I believe this was one of many recommendations for fans of The Locked Tomb on my to-read list. At first I was sceptical and thought they would only have necromancy in common. But to my delight, it was also the excellent writing style. 

While the plot is fairly straight-forward, the writing elevates it. I loved the dry wit and found it genuinely hilarious. It made me laugh out loud many times, which is quite a feat. For me, something funny usually just produces a soft snort, so actual laughter is a real achievement. 

The main characters were just as great. It didn't take me long at all to care about them. Even Johannes. He’s messed up, but still enjoyable to read. But the book doesn’t shy away and gloss over his dire choices. Part of that is down to his brother Horst. I hope we delve into their history more in the sequels, because I feel things ended very abruptly here. I also wished the female characters weren’t so predictable and barely there. 

So Johannes is tasked with signing away 100 souls to Hell in exchange for his own, using a carnival staffed by those ‘drafted in’ using his necromantic skills. Now, carnival is probably my least favourite setting ever. I was once forced to sit through The Greatest Showman and have never recovered since. But I enjoyed this book nevertheless. It was so engaging, I could look past my hatred of carnivals. 

I'm hoping to enjoy the sequels even more since I presume they'll have different settings. I did find the worldbuilding a bit lacking. The locations and time period seemed vague. At first I was confused and assumed it would be become clearer later, but eventually I realised the book would stick with the faux Britain image, with its quaint village names and enduring trauma from The War. By the end, I found the author’s choice to deliberately keep the setting vaguely fantastical part of the book’s charm. And this was a small nitpick. The atmosphere is quite cinematic. Despite losing the hilarious narration, this would make a great TV show. 

The basic plot and minor female characters made this 3.5 stars, but this is only the first instalment after all. I’ve heard the series gets better so I’m excited to continue reading!