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The Gormenghast royal family, the castle's decidedly eccentric staff, and the peasant artisans living around the dreary, crumbling structure make up the cast of characters in these engrossing stories. Peake's command of language and unique style set the tone and shape of an intricate, slow-moving world of ritual and stasis:
"The walls of the vast room which were streaming with calid moisture, were built with gray slabs of stone and were the personal concern of a company of eighteen men known as the 'Grey Scrubbers'.... On every day of the year from three hours before daybreak until about eleven o'clock, when the scaffolding and ladders became a hindrance to the cooks, the Grey Scrubbers fulfilled their hereditary calling."
Peake has been compared to Dickens, Tolkien, and Peacock, but the Gormenghast trilogy is truly unique. Unforgettable characters with names like Steerpike and Prunesquallor make their way through an architecturally stifling world, with lots of dark corners around to dampen any whimsy that might arise. This true classic is a feast of words unlike anything else in the world of fantasy. Those who explore Gormenghast castle will be richly rewarded. --Therese Littleton
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Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780879516284
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Gormenghast Novels 2.02. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780879516284
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: New. Reprint. "A gorgeous, volcanic eruption . . . a work of extraordinary imagination. -New YorkerThe true fantasy classic of our time. -Washington PostHis inventiveness, his ingenuity, and his humor are astonishing. -San Francisco ChronicleA doomed lord, an emergent hero, an array of bizarre creatures, and an ancient royal family plagued by madness and intrigue-these are the denizens of ancient, sprawling, tumbledown Gormenghast Castle.Within its vast halls and serpentine corridors, the members of the Groan dynasty and their master, Lord Sepulchrave, grow increasingly out of touch with a changing world as they pass their days in unending devotion to meaningless rituals and arcane traditions. Meanwhile, an ambitious kitchen boy named Steerpike rises by devious means to the post of Master of the Ritual while he maneuvers to bring down the Groans.In these extraordinary novels, Peake has created a world where all is like a dream: lush, fantastical, vivid; a symbol of dark struggle. Accompanying the text are Peakes own drawings, illustrating the whole assembly of strange creatures that inhibit Gormenghast.The Gormenghat Novels (which includes Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone) has been included in Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, and 100 Must Read Fantasy Novels as one of the greatest fantasy works of the twentieth century. Literary critic Harold Bloom has praised the series as the best fantasy novels of the twentieth century and it is often compared to J.R.R. Tolkeins Lord of the Ring series.Breathtaking in its power and drenched in dark atmosphere, humor, and intrigue, The Gormenghast Novels is a classic, one of the great works of 20th century British literature. This edition includes introductory essays by Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, and famed humorist Quentin Crisp." Seller Inventory # DADAX0879516283
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A doomed lord, an emergent hero, and a dazzling array of bizarre creatures inhabit the magical world of the Gormenghast novels which, along with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, reign as one of the undisputed fantasy classics of all time. At the center of it all is the seventy-seventh Earl, Titus Groan, who stands to inherit the miles of rambling stone and mortar that form Gormenghast Castle and its kingdom, unless the conniving Steerpike, who is determined to rise above his menial position and control the House of Groan, has his way. In these extraordinary novels, Peake has created a world where all is like a dream — lush, fantastical, and vivid. Accompanying the text are Peake's own drawings, illustrating the whole assembly of strange and marvelous creatures that inhabit Gormenghast. Coming soon as a major, lavishly produced TV series, the Gormenghast novels—"Titus Groan, Gormenghast, " and "Titus Alone"—along with Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings, " reign among the undisputed fantasy classics of all time. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780879516284
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