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distgenius's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anzz26's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
riffmonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Yet another excellent addition to this series. It's the perfect combination of funny, serious, heartwarming and heart-wrenching that I love to see. The characters were great and the ending unexpected. I loved seeing more of Horst as well, since I had missed him in previous books. Really, this series seems to be unable to disappoint me. Amazing prose and story.
aimeesue's review against another edition
4.0
Very funny, and I quite enjoyed having Horst reappear, but the cliff-hanger ending is annoying.
rlh1994's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
inkwellimps's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Continuing directly after The Fear Institute, the first half of the book is Horst telling a story of how he was resurrected and setting up the Ministerium Tenebrae and Horst's new allies. Unlike in previous books, I found the vast majority of the side characters in The Brothers Cabal enjoyable (especially Miss Virginia Montgomery's Flying Circus troupe, they are a lot of fun). Horst is an engaging protagonist and I liked discovering his quirks and strengths, such as having a solid knowledge base regarding castle architecture. Details like that made me really see him as Johannes' extroverted brother. While Horst is telling his story, there are periodic interludes where Johannes makes comment which are some of the funniest scenes in the series so far.
Following Horst's story, we see the Brothers Cabal ride again with Johannes and Horst taking on the Ministerium which is interesting the whole way through (scenes that aren't action-driven have a lot of humor, and I can say I was captivated especially by this latter half of the book).
Following Horst's story, we see the Brothers Cabal ride again with Johannes and Horst taking on the Ministerium which is interesting the whole way through (scenes that aren't action-driven have a lot of humor, and I can say I was captivated especially by this latter half of the book).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
Discussion of suicideantimony's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
was not expecting the first half to be like 95% horst & I started missing johannes quite a bit but I LOOVED miss virginia montgomery and the rest of the circus and the ending was CRAZYYY. like EVERYTHING was opened up by that cliffhanger in the second epilogue ohhhh my god. was going to read the familiar next bc my library book has no renewals but I might jump straight to the fall of the house of cabal instead
mbpartlow's review against another edition
4.0
Easily my favorite in this series, after the initial book.
Hilarious, clever, great twists, snark, genteel humor, witty...OMG, I love this series so much!
In this outing, Johannes and Horst are reunited to save the world. Their interactions are mulit-layered and very clever. Their dialogue is perfection.
I have no objectivity. Loved it.
Hilarious, clever, great twists, snark, genteel humor, witty...OMG, I love this series so much!
In this outing, Johannes and Horst are reunited to save the world. Their interactions are mulit-layered and very clever. Their dialogue is perfection.
I have no objectivity. Loved it.
timinbc's review against another edition
5.0
Not a classic for the ages, but within its niche a definite 5.
You really need to have read the other books, or at least one of them.
In this one, Howard is obviously very comfortable in his world and with his characters. He's having fun, and so are we.
Gotta love "her smirk vanished like hope after an election." And there are plenty of other phrases where you can imagine Howard grinning as he types.
The new Horst is interesting, and a perfect partner for the usual Johannes - who I must warn you doesn't appear for quite a while. The female air corps is good, and even some of the secondary characters were developed cleverly.
The plot rolls along smoothly and reveals new complexities nicely.
The ending .. well, don't get your hopes up that this book will wrap everything up neatly. The good news is that we are very likely to see the brothers again soon.
You really need to have read the other books, or at least one of them.
In this one, Howard is obviously very comfortable in his world and with his characters. He's having fun, and so are we.
Gotta love "her smirk vanished like hope after an election." And there are plenty of other phrases where you can imagine Howard grinning as he types.
The new Horst is interesting, and a perfect partner for the usual Johannes - who I must warn you doesn't appear for quite a while. The female air corps is good, and even some of the secondary characters were developed cleverly.
The plot rolls along smoothly and reveals new complexities nicely.
The ending .. well, don't get your hopes up that this book will wrap everything up neatly. The good news is that we are very likely to see the brothers again soon.