Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is the only book I have ever read that forced me to adore the English language and wonder what has happened to such beautiful flights of the imagination. Peake's style is unique, dreamlike and incredibly romantic. Such strange and distinctive characters, each with their own oddity about them (for who, in this world, does not have an oddity of their own?)- Rottcodd with his wobbling head, Prunesquallor with his simile's and laughing sentences, Flay with his cracking knee joints - each leave their own individual mark upon the brain, and in different parts you begin to wonder what each character is up to, even if they are not present on the page you are reading(which is a unique quality in a novel). I first began to adore this book about mid-way through the first chapter, with the sentence "Rottcodd began to advance down the bright avenue, his feet giving rise at each step to little clouds of dust" staying vivid in my mind. It took a while for me to finish, for you have to be patient and take things slowly. Oftentimes you will find yourself re-reading paragraphs, or sentences, to grasp the description totally. I actually took my time finishing it, simply because I didn't want it to end! I would recommend this extraordinary novel to those with a creative and imaginative mind, those with patience, those who adore intense descriptions, and those who (like myself) love to read such beautiful English.
Rating:
Summary: A timeless, extraordinary, & vivid work of a decaying world
Review: This trilogy seems to be an underground classic of sorts, and it's certainly not for everybody. Yet in the simple premise of a child born and raised under the burden of royalty and rituals, Peake has fashioned a work that is unlike any other. No other author has yet created a world more vivid, more beautiful in its decay, or more heartbreaking. Trapped by the oppressive weight of his lineage and birthright, Titus Groan is sthe story of the birth and childhood of the title character, the Seventy-Seventh Earl of Gormenghast - as well as the tale of the castle and its many inhabitants. The second volume continues on with his life and his dreams of freedom and escape, while the third - reviled by many - breaks away from the setting of Gormenghast to trace the journey of Titus Alone. Though the third is weaker than the first two, it is perhaps the most vividly grotesque and unsettling. All three form a work that will most likely never be equalled by contemporary fantasy writers. Worthy of scholarly consideration. In one of the editions published by Overlook Press, there are critical reviews of Peake's trilogy. Worh a look if you can obtain this volume.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: This work is a masterpiece. For those who enjoy the darker aspects of the human condition you need look no further.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Titus Groan and Gormenghast, the first two books in the Gormenghast trilogy, are easily the best books I have ever read, the best books I can even imagine reading. What's ironic is that Peake was by trade an illustrator; his writing almost seems to have been a kind of hobby, and yet he was a far better writer than he was an illustrator. What's great about this for the reader is that he is able to view a world through the eyes of an artist, for to read Peake is to experience the world in a deeper and more detailed way and expand one's own consciousness.Here are a few passages which describe the enmity between Swelter, the Royal chef, and Flay, the first servant of Lord Sepulchrave, one of the truly unforgettable personal conflicts in the trilogy: "Swelter, as soon as saw who it was, stopped dead, and across his face little billows of flesh ran swiftly here and there until, as though they had determined to adhere to the same impulse, they swept up into both oceans of soft cheek, leaving between them a vacuum, a gaping segment like a slice cut from a melon. It was horrible. It was as though nature had lost control. As though the smile, as a concept, as a manifestation of pleasure, had been a mistake, for here on the face of Swelter the idea had been abused. "A voice came out of the face: 'Well, well, well,' it said, 'may I be boiled to a frazzle if it isn't Mr. Flee. The one and only Flee.. Well, well, well. Here before me in the Cool Room. Dived through a keyhole, I do believe. Oh, my adorable lights and liver, if it isn't the Flee itself.'" . . . "It had been been Mr. Flay's practice, whenever possible, to ignore the chef as one ignores a cesspool by the side of the road, and although his pride was wounded by Swelter's mis-pronumciation of his name and reference to his thinness, Flay held his spiky passions in control, merely striding to the doorway after his examination of the other's bulk and spitting out of the bay window as though to clear his whole system of something noxious. Silent though he had learned by experience to be, each galling word did not fail to add to the growing core of hatred that burned beneath his ribs. "Swelter, as Flay spat, had leaned back in his traces as though in mock alarm, his head folded back on his shoulders, and with an expression of comic concentration, had gazed alternately at Mr Flay and then out of the window several times. 