TITUS ALONE

Rating:
Summary: A new beginning rather than an ending
Review: I enjoyed this book very much but it IS rather different from the preceding novels (Titus Groan, Gormenghast), which are really complete as a pair. Though related it is not necessary to have read them in order to follow the action of this story.

Young Titus Groan, Lord of Gormenghast after his Father's assassination and the death of the villainous Steerforth, decides to set out to see something of the world beyond the eccentric traditions of his decayed and moribund realm. He finds a decaying and eccentric city, where he makes some allies as he becomes a nine-days wonder.

Peake excelled at depiction of a monstrous and decaying world filled with wierd eccentrics. If you like that kind of thing, you'll love this book!

Rating:
Summary: Last but by no means the least.
Review: It is a serious mistake to discount Titus Alone as merely the weakest of Peake's magnificent trilogy. It is an expansion and development of his earlier themes, and considering the circumstances under which it was written (Peake was suffering from premature senility that eventually lead to his death, he could barely lift a pencil.) it is an extraordinary and painful novel. Leaving Gormenghast and its (surviving) inhabitants behind, the novel centres on the character of Titus, and crucially puts the earlier novels in context. Despite his mother's warnings at the end of Gormenghast, there is indeed a world beyond the walls, and a world which has progressed beyond the ritual and claustrophobia of the castle itself. There is technology here. And - most extraordinary of all - no one has ever heard of Gormenghast itself. Suddenly Titus is accused of insanity (among other things) and even begins to doubt the existence of his home himself. As disturbing and beautiful as anything that went before, Titus Alone was never meant to be the end of the series. Peake was planning to take Titus even further afield, but as merely a glimpse of the outside world, the novel is an essential part of an extraordinary work of literature.

Rating:
Summary: Barely related to the first 2 books
Review: This is supposed to be part 3 of the trilogy, but it has VERY little to do with the first 2 books (both of which I loved, BTW). The only thing in common with the first books is the character of Titus (who was a baby in the first book, so was really only a character in the second book). The first 2 books spend much (most) of their time in a rather enchanting world that is confined to a castle and the immediate area around it, yet none of this book takes place there. Much more disturbing, however, is this volume takes place in a VERY different time period than the first two books. The first 2 take place in a castle that is lit by candles and has no visible technology (the only thing that is described that was invented in the last 800 years is a reference to "guns", but they are never used and it is unknown how primitive the "guns" would be). In this book they have cars, airplanes(!), and tiny self propelled spy devices that don't even exist today! (Not to mention helmets that give you superhuman strength, and other fantastic future things - it goes from medieval castle straight to comic-book future). It is not even internally consistant - one woman flys an airplane to visit a ruin she last saw during a failed expedition to explore the unknown in one direction, an expedition that had to quit because of an unpenatratable LINE OF TREES (were the trees so tall they could stop the airplanes?). At "plot" is barely in existance, and has lots of people doing things for no rational or decernable reason (really a stark contrast to the first 2 stories, which went to some length to give you insight into the characters).
Read the first two, then skip this one - it is not only not in their league, it will actually diminish your remembered enjoyment of the first two.

Rating:
Summary: Barely related to the first 2 books
Review: This is supposed to be part 3 of the trilogy, but it has VERY little to do with the first 2 books (both of which I loved, BTW). The only thing in common with the first books is the character of Titus (who was a baby in the first book, so was really only a character in the second book). The first 2 books spend much (most) of their time in a rather enchanting world that is confined to a castle and the immediate area around it, yet none of this book takes place there. Much more disturbing, however, is this volume takes place in a VERY different time period than the first two books. The first 2 take place in a castle that is lit by candles and has no visible technology (the only thing that is described that was invented in the last 800 years is a reference to "guns", but they are never used and it is unknown how primitive the "guns" would be). In this book they have cars, airplanes(!), and tiny self propelled spy devices that don't even exist today! (Not to mention helmets that give you superhuman strength, and other fantastic future things - it goes from medieval castle straight to comic-book future). It is not even internally consistant - one woman flys an airplane to visit a ruin she last saw during a failed expedition to explore the unknown in one direction, an expedition that had to quit because of an unpenatratable LINE OF TREES (were the trees so tall they could stop the airplanes?). At "plot" is barely in existance, and has lots of people doing things for no rational or decernable reason (really a stark contrast to the first 2 stories, which went to some length to give you insight into the characters).
Read the first two, then skip this one - it is not only not in their league, it will actually diminish your remembered enjoyment of the first two.

