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Gormenghast Novels
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
39 posts | 36 read | 47 to read
The trilogy of novels -Titus Groan, GormenghastandTitus Alone- comprising Peake's classic fantasy and basis of a major PBS miniseries. A doomed lord, a scheming underling, 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. Breathtaking in its power and drenched in dark atmosphere, humor and intrigue, The Gormenghast Novelsis a classic, one of the great works of 20th century British literature."
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Lizpixie
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#AutumnPlease #Day17 #Mansion This classic SFF/horror is set in the crumbling Gormenghast Castle, ancestral seat of its 77th Earl, Titus Groan. #Scarathlon #SpookyGhostClub 6pts

Eggs Great cover 🐉🧡🙌🏻 5mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful cover 🩵💛 5mo
Lizpixie @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks! My dad bought it for me about 40yrs ago from an old Used bookstore. It‘s one of my few books from my teenage years. God I feel old👵🏻 (edited) 5mo
Eggs @Lizpixie “Age is not important unless you‘re cheese 🧀 “ said the old gal 5mo
Lizpixie @Eggs or wine🍷 5mo
28 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Tonton
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Pickpick

Rainy Tokyo afternoon just turned fabulous with delivery of this book from the #BookDepository! It‘s the illustrated hardback edition and I‘m so happy; I read it way back when in separate volumes and was just blown away. Looking forward to re-reading. 🌟😎💕

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Leftcoastzen
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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#ArtfulAugust #Trilogy One I haven‘t tackled yet .I found these old editions, love the covers . A major pet peeve as a bookseller, people asking if I could recommend a “Treeology”

Ruthiella I have the same copy of Titus Groan. I haven‘t yet had the courage to tackle it! 😱 Though I have read the first page a few times now! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Cool covers!! 2y
vivastory Oh, man. Your pet peeve just made me literally lol. In a waiting room. 🙃 2y
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Bookwomble My equal favourite books 😍 Peake & Tolkien are my champs 😁 2y
Leftcoastzen @vivastory 😂😂👏 2y
Leftcoastzen @Bookwomble I need to get to these! 2y
Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen Yes, you do. You really do! 😆 If you can get a copy of the tagged, it's a brilliant novella featuring Titus as a boy, which expands the Gormenghast world in strange ways. It was marketed as a children's book, but it's really not, unless they're named Wednesday and Pugsley! 2y
Leftcoastzen @Bookwomble would you recommend reading boy in darkness first? 2y
Leftcoastzen @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thanks! I am always thrilled to find older paperbacks with awesome covers in good condition. 2y
Eggs Well done 👍🏼 2y
Leftcoastzen @Eggs thanks! 2y
Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen No, I wouldn't read it first. Narratively, it's somewhere in the middle of the second novel, Gormenghast. It's not an essential part of the story, more like an additional episode or deleted scene, but worthy in its own right. 2y
Leftcoastzen @Ruthiella it‘s been calling my name forever.Same thing , read a couple pages, but didn‘t dig in. 2y
45 likes1 stack add13 comments
review
MelHopton
This post contains spoilers
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Pickpick

*Old Review* EPIC. The language is impenetrable in places. The first part is Titus Green growing up; the second Titus Groan in the castle and a massive flood and the evil boy Steerpike who destroys things like tradition, undermines the power structures, scares the purple aunts into dying and murders people. The third is Titus out of Gormenghast; it's a bit confused. Laborious but worthwhile.
*I now have no memory of this book whatsoever 😭*

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CindyMyLifeIsLit
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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These are the voices clamoring the loudest from my tbr shelves. They have been patiently waiting for an unconscionable length of time, so I am determined to get these read this year. 🤞

