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only read this review, if you have already read Titus Groan and wondering should I read this sequel � Because this will contain spoilers for Titus Groan as slip-ups occur though I try and avoid it, do not complain that I didn’t warn you. But before you back out seek out this novel after you finished Titus Goran. Now people who read the novel and people who still deciding if they should read the novel hope you like my review of this fantastic piece of literature.

Introduction

Book 1 Titus Groan is fantastic, it’s basically a masterpiece but Gormenghast is another beast. It rewards the patience of the first book because how certain plot points unfold, the and the general plot is more focused upon than Titus Groan, which in terms of that aspect it was short on. Though that isn’t a criticism of that book as it fitted nature of Titus Groan and what it was seeking out to accomplish. It was deliberately slow and introduction to the castle and its residents seeing certain aspects are basically inverted by the end of this book. This will be a shorter review than Titus Groan because a lot of praises and discussion are like the first book, so it doesn’t bare repeating.

The Shakespearean influence is still prevalent throughout the novel, that has not changed. What I stated about the framework and other factors aren’t removed in the sequel but enforced with further exploration. Though they are 3 books ( though Peake intended to have more like 5) this serves as a fantastic Duology, because of the majority of the plot points, which Titus Groan set up all given resolution except some near the end which unfortunate. After all, we won’t see the answer to them. Though if you genuinely dislike the 3rd book this can easily serve as a good open ending and for most series, this would be its conclusion in all honesty. Though Peake ambition is such this wasn’t enough for him, he wanted to depict Titus from infancy to death which is a daring concept especially during 1940-the 50s for fantasy. The Gormenghast series being incomplete is as tragic as WoT not being completed by Robert Jordan. The Silmarillion and The Great Tales not being completed by JRR Tolkien, in terms of sci-fi Frank Herbert unable to finish the last book in his magnum opus which is the Dune Saga. It’s one of the biggest tragedies in fantasy. Throughout this review I will be examining why this book is a masterpiece in every sense, I definitely won’t do it justice but when read something so amazing you genuinely just step back for a moment and think about the events that unfolded.

Prose

Honestly feel like it might be better than the first book in this regard, as Peake improves as a writer. Though another reviewer states

The visual set pieces are equally vivid, but the style seems less labored, more fluid--less like cubist painting and more like a movie photographed by a cinematographer with a unique and eccentric palette. At first I thought this was principally due to Peake's maturing style--and I still believe that this is an important factor--but I have also come to understand that the growing ease in style, the flow of the narrative, has changed because Gormenghast, and Titus too, have changed

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Bill Kerwin

Honestly, he states it perfectly and better than how I could describe it. Because how the plot unfolds it’s a bit sparser in comparatively to Titus Groan which is much slower.

Example Chapter 75

(view spoiler)[ And as she pondered, she slid moment by moment even deeper into a world of make-believe, as though she were once more the imaginative girl of many years ago, aloft in her secret life. She had become somebody else. She was someone who was young and beautiful and brave as a lioness. What would such a person do? Why, such a person would stand upon the window-sill above this water. And � she � would � and as the child in her was playing the oldest game in the world, her body, following the course of her imagination, had climbed to the sill of the window where it stood with its back to the room.
For how long she would have stood there had she not been jerked back into a sudden consciousness of the world � by the sound of someone knocking upon the door of her room, it is impossible to know, but starting at the sound and finding herself dangerously balanced upon a narrow sill above the deep water, she trembled uncontrollably, and in trying to turn without sufficient thought or care, she slipped and clutching at the face of the wall at her side found nothing to grasp, so that she fell, striking her dark head on the sill as she passed, and was already unconscious before the water received her, and drowned her at its ease. (hide spoiler)]

I won’t go in-depth with that scene however I wanted to illustrate how he able to depict everything so brilliantly. I said in my previous review I struggled with writing style at times I had reread paragraphs and sometimes (rarely) whole chapters. The writing style as I assumed, will just click with you and for this novel it did. They are moments where I was confused what was the point of certain chapters but then I realised oh it's building towards something for this novel it’s the (view spoiler)[ The Thing (hide spoiler)]. A lot of authors aren’t too concerned about their prose in fantasy, but you can’t help and love their use of the English language. Its fundamental core of writing it’s the reason why certain books work so well in how they communicate ideas they a nuanced to it.

Writing

He talks about the castle as it’s like a person. In a certain way, it is. You will witness change over a time though subtlety, which you will notice in reflection. The encompassing nature of Gormenghast reflects the values of the characters and belief quite uniquely. One of the best backdrops to a series.

I stated this in my Titus Groan review and I 100% stand by this statement even more so with the sequel into account.

