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murdrean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dott's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
stepriot's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed the ending. I found it very sweet. Yes, Johannes may have lost the thing he thought he was spending his life working for, but he is starting to realize he's enriched the lives of several others along the way. While he may have to grieve for a loss, he'll find he is no longer alone and he's far from a failure. And who knows, maybe in time he'll even realize he's had a crush on a living lady for years, though he'll likely be at least 40 before that revelation occurs.
For a series that started out glib and amusing I've found the ending endearing and powerful. I appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed the transition. If the series truly ends here I will be satisfied, but if it continues I'll be eager to see how Johannes grows.
Also, given the massive amount of Lovecraft references throughout the first book, and Johannes being a necromancer, his connection to Nyarlathotep should have been obvious. The fact that it wasn't, at least to me, makes me love and respect Howard even more as an author. This is one of the best representations of The Crawling Chaos I've ever come across. Howard tells us repeatedly that Necromancers must sell their souls to Satan to get anywhere, while reminding us that Cthulhu is a thing. And yet somehow I missed him screaming, "Every necromancer in Lovecraft is tied to who? Class? Anyone?!" Resulting in my "ooooooh! Duh!" moment. Very well done.
For a series that started out glib and amusing I've found the ending endearing and powerful. I appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed the transition. If the series truly ends here I will be satisfied, but if it continues I'll be eager to see how Johannes grows.
Also, given the massive amount of Lovecraft references throughout the first book, and Johannes being a necromancer, his connection to Nyarlathotep should have been obvious. The fact that it wasn't, at least to me, makes me love and respect Howard even more as an author. This is one of the best representations of The Crawling Chaos I've ever come across. Howard tells us repeatedly that Necromancers must sell their souls to Satan to get anywhere, while reminding us that Cthulhu is a thing. And yet somehow I missed him screaming, "Every necromancer in Lovecraft is tied to who? Class? Anyone?!" Resulting in my "ooooooh! Duh!" moment. Very well done.
anxious_undertaker's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
grayjay's review against another edition
4.0
A great conclusion to the series, Cabal and four companions face off against the Red Queen in an ancient ritual to find the fountain of youth, and several old enemies return at various stages to attempt to thwart them.
It was, like all these books, full of dry humor, and alternating periods of excitement and boredom.
I was delighted by the hilarious Zarenyia, a murderous spider devil, who was apparently introduced in one of the short stories. I guess I'll have to go back and read them.
It was, like all these books, full of dry humor, and alternating periods of excitement and boredom.
I was delighted by the hilarious Zarenyia, a murderous spider devil, who was apparently introduced in one of the short stories. I guess I'll have to go back and read them.
htbaumtree's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not my favorite Cabal book, but I don't think there's any other way this series could have ended. It was a fun romp per usual, and I laughed out loud many times, and I was delighted to see the subtle ways these characters have grown over 5 books and several short stories. I will say: Howard's work often has a streak of "this was written by a cishet white Englishman", and the streak in this book was wider than in the past, hence 4 stars where I might have put 4.5. But it tends to stay in the margins and the characters are a delight, with intricate plots that feel almost fated. A decent end to a very enjoyable series.
winterscape's review against another edition
5.0
10/5 stars! I couldn’t put it down. The fifth (and final?) instalment of the Cabal series had everything I could have ever asked for. An exciting, quickly paced plot, a band of weirdos becoming ride or die friends (how did I manage to fall in love with the friendship between a necromancer and a spider devil?), brotherly bonding and self-sacrifice for family, many laugh-out-loud moments, and a tie-up of (most) loose ends from the previous books.
References to romance were on the back burner, putting friendship and brotherhood in the spotlight—a personal favourite focus of mine. The five different sections, each focusing on a different character, while still letting the ensemble banter and tease was like reading my favourite parts of dialogue from travelling companions in the Dragon Age games. Fun from start to finish. I especially liked the Sherlock Holmes-esque section.
Johannes Cabal the character became more, became better, but not at the expense of his surly, condescending, necromantic self. The song "Brother" by Morten Harket always reminded me of the Cabal brothers, and the choice Johannes makes to put his brother’s happiness before his own was the ultimate redemption.
This will be a re-read for sure.
