Rating: 
Summary: Incredible Writing, A Slow Read
Review: It was hard to know how many stars to give this trilogy, so I'll just tell you about it.The writing is incredible. There are moment where I literally put the book down and said "MY GOD!" There is a poem in the first book that is the best frivolous poetry I've ever read (better than Lewis Carroll). I was initially nervous at the large number of characters, because I'm not good at remembering characters, but each is so aptly and humorously named (Fuschia, Flay, Steerpike, and my favorite-named, Flannelcat) that they are easy to tell apart. Gormenghast is a world of its own - a very strange mix of seemingly ancient and modern (seemingly anachronistic) things. There is a lot of humor here. But, I have to caution, this is not a beach novel. It's not Piers Anthony. The plot moves very, very slowly and you have to really enjoy reading for the sake of reading. It reminded me of reading "Les Miserables", which I enjoyed but would have quickly abandoned if not for the fact that I really do enjoy reading...and reading and reading. These books are very rewarding, and parts will stay in my mind and make up my worldview for the rest of my life - something you can't say about most "fantasy" books. But if you are looking for a light, easy read, with lots of exciting plot, you are barking up the wrong tree.
Rating: 
Summary: ...Read it !
Review: The world of the anciant and gigantic castle of Gormenghast, the thousands of dusty corridors, crumbling staircases leading to forgotten rooms, hiding many lost treasurs and terrible and wonderfull secrets lays between the pages of this wonderfull book. And it is a wonderfull book, but it's also fair to warn any one who wants to venture into this disturbed and dark fairy tale that has gone wrong that it is'nt an easy read, and it's the kind of book that takes some commited reading.
The first volume will introduce you to the castle, wich is , in fact, a whole world, and to it's strange and ancient rules and rituals wich dictates every minute of it's existence. To the family of the Groans , the earls of Gormenghast, and to the last link of their old line - Titus Groan, the seventy seventh earl.
Also you'll meet a faithfull servant, a cook with a vengence, a machiavellian kitchen boy striving for greatness, and the plott will be ridiculous and funny and tragic at the same time.
The Second volume -"Gormenghast" Is even better in my opinion, As it further envelops the intriguing and complex characters. All the characters l have found mainly wierd ( if not altogather out of their minds )in the first book suddenly not only made sense to me but have touched me deeply.
This book is worth reading if only for the sake of Fuschia, Titus's older sister, wich is the lonely princess of this gothic legend. At first i regarded her as a spoiled brat who was in a desperate need of a long and expensive therapy, but i promise you wont be able not to resist her for long. So take a deep breath ( you'll need it at first ) and start reading.
Rating:
Summary: Surreal greatness
Review: There are many books that I might as well not have read for all that I can remember of them, but Gormenghast remains vividly alive for me years later. The castle is more real in my mind than many places I've visited in reality. The settings and chatacters are so well realized that my imagination hardly had to fill in any blanks. Grotesquery pervades nearly every passage, but not always of a revolting kind. Moments of great humor, suspense, dread, and outrage drive the story, with an engaging plot threading through the first two installments. The third breaks abruptly from the rest of the trilogy, and I don't pretend to understand why Peake chose to go in the direction he did. This is not to say that the third part is bad - it is quite good - but the continuity with the previous parts is nearly entirely cut. There remain strong thematic connections, and I do perceive an overall relationship and point, but I remain confused by the shift nonetheless. Perhaps you won't be. I do not recommend this book for anyone looking for a page turner or who is put off by an unconventional style. Gormenghast is like a huge panoramic painting in words. Don't look for a linear, action-driven structure. Just dive in and let Peake's unparalleled prose transport you to one of the most complex and bizarre psychological landscapes around. This edition also includes some critical essays by prominent writers. I have not finished reading these, but they appear very worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: A World of Symbolism
Review: Gormenghast castle, a living, breathing, constantly growing organism. Centuries upon centuries of ancestural rulers building new additions onto it have turned the castle into a sprawling, gigantic structure that no one living has seen all of. The enigma of Gormenghast becomes most prominent when Steerpike has his rooftop adventure, the indescribable maze and wreckage and wonderous virgin space. I say indescribable, and for anyone but Mervyn Peake it would be. The nuance of description, his gift for making the obvious seem incredible and the mundane into poetry, make this book not only an unforgettable read, but such a masterpeice as is rarely seen. The depth of symbolism, like the layers of an onion, seems infinite. I have read the trilogy three times and every time I find so much more meaning in the words and actions of the characters. The last book, especially (Titus Alone), although some have called it out of place and unfocused (usually blaming Peake's illness), has the lost and confused feeling that emphasizes Titus' exodus from Gormenghast, where none of his ancestors for centuries have stepped foot out of. The very strength of that uprooting must be shown. I find it difficult to write about this book, as I have only a basic understanding of it so far. I am writing this only to object against it being compared to any other writer, because, after a first, surface reading, the depth of this trilogy has only begun to show itself to the reader. The more I read it, the more I see to be understood. So please, do not regard this story as just a gothic fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: The Lure of Gormenghast
Review: "Titus Groan" by Mervyn Peake is among the greatest works rendered in the English language. It is a work of fantasy, yet resembles nothing that came before it or since. Although this masterpiece is acknowledged by critics and a coterie of obsessed readers (such as myself), it is, sadly, almost unknown in the United States. It is,perhaps, too British or too eccentric. Gormenghast is an ancient castle, about the size of a city, which, as far as we know, is the only thing on the planet. Having no known point of reference to the world we know gives the novel its characteristic unreality-- its surreal atmosphere. The characters are uniformly grotesque: the taciturn, cadaver-like Mr. Flay, the vulgar and grossly obese Swelter, the slightly deformed yet brilliant villain Steerpike. Titus is the heir to Gormenghast-- the seventy-seventh earl of Groan-- and this is his story (although the first book of three ends with the hero only two years old). The focus is on the visual descriptions, and the world of Gormenghast is vividly shown through Peake's breathtaking command of the language. Peake was a graphic artist by profession and his skill with paint and pencil somehow translates into images that resonate in the reader's mind long after he or she has finished reading. Ultimately, it is impossible to shake the experience of visiting Peake's imaginary world. I read this book for the first time at age 17 (I'm now 42) and have been haunted by it since. Gormenghast is like a nightmare world and no sane person would ever want to live there; yet, how strangely beautiful and compelling it is! Gormenghast draws one back to it time and time again. It is what I call "the lure of Gormenghast." "Titus Groan" and its sequels "Gormenghast" and "Titus Alone" comprise the Gormenghast Trilogy. These books will most likely have to be ordered through Amazon.com or some other service, but the trouble is well worth it. For anyone who loves the English language and its endless possibilities, the Gormenghast Trilogy is exquisitely essential.