The_Literary_Jedi Great stack to read! House of Leaves - The authors sister is the musician Poe and her album Haunted goes with the book 🎶 3y
Nute So many good books to choose from! 3y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Oooo - House of Leaves. Sooo good. And Angle of Repose is languishing in my stack as well. 3y
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CindyMyLifeIsLit @The_Literary_Jedi Thanks! I will definitely check that out! 3y
CindyMyLifeIsLit @Nute That‘s my problem! I‘m overwhelmed with great choices! I guess there are worse things, right? 😂 #firstworldproblems 3y
CindyMyLifeIsLit @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Yes, I‘ve heard SO many good things about it, and Angle of Repose, as well. They‘ve been hovering on my periphery for far too long! 3y
45 likes6 comments
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veritysalter
Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Peake
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🍁 No, I‘m in the UK, but I‘m busy planning my Christmas reads. 🍂 The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake, it‘s such a gloomy book, dark, dank corridors and candlelight. 🍃Parks & Rec, Schitts Creek - I don‘t feel there‘s been a good British one for ages. 🧆 Nudja, with tomato and basil sauce on penne pasta with a salad (I‘m just about to start cooking now). Thank you for the tag @MoonWitch94 #ThoughtfulThursday

MoonWitch94 You‘re welcome! Schitts Creek is SO good! It makes me laugh. Any good Christmas books you can recommend? I‘m on the hunt for some for #wintergames 3y
veritysalter @MoonWitch94 I love the British Crime Library ones, they‘re collections of short stories, usually set in the 1920s. One Day in December is a good romance book. I have Nancy Mitford and George Simeon on my list for this year, plus whatever I can find on Kindle Unlimited. 3y
TheAromaofBooks Thanks for the tag, Verity!! 3y
34 likes3 comments
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vivastory
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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Jonathan Lethem just read an amusing poem about tagged book

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CindyMyLifeIsLit
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it—I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me—I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want. This is day 3! #bookstoread #tbrpile

Texreader Glad you‘re joining us posting from your tbr list! 4y
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veritysalter
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#GratefulReads - Day Three - #Over500Pages 953 pages to be exact, of bizarre, gothic dystopian fantasy

OriginalCyn620 🙌🏻📚❤️ 4y
Bookwomble One of my favourites 😊 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Oh wow!!! 😲😲 pretty cover!!! (edited) 4y
34 likes3 comments
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Aimeesue
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#7days7covers #covercrush Day 5

Post a favorite cover every day for 7 days, with no explanations. If there‘s anyone left untagged who wants to play, please join in!

jillrhudy Dying! 😍😍😍😍😍 5y
Aimeesue @jillrhudy They are SUPER gorgeous. I just want to pet them. 5y
batsy Wow, so stunning 😍😍 5y
Aimeesue @batsy They really are remarkable. I was incredibly lucky to be able to get my hands on a set! 5y
Cedricsmom “I just want to pet them.” STEALING! 🥰❤️ 4y
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toofondofbooks
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Panpan

You will find this trilogy of books lauded as one of the classics of fantasy that everyone should read. I was completely unimpressed. The first two books introduces shallow unlikable characters that don't really follow any plot. The last book is an utter disaster that makes no sense whatsoever. Skip it.

Daisey I was completely unimpressed by the first book as well. The second is still on my list to read, but I‘m not rushing to get to it any time soon. 5y
toofondofbooks @Daisey the first two at least had the same characters and setting and semblance of a plot. The third made absolutely no sense whatsoever. I was confused the entire time. 5y
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laurenduke300
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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This would be good if it was a lot shorter.

wordzie Lol ❤ 5y
16 likes1 comment
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Leniverse
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#CharactersLikeAlice
Steerpike is the most knavish of knaves. It surprises me a bit that I could have populated this entire challenge with Gormenghast characters. I really haven't thought of them as "types" before, they have seemed so unusual and full of idiosyncrasies (but so are Carroll's characters).

@LibrarianRyan

LibrarianRyan ⭐️👍🤓 5y
39 likes1 comment
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BookwormAHN
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Thank you Soubhi @Soubhiville for sending me The Gormenghast Trilogy. I have been meaning to read it for ages.
😸 #JB 😺

Soubhiville Yay! I‘m glad it got there safely. You‘re welcome! 5y
Trashcanman Did you get. The book yet? 5y
BookwormAHN Not yet 5y
JazzFeathers Me too. I really need to find the time read it. 5y
97 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Vinjii
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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Will I like this beast?