“You have always been and always will be my little brother, and I love you. No matter what happens, always remember that.”
References to romance were on the back burner, putting friendship and brotherhood in the spotlight—a personal favourite focus of mine. The five different sections, each focusing on a different character, while still letting the ensemble banter and tease was like reading my favourite parts of dialogue from travelling companions in the Dragon Age games. Fun from start to finish. I especially liked the Sherlock Holmes-esque section.
Johannes Cabal the character became more, became better, but not at the expense of his surly, condescending, necromantic self. The song "Brother" by Morten Harket always reminded me of the Cabal brothers, and the choice Johannes makes to put his brother’s happiness before his own was the ultimate redemption.
This will be a re-read for sure.
“You have always been and always will be my little brother, and I love you. No matter what happens, always remember that.”
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
While I'm sad that the series is over (and this is a pretty clear wrap-up), I'm glad to have experienced one final adventure with the likes of Cabal, Horst, Leonie, and newer character Zarenyia (more on her later). Truth be told, we got to experience five varied and compelling stories told with the trademark intelligence, wit, and dark charm this series is so famous for. Of all of them, I have to say that I enjoyed Leonie's and Zarenyia's the most. It's impossible not to like Leonie for her smarts and courage, and Zarenyia is hysterical. She definitely stole the spotlight for almost all the scenes she was in, and I'm so happy she was included. Horst was as fantastic and charming as usual, and I really liked the encounters he had and the way his story ended, particularly the twist it took. Not only that, but he had one seriously badass fight scene! Cabal of course had the most growth of the five major characters, and I was very happy with it. He seemed more human than ever, another signal that his journey was coming to an end. I honestly didn't know what to expect from it, and while this series requires a reasonable amount of disbelief to be best enjoyed, I never found it too ridiculous. Really, the only thing that took me out sometimes were the annotations, but I can't really fault those because they were funny and added another level of involvement for the reader. I'm not entirely sure I'm completely satisfied with the epilogue since it opened up a couple other questions and left me wondering about a few things, but I'm not complaining, either. This was a great ending to a series I was lucky to be introduced to and had a great time experiencing. Definitely recommend it! Just be sure to read the books in order (it will make a moment in the beginning a lot funnier)!
wilbobaggins's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
arthurian's review against another edition
5.0
And here we are! The (possibly) final book! I can't express how much I loved it. And since I never wrote a review for any of the previous books (I chose to, instead, mention how great they were to any friend who would listen!) this is going to be an overall review.
I've read all the books in this series with equal love, interest and amusement and they are one of my favorite book series and the main character, a necromancer of some little infamy, and his brother, a monster by some authorities a good chap by all the rest, will be among my favorite characters for a long time !
The fifth installment, which is possibly the last (though I hope not!) is good as ever, original, amusing, and packed with adventures that are new!
It was also great to see the characters grow or get to know them better throughout the series. In this book, none of the main cast, Cabal, Horst, Leonie or Zerenyia, were who they had been at their first apparence without distinctly departing or going against their personalities. Who would have guessed Johannes' character arc would include learning to appreciate his friends in his own unique way!! And who has read the series wouldn't love good-hearted Horst to become more than that nice vampire fellow?
I loved the dark humor that was always present, the beauty of the writing and the action packed plots against the backdrop of a worthy, almost impossible and admirable pursuit.
Read this series, it is definitely worth it!
I've read all the books in this series with equal love, interest and amusement and they are one of my favorite book series and the main character, a necromancer of some little infamy, and his brother, a monster by some authorities a good chap by all the rest, will be among my favorite characters for a long time !
The fifth installment, which is possibly the last (though I hope not!) is good as ever, original, amusing, and packed with adventures that are new!
It was also great to see the characters grow or get to know them better throughout the series. In this book, none of the main cast, Cabal, Horst, Leonie or Zerenyia, were who they had been at their first apparence without distinctly departing or going against their personalities. Who would have guessed Johannes' character arc would include learning to appreciate his friends in his own unique way!! And who has read the series wouldn't love good-hearted Horst to become more than that nice vampire fellow?
I loved the dark humor that was always present, the beauty of the writing and the action packed plots against the backdrop of a worthy, almost impossible and admirable pursuit.
Read this series, it is definitely worth it!