Rating:
Summary: A piece of literary genius
Review: As an avid reader and devourer of English literature, I was prepared to be disappointed in this "classic". I read the reviews, and I thought the story line sounded a bit preposterous, but I was intrigued enough that I thought I'd give Mervyn Peake a try.
I have never been so enthralled by a book before (and for me, that's saying something). I found myself racing through it so I could start reading it all over again. And I didn't just reread this trilogy, I lovingly dissected it.
Mervyn Peake was a genius with language-he painted pictures with his words. His command of the English language was masterful-I had to keep Webster's dictionary next to me as I read his works-he used words I didn't know existed.
The Gormenghast trilogy defies classification. Mere summaries cannot do it justice. This is, by far, the most profound book I have ever read.
Why couldn't I have found this book twenty years ago?
Rating: 
Summary: Needed editing
Review: A good story but needed some editing...has long dry passages that don't seem to add much to the story. Overall a very gothic feeling to the book...Peake does a great job portraying a very melancholy world filled with dark obsessive characters. Entertaining and thought provoking but certainly not a book that has an epic story or very driven plot.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, Beautiful, Complex and Unforgettable
Review: This book is almost impossible to describe. The Author, Mervyn Peake, is the same man who drew the 'Alice in Wonderland' illustrations that we all grew up with. If you could draw a book instead of having to write it, this would be that novel. You will find plenty of reviews here that quote portions of the text, because it's very difficult to peg down what kind of novel this truly is, and quoting text at least gives you an idea of what to expect. I will just say, if you love literature, serious literature, then this book will remain a part of you for the rest of your life. It's a tragedy that Peake became ill and the rest of the Gormenghast World that obviously existed in such exquisite detail in the author's mind, will never be known.
Rating:
Summary: The Strangest Book in the World
Review: Actually, this book does have something in common with Tolkiens: they are both "Wierd". (We just forget how bizare the Professors is due to all the Barbara Cartland - esque action - adventure that has tried to imitate him). But i would rather compare Peake to Kafka, or sir Malory.
Some fantastic fiction breaks the laws of physics: Gormenghasts breaks those of litteratue itself, which is far more disturbing. It also has a lot of what could, on one level, be enjoyed as melodrama: and some pretty word - pictures, for those who like that kind of thing.
There are also several mentions of Pirates.
Rating:
Summary: A Lost Masterpiece of Dark Fantasy
Review: As other reviewers have pointed out, this novel is compared, somewhat erroneously, to Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, because both fall loosely under the heading of fantasy. This is a misclassification on the same level as saying that Beckett's work is similar to Arthur Miller's because both of them wrote plays. Tolkein is concerned with elves, and Peake is concerned with the darker aspects of human nature, obsession, overweaning ambition, the desire for vengance, melancholy, madness, alienation, and so on. His characters have been described as Dickensian grotesques, but often they are far more developed than that, even though they are much more bizarre than the characters that Dickens created. Can Steerpike, Prunesquallor, Fuschia or Flay honestly be classified as a grotesque, when they exhibit so many different facets to their personality? Steerpike in particular is fascinating. Though he is an outright sociopath, he is not without motivation, or some level of justification, in his actions/reactions to his environment. A doctoral thesis could be written about what Steerpike tells us about the nature of human evil alone.
In addition to his remarkable gift for characterization, Peake is an accomplished poet, capable of incredible flights of fancy infused with a sense of doomed romanticism, which no other fantasist comes close to emulating. Everything in Gormenghast is decaying and ancient, and this decay is rendered palpable through Peake's verbal alchemy. The plot is wonderful as well, and Peake pulls off moments of surreal beauty (such as the depiction of the flooded castle and the hunt for Steerpike in boats), edge of your seat suspense, harrowing descents into madness worthy of King Lear, and absolute heartbreak which moved me to tears.
In short, the Gormenghast Trilogy, in spite of its obscurity and classification as "fantasy", is one of the major literary accomplishments of the 20th century. If you love literature, don't miss out on it.
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