'Well, well, well', he said in his most provoking voice that seemed to seep out of dough -- 'well, well, well -- your accomplishments will never end. Baste me! Never. One lives and learns." . . . . . . "It moved across the room, the whiteness of the enveloping clothes tinctured by the lime-green lamp above. It sat beside the grindstone. It held in its hand what seemed, in proportion to its bulk, a small weapon, but which in reality was a two-handed cleaver. "Swelter's feet began to move the treadles of the grindstone, and it began to spin in its circles. ...Doubling himself over the grindstone he peered at the shivering edge of the blade, and every now and then lifted it to his ear as though to listen for a thin and singing note to take flight from the unspeakable sharpness of the steel... "Flay began to lose contact with the reality of what he saw and his brain to drift into a dream, when he found the chef was drawing himself upwards and traveling to that part of the wall where the chalk lines ended and where the arrow pointed to the Ninth staircase. Then he removed his shoes, and lifted his face for the first time so that Mr Flay could see the expression that seeped from it. His eyes were metallic and murderous, but the mouth hung open in a wide, fatuous smile. There followed what appeared to Flay an extraordinary dance, a grotesque ritual of the legs, and it was some time before he realized, as the cook advanced by slow, elaborate steps between the chalk lines, that he was practicing tip-toeing with absolute silence."
Rating: 
Summary: a reflection of a man's imagination..
Review: Titus Groan is a novel that's hard to classify. It's sort of a fairy tale for grown-ups. All the characters take place in this large kingdom/castle called Gormenghast, and the people are roughly European and Christian. The story involves the happenings of the royal family, its servants, and the new-born heir (named Titus Groan) to the throne. What makes this rather unappealing (at least on the surface) story work is the enormous descriptive power of Peake's writing. It's as if there is a direct connection from his mind to his pen. And the characters, and their dialogue, are most memorable. Everyone, even the not-so-nice people, are huggable. Many of the characters will remind the readers of a beloved dithering aunt or uncle who are, despite everything, near and dear. I strongly recommend Titus Groan as alternative reading. It might appeal to fans of Lord of the Rings and/or Watership Down, although bear in mind that everyone's imagination is different (so it's not useful to dwell on comparisons).
Rating:
Summary: Underrated Classic
Review: Titus Groan is impossible to classify. Is it fantasy? Is it gothic? Is it a Dickensian flight of fancy? Well it's been classified as all of these things, but none of these labels is quite adequate. It is perhaps ultimately best described as a black comedy. The book begins with the birth of the 77th Earl of Gormenghast, a gigantic castle were ritual rules all. Gormenghast castle seems to exist in an alternative universe to ours; however, there is no magic or cuddly hobbits, just grim realism. The plot chronicles the ramifications of when the royal family and servants encounter Steerpike, a young kitchen worker who finagles his out of kitchen service (most jobs in the castle are assigned along heriditary lines). A self-possessed rebel and clever 17-year-old, Steerpike turns their world upside down. Steerpike is like many people you may know, manipulative, self-serving, and solicitous. However, the royal family and servants are so exceedingly self-occupied, that they are easily tricked by this young upstart. Steerpike may just be the most likeable villian ever; it's hard to blame him for the things he does considering the easy targets he selects. The book is packed with other extremely memorable characters, including the sullen royal daughter (Fuschia), the Countess who seems to care only about her "pets," innumerable wild birds and and white cats, and her sisters-in-law, the identical twins (Cora and Clarice) who are the primary pawns of Steerpike. The book also provides splendid details about the castles and its world, not surprising considering that Peake is perhaps best known as an illustrator (a few of his illustrations are included here). The writing is dense and ponderous at times, but provides so many laughs and pleasures, that it is well worth the time investment. Of course, Titus Groan is just the first part of an epic. I have not read the remaining two books yet, but am tremendously excited to do. A most highly recommended read.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated Classic