Soubhiville Creepy cover! 5y
RowReads1 🤷🏻‍♀️Very heavy on the descriptions. I love it! 5y
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Librarian199509
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Imagine claymation Tim Burton and Wes Anderson had a baby

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Bookwomble
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? So happy at making this unexpected discovery - Gormenghast: A Fantasy Opera by Irmin Schmidt ? Action Records in Preston is a little treasure trove! I've listened to this modern opera on Spotify, but having it to listen to "properly" is a different proposition ?
#booksandmusic #gormenghast

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TK-421
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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This is what I had to say after slogging through Titus Groan for a couple months and forcing myself to read the first ten chapters of Gormenghast. Goodreads says this was only 4 years ago, but it was actually almost 6 years ago. I abandoned this book with the intention to finish it at a later date, but haven't touched it since September 2012. I did put it back on the tbr a couple years ago though, so #maybesomeday #BookYouNeverFinished #Riotgrams

Daisey I felt that way through most of the first book and haven‘t picked up the second yet. 6y
twohectobooks I really liked this but it‘s definitely not for everyone. Something DOES eventually happen, and it‘s not at all what you‘d expect. I DO NOT recommend Titus Alone however. 6y
Bookwomble The Gormenghast novels are amongst my very favourites. For me, they're about character and atmosphere rather than plot (though there is one 😊). Titus Alone is an unfinished jewel - Peake's wartime trauma (being one of the first to enter Belsen extermination camp as an official war artist) and his progressive Parkinson's disease meant that he was unable to polish it, but I think I love it all the more for that reason. 6y
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rwmg Irma Prunesquallor's soiree in the second book is one of the funniest 50 pages or so I've ever read 6y
TK-421 @Daisey Glad it's not just me! I do still want to try again sometime. Maybe I'll appreciate it more the second time around? 6y
TK-421 @twohectobooks @bookwomble I do want to try again because the writing is beautiful and some of my favourite writers list Peake as an influence/inspiration. I'm hoping that by the time I get around to trying again, I'll be able to appreciate it more. 6y
twohectobooks Good luck! I think the most important thing is not to expect to race through it. 6y
shadowsdogs I thought I was the only one who loved this! So good to see others ❤️ 6y
Bookwomble @TK-421 I had to start Crime and Punishment five times before I got hooked. Some books are worth the effort 😊 6y
Bookwomble @shadowsdogs There are more of us than may be apparent! 😀 Have you read anything else by Peake? 6y
shadowsdogs @Bookwomble I have not! But definitely interested now 6y
Bookwomble The Boy in Darkness would be a natural next step, as, while it doesn't specifically mention Gormenghast, the boy is clearly Titus. It's usually published as a children's story, but anybody reading this to their child at bedtime deserves reporting to the Child Protection Agency! His novel "Mr. Pye" is whimsical and weird, and set in Peake's home away from home, the Channel Island of Sark. 6y
TK-421 @Bookwomble Stacking Boy in Darkness & Other Stories! 6y
Bookwomble @TK-421 Good move 😁 6y
Bookwomble @shadowsdogs I meant to tag you in my earlier comment 😊 6y
65 likes2 stack adds15 comments
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Soubhiville
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Yay for bookmail from a friend! Thank you Leah! I was so excited to see that huge envelope in my mailbox when I got home! I‘m not sure I‘ve heard of Titus Groan and company, but it sounds fun, and I love circus stories. I can‘t wait to dive in!

Moray_Reads Gormenghast is something else. Totally original 6y
Foragingfantasy I hope you‘ll enjoy them! Gormenghast is huge, but I enjoyed it and it is so different. 6y
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Leniverse

"The library appeared to spread outwards from him as from a core. His dejection infected the air about him and diffused its illness upon every side. All things in the long room absorbed his melancholia. The shadowing galleries brooded with slow anguish; the books receding into the deep corners, tier upon tier, seemed each a separate tragic note in a monumental fugue of volumes."

readordierachel Wow. That's some imagery right there. 6y
Leniverse @ReadOrDieRachel The whole book seems to be mostly imagery, to be honest! But some of it really stands out. 6y
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Leniverse

"Lord Sepulchrave walked with slow strides, his head bowed. Fuschia mouched. Doctor Prunesquallor minced. The twins propelled themselves forward vacantly. Flay spidered his path. Swelter wallowed his."

