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Rating: 
Summary: Titus Groan
Review: How can you describe Gormenghast? I don't really think that you can... All I can do is kind of give an overview over what it's all about...There's a kitchen boy named Steerpike. It's like hell in the kitchens... believe me. Even description wise... so Steerpike, at his first oppurtunity runs away. He escapes into the castle's upper stories, and then onto the roof... where he stumbles into Lady Fuschia's private rooms. What follows is his conniving struggle to achieve power by stepping on anyone that happens to be in his way. First, by apprenticing himself to the resident doctor, Prunesquallor, then by becoming the 'reverant subject' of the two twin sisters of the reigning monarch, Clarice and Cora. He persuades them to burn down their brother's library, and they do... and, as Steerpike planned, the entire royal family is in the library, with locked doors, when the fire is started. To gain favor, Steerpike saves everyone from the fire, and afterwards is declared assistant to the new librarian. (Since they don't have a library, he's also called the Master of Ceremonies... Gormenghast HATES change. They do everything the same way, all the time...)
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Summary: Do you really like fantasy?
Review: I certainly won't say that "You don't REALLY like fantasy if you don't like this book." However, giving this book a try will help you self-identify, as to whether you want "The same again, please" as a fantasy reader, or, instead, might be ready to explore a new world of the imagination that exploits the freedom inherent in the genre. There's hardly a more slowly-paced book in the language; perhaps the best way to approach it is in the expectation of a long series of vivid, strange scenes. I hesitate to use the word "surrealistic," because that often has the connotation of sexual neurosis (real or pretended). The comparisons with Dickens are apt, but the closest analogue known to me might be Gogol's masterpiece (read it in the delightful Pevear-Volokohonsky translation), DEAD SOULS. In both books you have the idea of people who live in isolation (the Gormenghasters in various nooks of the Castle and its environs; Gogol's oddities being residents of isolated Russian estates before the abolition of serfdom). Both authors enjoyed concocting weirdly funny names for characters. Both authors "withhold" -- Peake keeping the narrative pace so slow that Titus is only 1 1/2 at the end of the book; Gogol keeping us in the dark about Chichikov's scheme. Both authors have deceptive rogues as main characters (Steerpike, Chichikov). Both did relish a kind of bizarre vividness. Finally, Nabokov's little book on Gogol says that the Russian concept of "posholost" is central for Gogol: meaning that something is outwardly impressive or charming, but really is second-rate or worse, is empty, is life-diminishing. That fits the Gormenghast rituals. Frankly, if you've never read Gogol's comic masterpiece, you should consider giving that one a try; but if you love fantasy, you ought to look into Peake, too. There are a few places where Peake's imagination doesn't seem engaged: the Keda-Rantel-Braigon thing is not successful. But that takes up maybe 25 pages at most.
Rating:
Summary: A treasure, hang in there through vol. 1, you won't be sorry
Review: I have never read anything quite like this! The first book revolves loosely around a newborn Titus Groan that is heir to the earldom of Gormenghast and it's Castle, an archaic, monolithic, stiffly-traditioned place. Throughout the first volume, we meet various members of the castle staff, the royal family and even a few commoners. You'll love Peake's unique way of portraying characters with his hilarious attention to detail. I don't think I'll ever forget the eccentric Mr. Flay or the effeminate Dr. Prune... The Antagonist, Steerpike, has got to be the most villainous, calculating creature I've come across in any book. He's someone you'll love to hate, but also admire. Since this is one of those rare books in which you can easily become attached to the characters, I'll warn you, Peake is not hesitant to dispose of them! At first, there doesn't seem to be a definitive plot to follow. But, as the story progresses and Titus matures, you begin to see that he is feeling more and more strangled by this static castle life. But, Titus and nearly all of the castle's dwellers are ignorant of what lies beyond Gormenghast. It's important to note that the reader is also kept in the dark. You get the impression that Gormenghast "Was, is and always shall be." And if it's inhabitants have ever dreamed of lands beyond, it is doubtful that any could consciously imagine any other place. The truth is revealed in book 3. Believing there is nothing left for him, Titus does the unthinkable and abandons his castle, his people and more importantly, his duties as the 77th Earl. The world Titus finds is quite unlike his own. So different in fact that he begins to doubt it ever existed. Even as the reader, I couldn't help wondering if Titus imagined it all during some delirious state of mind. But, the ending satisfies... I highly recommend this trilogy to lovers of fantasy and haters alike. This work is not classifiable fantasy in a strict sense, as there aren't any mythical beasts or obvious magics. It's kind of a mish-mash of fantasy, sci-fi and drama. But make no mistake, you'll reserve a spot for this classic epic right next to Tolkien. (Though I'm not comparing the two, each is a classic in it's own right).
