The Gormenghast Trilogy - Mervyn Peake

Advantages: The wonderfully decriptive text unlike anything else, the brooding and plotting so complex.
Disadvantages: Cab be hard to read in terms of style. His command of the language puts you in awe.

...This story is about the comings and goings in the ruinous sprawl of stone, ivy, dust and rust that is Gormenghast - the old and decaying castle that neglects the poverty of the population outside the castle walls. For all castle inhabitants, including Lord Sepulchrave the 76th head of the blue-blooded dynasty, life is steeped in ritual. Each hour, minute and second is lived as per the rules of tradition and all must adhere, all lives which are stolen ...
...it. These characters are the young Lord Titus - the 77th inherent of the castle and young Steerpike, the kitchen slave. One pursues greatness through manipulation, scheming and murder. The other pursues escape, through single minded disobedience, lack of respect for ritual and law and a desire for the unknown wonders that must exist beyond the realm of Gormenghast. This becomes a conflict for both characters which may be likened to the lone wolf ... Read review

Advantages: Deeply atmospheric, beautifully poetic, memorable characters.
Disadvantages: May seem too daunting to start reading.

...of this book or watch the BBC movie. Or... you can pick up this book anyway, and be transformed. With a little patience, the lush beauty of Mervyn Peake's words will truly touch you. The story is centered around a large, imposing dark and ancient castle in the land of Gormenghast. Inside, rules Lord Groan, his wife Gertrude, and his daughter Fuschia. They are surrounded by their many subjects, including a doctor, the doctor's sister, Fuschia's old ...
...having been listed out to the day in a huge, ancient book -- until Gertrude gives birth to the future heir of the throne, a little baby boy named Titus Groan. The news of the birth attracts the attention of a lowly kitchen boy, Steerpike. He uses the hectic, festive atmosphere surrounding the birth to escape from the confines of the kitchen, and then, having infiltrated the main part of the castle, decides to ascend to the throne of Gormenghast. ... Read review

Advantages: A masterpiece of English literature that defies categorisation
Disadvantages: A flawed trilogy, let down by the third book

The Gormenghast trilogy is without a doubt two of the finest books in English literature. Yes, I know a trilogy implies three books, but more of that later. It is often classified as fantasy but this is a misnoma because it contains no fantastic creatures, no magic and no intelligent races other than its citizens. To refer to Gormenghast as fantastic would be a more appropriate description of its almost gothic, often surreal style. The real strength ...
...and often breathtaking set pieces. The Gormenghast books are a feast for the visual thinker, one whose mind's eye can translate text into imagery. It is worth noting that an attempt to dramatise the first two books by the BBC some years ago was a critical failure because I believe the scale and complexity of the visual themes simply defy interpretation by media other than the pure imagination of a reader. To enter the world of Gormenghast and become ... Read review

Advantages: One of the greatest works of literature in any field
Disadvantages: Somewhat slow moving plot, third book is strange.

...my humble opinion, one of the greatest works of fantasy fiction - standing proud beside Stephen Donaldson and J.R.R Tolkien. These books are all masterpieces in their own right, filled with rich descriptions of the strange and macabre world in which they are set. The vast majority of the story is set within the crumbling, labyrinthine castle, Gormenghast. The place is so well described by Mervyn Peake that you can almost feel the brooding, oppressive ...
...handle on, and you get the impression that not even the author himself knows his way fully around Gormenghast, and that there are hidden alcoves and wings unknown even to him. The characters too are excellently drawn, grotesque in a Dickensian way, representing a variety of qualities, but never purely allegorical. Every character is deeply memorable, so brilliantly are they described that you can see them in front of you whenever they are mentioned, ... Read review

Advantages: Unique and enrapturing storyline
Disadvantages: Length - not for light reading!

The adverts for the TV adaptation alone intrigued me. After watching all four of the hour-long episodes of the adaptation, I had made up my mind: I HAD to read The Gormenghast Trilogy. So a week later, there I was, curled up in my favourite armchair, cup of tea growing cold on the table beside me, absorbed in what could possibly be the best fantasy novel(s) ever written. Peakes masterpiece could rival the work of any other writer; be it Anne Rice, ...
...I loved Lord of the Rings). The further I read into this enrapturing fantasy kingdom, the more more captivated I became. Peake's desciptions were full, always he found exactly the right word to describe something causing pictures of characters and places to build up in my mind, acting out the scenes on the pages of the book as if it were real. Another of the countless number of great things about The Gormenghast Trilogy is the escapism provided ... Read review

Advantages: A dark and brooding classic.
Disadvantages: a long slow burning story.

...Titus Groan is the first book in Mervyn Peakes classic Gormenghast trilogy. Although written in the mid twentieth century, it does have more in common with older writers and has a particularly Dickensian feel about it. It is a book of the old school, a slow burning, brooding storyline with rich characterisation and a well thought out background to the whole affair. When you enter the world of Peake, like Tolkien who was writing at the same time, you enter a fully formed world that has its own logic and mechanics, a place that feels like it has existed for ever, the world doesnt just exist for the purpose of the story, the story is just one small part of a much bigger picture. The story is set in the castle of Gormenghast, a massive gothic set of buildings half ruined, half deserted, a world of dark corridors and forgotten rooms... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A classic of British gothic literature
Disadvantages: The third book in the trilogy is best forgotten

...There are some novels that stay alive in your memory after reading them. A few are so fitting, so well crafted that they never dwindle into distant memory. Still fewer draw you back to re-read them time and again adding new layers of understanding and pleasure to these enduring memories with every visit. For me such are the Titus Books by Mervyn Peake. This is a trilogy of novels and is an extraordinary and beautifully crafted work. The books are set in castle Gormenghast; a gothic edifice modelled on the Chinese Forbidden City Peking. It is so central to his work that its stones and battlements form a character themselves, in its twists and turns the dust of ages where forgotten minions have trod permeates its soul and rules all who dwell in its walls. Like Peking it is ordered by the demands of ritual, where the reasons for each... Read review

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