I have been reading Johannes Cabal The Necromancer, and thus far it's seriously suffering from the same thing. So far it's been like a series of vignettes rather than an ongoing story. And while it seems to strive for Gaiman and Pratchett wit and humor... it just isn't as amusing. That said, it's enough that I'll finish it... eventually.
Having exactly the same response. It's okay, I'll finish it. But I'm plodding through. (I've fallen into a bit of a book rut, this is the second book I've found to be less than compelling. Although at least it's shorter.)
A reviewer on Good Reads said that it read like a video game. (It does. So too did Skin Game - which is why, when I found out that it was nominated for a Hugo by a bunch of Tea Party Video-Gamers...I thought, okay, that makes sense.)
And I'm not sure the vignettes hold together well...I keep losing track of the story.
I don't find Johannes all that interesting so far (actually find his brother more interesting to this point) but I also can't help thinking there's an Odd Thomas mislead going on. I figure there's something more than a drop to Cabal's brother saying that Johannes went nuts (even though Johannes doesn't appear to think so).
Agreed. The best thing about the book so far is the relationship between the two brothers. Also, I'm intrigued as to why Johannas got obsessed with bringing back the dead. Apparently there's something there. Also...the story seems to be about finding anything redeemable in Johannas..does he care about anyone but himself?
Johannas remembers hating his brother for being more charismatic and better at everything - and it seems Horst is the older of the two.
It's oddly written book, uneven in places. For instance - we jump into a couple (Ted and Rachel) point of view for a sort of Twilight Zone style horror story, then out again. Or the vignette about the ghost solider - which seems out of place somehow. Now? He's trapped in a pocket dimension, after fighting with a bunch of insane HP Lovecraft Wizards.
Odd book. Not quite gripping me, but interesting enough to keep me plugging along, mainly because I want to find out three things:
1. How he wins the game/quest 2. Why he wants to bring the dead back 3. Does he care about anyone outside of himself
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branchandroot
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Date: 2015-04-14 01:46 am (UTC)Having exactly the same response. It's okay, I'll finish it. But I'm plodding through. (I've fallen into a bit of a book rut, this is the second book I've found to be less than compelling. Although at least it's shorter.)
A reviewer on Good Reads said that it read like a video game. (It does. So too did Skin Game - which is why, when I found out that it was nominated for a Hugo by a bunch of Tea Party Video-Gamers...I thought, okay, that makes sense.)
And I'm not sure the vignettes hold together well...I keep losing track of the story.
I don't find Johannes all that interesting so far (actually find his brother more interesting to this point) but I also can't help thinking there's an Odd Thomas mislead going on. I figure there's something more than a drop to Cabal's brother saying that Johannes went nuts (even though Johannes doesn't appear to think so).
Agreed. The best thing about the book so far is the relationship between the two brothers. Also, I'm intrigued as to why Johannas got obsessed with bringing back the dead. Apparently there's something there. Also...the story seems to be about finding anything redeemable in Johannas..does he care about anyone but himself?
Johannas remembers hating his brother for being more charismatic and better at everything - and it seems Horst is the older of the two.
It's oddly written book, uneven in places. For instance - we jump into a couple (Ted and Rachel) point of view for a sort of Twilight Zone style horror story, then out again. Or the vignette about the ghost solider - which seems out of place somehow.
Now? He's trapped in a pocket dimension, after fighting with a bunch of insane HP Lovecraft Wizards.
Odd book. Not quite gripping me, but interesting enough to keep me plugging along, mainly because I want to find out three things:
1. How he wins the game/quest
2. Why he wants to bring the dead back
3. Does he care about anyone outside of himself