arthurbdd's review against another edition
5.0
Full collection of Peake's classic trilogy. Titus Groan is the best novel of the three, but all of them have their merits. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2021/08/27/peakes-progress/
tfrohock's review against another edition
2.0
[a:Robert Dunbar|403728|Robert Dunbar|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1288383546p2/403728.jpg] recommended this book to me and from what I've read of the first few pages, I can see why. It's lovely.
I purchased the edition that contained all three books in the series.
It is a very large book with tiny print.
This might take a while.
I purchased the edition that contained all three books in the series.
It is a very large book with tiny print.
This might take a while.
quoththegirl's review against another edition
2.0
Oh you guys. Gormenghast was nearly the death of me. I dragged myself through that book like a small, ragged mouse, wounded in battle with vile scorpions, drags himself across the burning sands of the desert. The sun beats mercilessly upon his small, furry head; he can't open his eyes against the glare; and he leaves a tiny, pitiful trail of blood in his pathetic wake, as he searches in vain for a drop of water and for shelter from the circling vultures. Now that you have some idea of what reading this book was like for me, you're probably wondering, "What was so awful about it, Stephanie?" I am actually not quite sure. I mean, Peake used the phrase "voluptuous dust" at least three times, but that in itself isn't really enough to engender such loathing. Many turns of phrase were actually quite good, and his writing style reminded me a lot of Dickens, whom I love. And yet...the wounded mouse feeling. Peake has scores upon scores of characters, none of whom I liked, and very little plot as such. His writing is also unsettling in that people die so suddenly. (I'm suddenly reminded of The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy exclaims, "People come and go so suddenly!") But really, sometimes I wasn't even sure I had read things correctly. There was some scene in which "the lightning played upon" a character, and I thought she was just illuminated by the lightning. Nope. She got fried, only so little time is spent on her demise that I didn't even realize she was dead for several paragraphs. Don't worry too much about spoilers; the character was one of so many, and the book is so incredibly long, if you make it that far you won't really care that she's gone. In fact, I found myself making little tick marks in my head as characters died (and many, many do) because I figured if Peake ran out of characters, he would have to end the book. Sadly, not quite everyone does die, so the book goes on for quite a long time. It never really does end; Peake just died before he could continue the interminable tale. I feel a little bad for belittling the last work of an author, but...tiny wounded mouse, people.
luana420's review against another edition
4.0
From the painterly and the sublime to the ridiculous and obscene, the Gormenghast books are an amazing trip through the mind of writer/illustrator Mervyn Peake. As gorgeous as some of the imagery and witty as some of the epigrams are ("I believe in PAIN" had me rolling in the second book), the experience can't help but be somewhat tainted by the third book, written in a rush to beat Peake's Alzheimer. Rushed plots, imagery that seems expressionistic by default rather than intent, character motivations that become inscrutable... but then again, it's kind of fitting in a meta way, that the tragedy of Gormenghast would find its own end in this ridiculous manner.
nomiddlename's review against another edition
2.0
Like Gormenghast castle, these books sprawl, filled with meandering passages, forgotten wings, ornate, baroque prose studded with superfluous crenellations. Unused, unnecessary, and in my case, mostly unread. I made it to page 448, but to be fair, at least 200 of those pages passed by my eyes unfocused and ignored. I skimmed, skated and slid through long, long, long, so very long, descriptions of things almost entirely unrelated to the plot or even any of the characters. I wanted to like this, and I think that these three books could be condensed into one superb story, but fuck me Peake waffles. Much like this review.
chamberk's review against another edition
4.0
OKAY SO goodreads is counting this as 1 book but technically I'm counting it as 3.
TITUS GROAN: The introduction to Gormenghast. This one I liked, despite the lack of a plot through most of it, because of its atmosphere and eccentric characters. Nothing really happens until the end, but it's super gothic and spooky, and makes the castle of Gormenghast a tremendously enticing place to visit.
GORMENGHAST: This one is better - I'd probably give it five stars if I was rating this book alone. It's weird, because there's a plot about Titus's teachers that takes over half the book and is very, very silly and strange, especially in contrast to the spooky and wicked machinations of the creepy Steerpike.
TITUS ALONE: Okay this one is weird. I won't say much for spoilering sake, but it's very different from the first two and quite bizarre in places. Not bad though.
End of post: These are strange books, and not for everyone. The tone veers from gothic and spine-tingling to silly and outrageous. The characters are either tragic or buffoonish, and their names quite remind me of the denizens of some of Dickens's novels. But overall I'm glad I read them; it was interesting to see what kind of stuff belonged in the genre of "fantasy" before Tolkien basically took the whole thing over.