Review: Titus Groan is impossible to classify. Is it fantasy? Is it gothic? Is it a Dickensian flight of fancy? Well it's been classified as all of these things, but none of these labels is quite adequate. It is perhaps ultimately best described as a black comedy. The book begins with the birth of the 77th Earl of Gormenghast, a gigantic castle were ritual rules all. Gormenghast castle seems to exist in an alternative universe to ours; however, there is no magic or cuddly hobbits, just grim realism. The plot chronicles the ramifications of when the royal family and servants encounter Steerpike, a young kitchen worker who finagles his out of kitchen service (most jobs in the castle are assigned along heriditary lines). A self-possessed rebel and clever 17-year-old, Steerpike turns their world upside down. Steerpike is like many people you may know, manipulative, self-serving, and solicitous. However, the royal family and servants are so exceedingly self-occupied, that they are easily tricked by this young upstart. Steerpike may just be the most likeable villian ever; it's hard to blame him for the things he does considering the easy targets he selects. The book is packed with other extremely memorable characters, including the sullen royal daughter (Fuschia), the Countess who seems to care only about her "pets," innumerable wild birds and and white cats, and her sisters-in-law, the identical twins (Cora and Clarice) who are the primary pawns of Steerpike. The book also provides splendid details about the castles and its world, not surprising considering that Peake is perhaps best known as an illustrator (a few of his illustrations are included here). The writing is dense and ponderous at times, but provides so many laughs and pleasures, that it is well worth the time investment. Of course, Titus Groan is just the first part of an epic. I have not read the remaining two books yet, but am tremendously excited to do. A most highly recommended read.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, very hard going, is it worth it?
Review: Unlike the other negative reviewers, I have read Titus Groan from cover to cover. It is lushly written; dark; brooding; but it is so incredibly boring. There are some fantastic characters, fascinating settings, and enormous potential; but the potential is never realised. Perhaps Peake intended this, given that the premise of the book is a society so trapped in tradition that it has not changed for generations. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy good descriptive writing. If you're looking for a good storyline, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A life-changing book
Review: Well do I remember the momentous day in 1975 when a good friend loaned me a copy of Titus Groan and suggested I might enjoy it. Enjoy it? I was hooked from that first glimpse of the Hall of Bright Carvings; utterly transfixed by strange but compelling stories of the denizens of Gormenghast: a weird place and weird people, to be sure, but not so weird as to be beyond recognition. Peake's prose is masterful throughout; his characters are so profoundly realised that you really do feel you know them: Fuschia, Prunesquallor, Steerpike, Titus himself, my personal hero Mr Flay...wonderful. The narrative has been critized for being ponderous, but bear in mind this is a "big read" and it is best absorbed at a steady pace. The action, when it comes, is all the more startling: consider the cobweb-strewn battle to the death between Flay and the loathsome Swelter, and in Gormenghast, Titus's deadly encounter with Steerpike (now evil personified) amid the stifling ivy. "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast" are famously more satisfying than "Titus Alone", written when Peake was seriously ill and fading fast, but even "Titus Alone" has some strangely affecting characters and situations. Its strangeness is more disturbing than the first two books however, which are totally enthralling. Since that first encounter over 25 years ago I have re-read this trilogy many, many times, always with more enjoyment than the time before. I made a chess-set with characters from the book (grey scrubbers make great pawns) and have enlivened many a dull day at work by likening some of my colleagues (in my minds eye, of course) to some of Peake's so-called grotesques...the Civil Service is not without its Barquentines and Sourdusts, not to mention the Deadyawns and Cutflowers! This is one book (along with the Bible) I would just not want to be without.
Rating:
Summary: Groan is the word
Review: Well, after 115 pages of this literary equivalent of heavy molasses , with the odd glimmer of style thrown in once in a while, I had to quit. You wait for the tale to pick up, to get you interested, but you just end up not giving a damn about Gormenghast and its inhabitants. Detail is not enough to make a good story. Keep clear from this one, and spare yourself a bored *groan* upon putting it down. There is one positive aspect : you will expand your 1940's english.
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