Rating:
Summary: Frustrating.
Review: This is the third and last volume of the Gormenghast trilogy (after Titus Groan, and Gormenghast).

In this book, we follow Titus, now almost twenty, as he escapes from the Castle, flees its oppressive Ritual, and becomes lost in a sandstorm. Helped by the owner of a travelling zoo, Muzzlehatch, and his ex-lover Juno, he ends up in a big city. Of course, no one there has ever heard of Gormenghast, and the general opinion is that the boy is deranged, and with no paper, he's soon arrested for vagrancy.

Hopefully, there are a few people who believe in his story, or at least who are intrigued by it, and they try to help him. And now Titus, the deserter, the traitor, longs for his home, and looks for it all the time to prove, if only to himself, that Gormenghast is truly real.

I don't know how closely Titus Alone actually follows Mervyn Peake's intentions before mental illness struck him, but this final volume is indeed chaotic. Its characters and style, its setting and atmosphere have little to do with both previous books. Or maybe it's just me who didn't understand anything, but nevertheless, all I felt was bitter frustration.

Rating:
Summary: A new beginning rather than an ending
Review: Titius Alone is the last, and admittedly weakest, of Peake*s great Gormenghast trilogy. In it, the self-exiled young Lord Titus Groan now confronts the world he desired to see. Before, the brooding pile of the Castle, a character in its own right, had influenced everyone, everything within it, even the spirited Titus. Its absence already throws this book out of kilter with the first two; it really is necessary to read the others first to uncerstand this one. The world Titus enters is still no less macabre, a city of spires and airships (it is never clear just when the era is). The people, animal lover Muzzlehatch, tragic Black Rose, no less compelling. Yet the story appears incomplete, there exists rebellion, fights, illness, Titus is bewitchingly betrayed by the girl who once loved him--but all throughout, whatever Titus, and the book, is seeking, still remains elusive. He had sought to be free of his dark home Gormenghast, yet carries his title nonetheless, a name mocked by nearly everyone he meets. I have not personally read this edition, but actively seek it, as it contains Peake*s notes and further ideas, that may have fleshed out Titus in adulthood. The ending of this book is abrupt--all but within site of the Castle, he yet turns and leaves once again--a scene rather disappointing, certainly puzzling. While it is too much to ask that someone take up a sequel (it is like trying to add on to CS Lewis), this reader yet wonders, *What happened after......* Not for everyone*s taste, or even for all who enjoyed the depth of the first two, but a thoughtful last look, a final postcard from a twisting, tangled journey.

Rating:
Summary: A look, a last look, is this all?
Review: Titius Alone is the last, and admittedly weakest, of Peake*s great Gormenghast trilogy. In it, the self-exiled young Lord Titus Groan now confronts the world he desired to see. Before, the brooding pile of the Castle, a character in its own right, had influenced everyone, everything within it, even the spirited Titus. Its absence already throws this book out of kilter with the first two; it really is necessary to read the others first to uncerstand this one. The world Titus enters is still no less macabre, a city of spires and airships (it is never clear just when the era is). The people, animal lover Muzzlehatch, tragic Black Rose, no less compelling. Yet the story appears incomplete, there exists rebellion, fights, illness, Titus is bewitchingly betrayed by the girl who once loved him--but all throughout, whatever Titus, and the book, is seeking, still remains elusive. He had sought to be free of his dark home Gormenghast, yet carries his title nonetheless, a name mocked by nearly everyone he meets. I have not personally read this edition, but actively seek it, as it contains Peake*s notes and further ideas, that may have fleshed out Titus in adulthood. The ending of this book is abrupt--all but within site of the Castle, he yet turns and leaves once again--a scene rather disappointing, certainly puzzling. While it is too much to ask that someone take up a sequel (it is like trying to add on to CS Lewis), this reader yet wonders, *What happened after......* Not for everyone*s taste, or even for all who enjoyed the depth of the first two, but a thoughtful last look, a final postcard from a twisting, tangled journey.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Virtuosity
Review: To my knowlege, the only thing ever written in the English language that even comes close is Shakespeare's latter plays. For characterization, plot, description, humor, pathos and sheer gothic intensity and wonder, Peake's Gormenghast trilogy may be without parallel in all of human literature.

Read it and find out what the English language is capable of.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Virtuosity
Review: To my knowlege, the only thing ever written in the English language that even comes close is Shakespeare's latter plays. For characterization, plot, description, humor, pathos and sheer gothic intensity and wonder, Peake's Gormenghast trilogy may be without parallel in all of human literature.

Read it and find out what the English language is capable of.