TITUS GROAN: The introduction to Gormenghast. This one I liked, despite the lack of a plot through most of it, because of its atmosphere and eccentric characters. Nothing really happens until the end, but it's super gothic and spooky, and makes the castle of Gormenghast a tremendously enticing place to visit.
GORMENGHAST: This one is better - I'd probably give it five stars if I was rating this book alone. It's weird, because there's a plot about Titus's teachers that takes over half the book and is very, very silly and strange, especially in contrast to the spooky and wicked machinations of the creepy Steerpike.
TITUS ALONE: Okay this one is weird. I won't say much for spoilering sake, but it's very different from the first two and quite bizarre in places. Not bad though.
End of post: These are strange books, and not for everyone. The tone veers from gothic and spine-tingling to silly and outrageous. The characters are either tragic or buffoonish, and their names quite remind me of the denizens of some of Dickens's novels. But overall I'm glad I read them; it was interesting to see what kind of stuff belonged in the genre of "fantasy" before Tolkien basically took the whole thing over.
djinn_n_juice's review against another edition
5.0
WARNING: The posts below are purely fictional. They never happened, and were not posted by real people. Any similarities to anyone, including myself, are purely your imagination. Even the posts posted by real people were not posted by real people.
Any similarities between this thread and reality are entirely coincidental. But, that scary picture of the blond guy crying? Oh, that's real. That's so sad, and so real.
Any similarities between this thread and reality are entirely coincidental. But, that scary picture of the blond guy crying? Oh, that's real. That's so sad, and so real.
dei2dei's review against another edition
2.0
I read this years ago, and didn't enjoy it... and I can enjoy the series a bit more now, but I am still less than wholly enthusiastic about them.
nereid71's review against another edition
4.0
All in all this was a lovely set of books with amazing turns of phrase that sometimes leaves one utterly captivated at the pure beauty and elegance of the prose.
Set in a fantastical decaying society, whose surrender to madness and nature is reflected in the minds and spirits of its peoples as well as within the very stonework of Gormenghast itself. This work is a reflection of well-observed social mores, attitudes and conventions that comment as strongly on society today as it did in the era of its creation. Well developed, flawed and yet charming characters grace the pages, characters who attempt to make the best they can of their lives despite the rigid social and legal constructs of traditional life in the castle and who struggle under the last futile subconscious attempts to somehow maintain the grand splendour of a once grand and noble lineage and castle. Many scenes are grippingly dramatic and often quite shocking in their graphic depictions. Love, the rebelliousness of youth, tradition, absurdity of archaic social laws, loyalty and companionship, the relationship between parent and child, surrender to nature and machiavellian power plays are all themes dominent in the first two novels.
The third book, which was not completed at the time of Mr. Peake's death, takes a dramatic departure from the setting and tone of the first two novels. While certainly not as fleshed out as the first two novels both in description and dialogue, it still manages to convey a story of finding oneself and of defining what is truly home. Strong themes of the devastation of nature, the meaning of friendship, whether location and geography defines us and love unfold before the reader.
This set is beautifully illustrated with numerous rough sketches by the author himself, a renowned book illustrator.
The books are somewhat on the longish side and there are places where the story tends to drag on a bit, but if was an enjoyable read.
Set in a fantastical decaying society, whose surrender to madness and nature is reflected in the minds and spirits of its peoples as well as within the very stonework of Gormenghast itself. This work is a reflection of well-observed social mores, attitudes and conventions that comment as strongly on society today as it did in the era of its creation. Well developed, flawed and yet charming characters grace the pages, characters who attempt to make the best they can of their lives despite the rigid social and legal constructs of traditional life in the castle and who struggle under the last futile subconscious attempts to somehow maintain the grand splendour of a once grand and noble lineage and castle. Many scenes are grippingly dramatic and often quite shocking in their graphic depictions. Love, the rebelliousness of youth, tradition, absurdity of archaic social laws, loyalty and companionship, the relationship between parent and child, surrender to nature and machiavellian power plays are all themes dominent in the first two novels.
The third book, which was not completed at the time of Mr. Peake's death, takes a dramatic departure from the setting and tone of the first two novels. While certainly not as fleshed out as the first two novels both in description and dialogue, it still manages to convey a story of finding oneself and of defining what is truly home. Strong themes of the devastation of nature, the meaning of friendship, whether location and geography defines us and love unfold before the reader.
This set is beautifully illustrated with numerous rough sketches by the author himself, a renowned book illustrator.
The books are somewhat on the longish side and there are places where the story tends to drag on a bit, but if was an enjoyable read.