Rating: 
Summary: Gormenghast Trilogy is in print in the UK
Review: I read and loved the Gormenghast trilogy many years ago, but
lost my copies of all the books by lending them out to "friends." I recently had a chance to go to the UK on business and made a point of looking there for the Peake
books. Surprise! They're all in print over there and have been more or less continually. The copies I bought
are copyright 1989. Mandarin Paperbacks, an imprint of
Reed Consumer Books Limited, 81 Fulham Road, London, SW3
6RB and Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore and Toronto.
Reprinted in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. There's also
an edition that binds all three books together, but I found
the large format with extra long text lines hard to read.
Rating:
Summary: A superior work that deserves to be in print again!
Review: This is for folks ready to graduate from Tolkein. A fully realized world packed with fascinating and complex characters wrought in beautiful and moving imagery, a plot spellbinding in its intricacy, and a sense of detail and depth that makes Robert Jordan look like Walt Disney. And you must read the second book, which adds to the depth and wonder of Peake's creation, and the astonishing third, which stands everything to come before on its head. I return regularly to Amazon for no reason other than to see if these books are back in print, for my old copies are completely worn out!
Rating:
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, beautiful
and 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.
Rating:
Summary: 'There should be no rich, no poor, no strong, no weak,' ...
Review: .... said Steerpike, methodically pulling the legs off the stag beetle, one by one as he spoke. 'Equality is the great thing, equality is everything.'
Extravagant? Yes it is! But what a wonderful type of extravagance. This is a fantasy novel like no other. I first read this novel many, many years ago and shared it with some of my special friends. And then, when I got married, I so loved reading it to my wife. Since then I have seen the television series ('Gormenghast' - based on this novel and its sequel). Now I picked the book up again and it's as enthralling, fascinating, captivating as ever.
Many novels introduce us to one or two memorable characters and detail their interaction - the tensions and the bonding. But in 'Titus Groan' Mervyn Peake creates a whole galaxy of characters - all extravagant and extreme - and then constrains them in such a tight environment. You could compare Gormenghast to another isolated society; that described in W H Hudson's 'A Crystal Age', but these worlds are very different. The interactions are thus intensified. For all their extremeness I wondered if Gormenghast and the people living there were no more than an analogy of a family - a group of people that allows itself controlled intimacies that it does not offer to the wider world.
'Titus Groan' separates itself from that other great fantasy world of 'Lord of the Rings' by its constrained boundaries. This is not a travel story ranging across wide horizons. It is a travel story of the human mind. It has horror, it has madness, it has dedication, and above all it has the most extraordinary vision and humour. There are four great scenes not to be missed - the burning of the library, Titus's first Birthday, the battle between Flay and Swelter, and the earling.
Other recommendations:
'Gormenghast' by Mervyn Peake
'Titus Alone' by Mervyn Peake
'Peake's Progress' which contains plays, short stories, drawings and wonderful poems all by Mervyn Peake
'A Crystal Age' by W H Hudson
'Lord of the Rings' J R R Tolkein
Rating:
Summary: The book that converted me to the fantasy genre..
Review: Spectacularly imaginative! I loved the dark world of Gormenghast. Peopled with larger than life characters it's among the most vividly written books I've ever read in any genre. Until I read this book I was admittedly skeptical about the fantasy genre as a whole, but after reading this stunning book I realized there was a whole world of writing out there I'd overlooked. A stunning, stunning book.
Rating:
Summary: Titus Groan
Review: Castle Gormenghast is a monstrous edifice, steeped in ritual and decay. The seventy-sixth Earl of Groan, Sepulchrave Groan, follows the intricate customs of his daily life; he is the embodiment of Groan, the black heart of the castle. Today, his son, the seventy-seventh Earl of Groan is born.
And so opens the first book of The Gormenghast Trilogy. More books were planned after the third, but the fourth remained unfinished and however many else there would have been were not even begun after Peake's mental breakdown and subsequent removal from the world of literature. The Trilogy has, some fifty years after first publication, attained a legendary status within the realms of fantasy, and after reading this first book, it is not hard to see why.
The characters in the novel are few, and the action is almost entirely located within the dark walls of Gormenghast. Thanks to the oppressive, slightly mad nature of the castle, each of the characters has a quirk, or an oddity that makes them stand out, enhancing the oppressive nature of the story. No character is completely normal - in fact most of them are caricatures of a particular emotion or fault - but because of the rigidity and monstrosity of Gormenghast - a point that is rammed home at every possible occasion - we can accept this. Thus Flay's character being little more than of mix of Devotion and Taciturn with a dash of Creaky Knees, we are able to identify and even feel sympathetic with the pathetic man. Fuschia, the neglected and only daughter of Groan, is teenage-angst personified, but again, thanks to the skill and grace with which Peake writes, we are able to look past these stereotypes and instead appreciate the characters for who they are. As the story unfolds, we are allowed deeper into the minds of the primary characters, and while they never really stray from the broad strokes with which they are initially painted, they do develop and grow, the plain shades of archetype deepening to the lush hues of characterisation.
Peake has an exceptional talent with words. Sentences and whole paragraphs are marvels of literary concentration. While writing Titus Groan, it is clear that he picked a primary theme - despondency, oppression, darkness - and these unhappy emotions cover the narrative like a dark, heavy cloak. Yet - and herein lies his skill - the writing never degenerates into third rate, melodramatic angst. It always manages to remain of a very high quality. Peake is an author who manages to capture the sick beauty of darkness with grace.
The story involves the first few years of Titus Groan's life. In the steady, unending ritual of Gormenghast life, the birth of a new Groan is a major event, and this sets the castle in motion. Perhaps unused to change, the characters are slowly presented with an increasing number of new and dramatic events, and some of the stalwarts are unable to handle such times. Steerpike, a young upstart - in every sense of the word - takes advantage of the events at Gormenghast, insinuating his way up through the ranks of the major servants and minor Groan family members with horrifying efficiency. While his story is not resolved within the first book, it is clear that the cunning young man will play an important part in the trilogy.
What Peake has created with the first book of his trilogy is a crumbling edifice of decay and torment, a monstrous, dark epic that is harrowing in its beauty. While the genre of fantasy may turn off literary purists - I myself had trouble at first - there is really no excuse for not plunging yourself into the disturbing halls of Gormenghast.
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...)
Rating:
Summary: Gormenghast
Review: this is the best book i have ever read!! Unfortunately the last book 'Titus Alone' isn't as good!! READ THIS!! NOW!!
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: got patience?
Review: I do like this book. However, I don't think it should even be considered as being on par with Tolkien. It is descriptive writing at its best--Peake creates some incredibly gorgeous imagery, and if you like character studies...this would be a great book. It is however sorely lacking in plot development and in terms of themes etc it doesn't gives you much to consider. It's a rich book with a lot of icing but contains precious little cake.
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