(view spoiler)[ What could stop them? It was Gormenghast that spoke. A fiend might be wandering the castle with dripping hands, but the traditional ceremonies were at the back of it all, enormous, immemorial, sacrosanct. In a fortnight’s time it was their day, the day of the Mud Dwellers, when all along the white stone shelf at the foot of the long courtyard wall the coloured carvings would be displayed; and at night, when the bonfires roared and all but the three chosen statues were turned to ash in their flames, Titus standing on the balcony with the Outer Dwellers below him in the fire-lit darkness, would hold aloft in turn, each masterpiece... (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ Quite literally the tradition of Gormenghast is dying, this was evident by the death of Fray and Barquentine. It's quite interesting how these two characters are perceived by their traditions. In the end, Fray forgoes his tradition for Fuchsia and Titus. So, he resided inside the castle despite banishment to find the root of the evil that seeped through it. Where Barquentine was concerned, he upheld his vow for Gormenghast burning Steerpike though not killing him which mentally and physically scarred him. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[

There was devilry somewhere among these cold stones� He was not sentimental about the days of his youth� For the members of the Groan line itself he had less regard than for the meanest and dreariest of the rituals that it was their destiny to perform. Only in so far as they were symbols did he bow his ragged head. He had no love for Titus � only for his significance as the last of the links in the great chain. There was something about the way the boy moved � a restlessness, an independence, that galled him. It was almost as though this heir to a world of towers had learned of other climes, of warm clandestine lands � reflection of what lived and throve in his imagination.

(hide spoiler)]

Unsure what I can state without just rambling, but I will state the themes it tackles, the characters arcs are truly brilliant in every sense of the word. One aspect I love is that secrets remain secrets. They a notion in a lot of tales because a character has a secret or mystery that it will play a vital role in the story in some manner, unfolded to the other people. Certain revelations occur, but it approached much differently than you would expect. (view spoiler)[ An example would be the burning of the library you would think that be a significant revelation but that never gets revealed. It forever in the dark, in Steerpike and the Earl sisters� graves. There the death of the Earl that no one besides Fray knows and he doesn’t reveal it to anyone. Fuchsia having Sex (so she not virgin anymore) with Steerpike and having an affair with a commoner is never revealed to anyone else. Even Fuchsia not revealing the ‘Thing� is Titus Foster Sister which is never revealed to him. This simply enriches that atmosphere because that’s the reality you’re not going to know everything, and this is showcased in the text. (hide spoiler)]

Character

Titus

(view spoiler)[ He hated the lack of choice: the assumption on the part of those around him that there were no two ways of thinking: that his desire for a future of his own making was due to ignorance or to a wilful betrayal of his birthright.
But more than all this he hated the confusion in his own heart. For he was proud. He was irrationally proud. He had lost the unselfconsciousness of childhood where he was a boy among boys; he was now Lord Titus and conscious of the fact. And while he ached for the anonymity of freedom he moved erect with a solitary pride of bearing, sullen and commanding.
Chapter 52

But it was not only that she was so much the outward expression of all he meant by the word ‘Freedom�, or that the physical she and what she symbolized had become fused into one thing� He trembled at the thought of this disparity. It was not closeness or a sameness, or any affinity or hope of it, that thrilled him. It was the difference, the difference that mattered; the difference that cried aloud�

Chapter 66 (hide spoiler)]

Titus is the one, who has one of the most interesting arcs I’ve read it’s a unique journey spanning from infant (book 1) to 17 years old by the end. What I love about Titus is probably his relationship and how his “outrageous� views contrasting his environment. My favourites moments are Titus and his sister just chatting, honestly, I can just read a whole chapter on them just chilling. It makes me wonder what Earl relationship with his sisters ( in terms of chemistry)? As we know the result, but through Titus, you do see a lot more his perspective in retrospect. In his mind, he probably similar to his son, but he only expresses that outlook through his novels hence the Library. Its why the burning of the Library destroy his sanity he had no freedom. Unlike Titus he was unable to face his situation, maybe he did for a period in his life but came back like a broken man. Anyways I enjoy his teacher dynamic with newly introduced character Bellgrove and Steerpike for different reasons.

Fuchsia

Out of the first two books, she is my favourite character and has the most development. Her affection for Titus is endearing and as a sister, she sacrifices a lot for Titus sake. I can always read a random chapter of her doing nothing because she is fantastic. Above I’ve already discussed a certain scene but (view spoiler)[ they a real sense of tragedy for her because of what she faces. You also have to view the character from the Earl sisters POV because their brother was the Earl. Looking at circumstance what’s her role? We know Titus role according to the rituals but Fuchsia besides her relationship with her brother and the doctor it’s all honesty nothing. The saddest aspect is that she was aware of it. Then her willing to have sex with a monster she had no idea in the time her purity as such is almost disappeared. She did not kill herself but symbolically the traditions and ritual of Gormenghast killed Fuchsia. It’s the reason why Titus snapped, not because Steerpike killed her which he was the large part of her death, but his Home killed the last person he truly loved. (hide spoiler)]

Steerpike

The master manipulator. They a lot to say about Steerpike rise and his conclusion in this book. He one of the most fascinating antagonists in Fiction up there with Meruem from Hunter x Hunter, Tywin from ASOIAF, Doflamingo from One Piece, Johan from Monster or Griffith from Berserk and lastly, Batman Rogue’s gallery like Joker. They are moments of his which is purely haunting, really disturbing to read how deranged he is at times. It's worth reading these two books for him alone. They a lot more that can be said but don’t feel it’s necessary.

Conclusion

What more can you say about Gormenghast? Well, its the perfect sequel, its follows the themes and plotline from Titus Groan but expands it and executes its masterfully. The flaws section from Titus Groan pretty much imply here if you do not like that book nothing of your view about this series will change. In all honesty, you won’t read something like this, maybe someone would attempt replicate but it’s impossible. If you do not want to read the third book, this serves as a great duology with an open ending.

10/10 one of the best fantasy novels ever written no doubt