirtation with Death in a black carriage. When it comes to crimes against the Fae, perhaps JC should take them more seriously than he is wont to do. (The Fae) "are all twinkle dust in their trousers." Famous last (perhaps) words. As always, JC is a riot.

[Megan Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this short tale Johannes Cabal meets his match, in a woman I hope to see more of in future book.

[Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like a 4 star rating is a given for any Johannes Cabal story. This, even if it's short, is no exception. I enjoyed it.

[Christopher Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comparable Holmesian story feels right at home within Howard's universe.