Cabal (novella)

Cabal is a 1988 horror novel by the British author Clive Barker. It was originally published in the United States as part of a collection comprising a novel and several short stories from Barker's sixth and final volume of the Books of Blood.

The book was adapted into the film Nightbreed in 1990, written and directed by Barker himself, starring Craig Sheffer and David Cronenberg.

Plot

The story is focused on a young man named Boone, who is suffering from an unspecified mental disorder. He is consulting a psychiatrist named Decker. To Boone's horror, he is informed by Decker that he is responsible for the brutal murder of eleven people, the most recent of which was in the City of Calgary. Boone, however, has no recollection of the murders he has committed.

Boone initially tries to kill himself, but when this fails, he begins to believe he can save himself from prosecution. Midian, a semi-mythical city, appears in his dreams as a place that offers sanctuary to monsters, who are collectively known as the Night Breed. He starts trying to reach Midian, unaware of the truth behind the insidious events that set him on this course.

Novella

A novella is a work of written, fictional, narrative prose normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. The English word "novella" derives from the Italian "novella", feminine of "novello", which means "new". The novella is a common literary genre in several European languages.

History

The novella as a literary genre began developing in the early Renaissance by the Italian and French literatura, principally Giovanni Boccaccio, author of The Decameron (1353).The Decameron featured one hundred tales (novellas) told by ten people (seven women and three men) fleeing the Black Death by escaping from Florence to the Fiesole hills in 1348. This structure would then be imitated by subsequent authors, notably the French queen Marguerite de Navarre, who wrote a Heptaméron (1559) that included seventy-two original French tales and was modeled after the structure of The Decameron.

Not until the late 18th and early 19th centuries did writers fashion the novella into a literary genre structured by precepts and rules, generally in a realistic mode. At that time, the Germans were the most active writers of the Novelle (German: "Novelle"; plural: "Novellen"). For the German writer, a novella is a fictional narrative of indeterminate length—a few pages to hundreds—restricted to a single, suspenseful event, situation, or conflict leading to an unexpected turning point (Wendepunkt), provoking a logical but surprising end. Novellen tend to contain a concrete symbol, which is the narrative's focal point.

Novella (album)

Novella is the seventh studio album by the British progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1977.

Release history

Due to the bankruptcy of the band's UK label BTM, this album was released in the USA some months before its UK release, leading to a number of UK fans importing copies. At the time of this original issue, Sire was distributed in the USA by ABC Records; the cover featured unique artwork by Pamela Brown different from that which would be used for its subsequent UK issue. Shortly thereafter, Sire changed distribution in the USA to Warner Brothers and the cover artwork was revised to use the same painting by Brown as that employed in its UK issue. The 2nd USA issue can most easily be identified by the rendering of the band which takes up the entire back cover; the original ABC Distribution cover features a much smaller painting of the band on the back.

After the demise of BTM, the band agreed in principle to sign for CBS Records UK. However they actually agreed to a contract with Warner Brothers.

Novella (Bulgaria)

Novella is planned Bulgarian family-oriented television channel. Along with bTV, bTV Comedy, bTV Cinema, bTV Action, bTV Lady and RING are part of bTV Media Group, owned by the US media conglomerate Central European Media Enterprises. It will air new and classic television series, telenovelas, European series, romantic films and others. Originally announced as "bTV Gold", the name was changed as "Novella" before the start of the channel.

Cabal

A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue, usually unbeknownst to persons outside their group. Cabals are sometimes secret societies composed of a few designing persons, and at other times are manifestations of emergent behavior in society or governance on the part of a community of persons who have well established public affiliation or kinship. The term can also be used to refer to the designs of such persons or to the practical consequences of their emergent behavior, and also holds a general meaning of intrigue and conspiracy. The use of this term usually carries strong connotations of shadowy corners, back rooms and insidious influence. The term is frequently used in conspiracy theories; some Masonic conspiracy theories describe Freemasonry as an internationalist secret cabal.

Origins of the word

The term cabal derives from Cabala (a word that has numerous spelling variations), the Jewish mystical interpretation of the Hebrew scripture. In Hebrew it means "reception" or "tradition", denoting the sod (secret) level of Jewish exegesis. In European culture (Christian Cabala, Hermetic Qabalah) it became associated with occult doctrine or a secret.

Cavall

Cavall (Middle Welsh: cauall RBH & WBR; modernized: Cafall; pronunciation: /kaˈvaɬ/; Latin: Cabal, var. Caball (ms.K))) is the name of Arthur's dog, used in the hunt for the great boar, Twrch Trwyth (Latin: Troynt, Troit).

Cavall was Arthur's "favourite dog", and during a stag hunt, he was customarily the last dog to be let loose to chase after the game (Gereint Son of Erbin).

Historia Brittonum

Legend in antiquity has it that Cabal left his permanent footprint in the rock while pursuing the boar Troynt. The lore is preserved in the Wonders of Britain (De Mirabilibus Britanniae or Mirabilia in shorthand) appended to Historia Brittonum (9th century). The wonderous nature of this cairn of stones was that even if someone removed that footprinted stone to another spot, it would be back at its original heap the next day.

The Latin account has the mark of age, since it refers to Arthur merely as warrior and not king. The full quote in translation is given in the Twrch Trwyth (or wikisource), but Lady Guest's notes might best be consulted, since it provides both the Latin text and translation, as well as commentary on the Carn Cavall as well (Schreiber 1849, pp. 358–360).

Cabal (Dibdin novel)

Cabal is a novel by Michael Dibdin, and the third entry in the Aurelio Zen series.

When, one dark night in November, Prince Ludovico Ruspanti fell a hundred and fifty feet to his death in the chapel at St. Peter's, Rome, there were a number of questions to be answered. The answer the Vatican housekeepers want is rubber-stamped suicide. Zen, whose bad luck it is to be on call that night, is keen to oblige and return to his girlfriend's bed. Unfortunately for him, things turn out to be not that simple and he finds that getting the real answers is by no means easy, as witness after witness is mysteriously silenced - by violent death. To crack the secret of the Vatican, Zen must penetrate the most secret place of all: the fabled Cabal. How much of a threat does it represent? How far could it reach? Does it even exist?

TV adaptation

The novel was adapted for television by the BBC, starring Rufus Sewell in the title role. It was aired in January 2011.

External links