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Summary: Spellbinding!
Review: One of the best works of fiction in the Englishlanguage I have ever had the good fortune to read.(and I got my copy for free!) It often gets lumped in with Tolkien, which it just does not deserve at all; Peake is a refreshing original. It tells the tale of the events following the birth of Titus, the heir to the throne of the ancient castle Gormenghast. Unlike other works of fantasy I have read, this book does not romanticize. Most of the denizens of Gormenghast are weird, often downright creepy, and none is described as being particularly handsome. But considering the isolation caused by living in such a place, compounded by the seemingly pointless and endless ritual, one can understand why characters are the way they are (e.g.: Titus' bizarre aunts, his morose sister Fuchsia, villainous Steerpike, etc.) All right, my description is pretty poor, but believe me, this is an outstanding novel you won't want to reach the end of. Also excellent is the sequel "Gormenghast"; which, while it adds too many new characters (you'll find yourself asking "Which one's Perch-Prism again?), caps off the Titus story dramatically (I've been told to avoid "Titus Alone"). One of my all-time favourites!
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Summary: Before Goths there was Mervyn Peake
Review: The Gormenghast Trilogy consists of two wonderful books, Titus Groan and Gormenghast, and one dreadfully confused book Titus Alone. I recommend the reader work through all three but really, the first two can be read alone perfectly satisfactorily.
Mr Peake invokes an ancient castle set in no particular time where ritual has become as much part of the fabric of life as food. For Titus, young heir to the kingdom, there is no escaping the drudgery of court life. Every day of the year his movements are proscribed by the ancient tomes that are cared for and interpreted first by Sourdust, then Barquentine and finally the arch villain, Steerpike. The atmosphere is Gothic, surreal, as menacing and slow as a quicksand. The characters are bizarre freaks moving against the dark, grim backdrop of the castle. Overwhelmed by all this tradition, Titus rebels and quickly finds himself at odds with the very fabric of his ancient home. His allies and his enemies take their sides and begin their macabre dance and, to use Mr Peake's phrase, 'Titus is wading through his childhood.' Fantastic.
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Summary: A rave over a grand book I greatly admire.
Review: This is one of the, if not the best, work of fantasy I have the privilege of reading. The imagery is haunting, beautifuland at times horrific, yet splendid all the same.The work is one of a man drunk upon the beauty of words, in love with the way they can be made to fit. Imagine, if you will, a different world, choked in age, stifled by ritual, hung over with shadow but suffused with beauty.Picture a huge, gigantic,ramshackle of masonry called Gormenghast castle, populated by grotesques whose acts and fears and feeling and thoughts are no less seemingly real for their bizarreness. Meet the faithful servant Flay, along with his ponderously fat and murderous rival, the cook Swelter. Pity the lonely and insane Lord Sepulchrave, and his poor daughter Fuschia. Be introduced to the loquacious Dr. Prunesquallor, and his pretentious sister, Irma of black glasses and flat bodice. See the evil youth Steerpike begin a ruthless quest for power fired by his hate, and the infant hero, Titus Groan ascend his throne. These are but a few of the oddities clambering about within the Walls of Gormenghast. Why don't you enter for yourself? You won't regret it.
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