2BR02B I love how Peake revels in their idiosyncrasies. 😆 6y
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RowReads1
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/io9.gizmodo.com/neil-gaiman-is-bringing-the-gormeng... Thanks to @Moray_Reads for pointing this out. I‘m SUPER chuffed 😀. I‘ve heard Gaiman talk about wanting to do it on Twitter before. I didn‘t know it was actually going ahead🎉🎉. Side note: JRM was so sweet looking back then.

Moray_Reads I'm really hoping it's good. Come on BBC, do this right! 🤞🤞 6y
36 likes2 comments
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2BR02B
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One trilogy I can't recommend enough is Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake. Peake was a contemporary of Tolkien, but his portrayals of character and setting belong to an altogether more Dickension school of fantasy. His artist's eye for detail translates into prose that is lush, baroque, and unforgettable.

Thanks for hosting this #giveaway, @melyndarae! ❤
#mels3kgiveaway

melyndarae Sounds interesting!! 6y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Oooo! I need to look into this one! 👀 6y
69 likes8 stack adds2 comments
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Foragingfantasy
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Y'all!! I messaged the library and asked them to get the last two books of the trilogy on audio, and they did!! I got a prompt reply telling me they'd be available in 24 hrs. I went to check out the next book and someone had beaten me to it 😂

2BR02B That's awesome your library was so responsive, though! It's a great series, and I love how Simon Vance captures the idiosyncrasies of the characters. 6y
Foragingfantasy @2BR02B I know I couldn't believe they were able to get them so quickly. I loved the first book, can't wait to get into the rest! (edited) 6y
36 likes2 comments
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msford88
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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Found these gems at an estate sale today.

IMO, some of the most underrated fantasy writing out there.

tournevis Agreed! 6y
britt_brooke Nice!! 6y
quirkyreader Those are the editions that I had. Around the time I got them a new edition was out with all three. 6y
Karkar I am interested in reading these. One of the people I follow on Goodreads loves these, I had never heard of them until a few months ago. 6y
minkyb These titles are new to me. Thank you for posting. 6y
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Lizpixie
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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#Riotgrams #day5 #BigBooks Give me big books, or give me death!Seriously though,I love me a big book. Some of my favourite authors have real issues with writing a book that's less than 500pges.Authors like Elizabeth George, Stephen King, Karin Slaughter, Laurel.K.Hamilton, George.R.R.Martin & J.R.Ward I don't think have ever published a book that has 250pgs or less.Gives your reading arms a workout too, but don't fall asleep holding the book up!😬

Laura317 I'm curious about the Crow Girl. I have this weird fascination/love for crows. 🤷‍♀️ 6y
Lizpixie @Laura317 it's a scandi serial killer novel. Apparently it's actually three books that were published as one when it was translated into English. It's seriously creepy😱 6y
mrozzz 🙌🏻💗🤓 6y
70 likes3 comments
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Foragingfantasy
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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Book mail! After randomly listening to Titus Groan, with no idea what it was about, and LOVING it! I had to get the next book. Then I found this all in one trilogy. ❤️ score! Now that I have it, I'm sure it'll take me ages to get to it... Lol.

JazzFeathers I've been meaning to read Gormengeist for such a long time. Still haven't gotten around it. Sounds like l need some commitment 7y
Foragingfantasy @JazzFeathers I'm terrible about really wanting to read a book, track it down, and then it sits on my shelf forever! 7y
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RowReads1
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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Steerpike is scarred in his fight with Barquentine #ScarTissue . His confidence really takes a blow.

Cinfhen Totally not familiar with this series ~ sounds fascinating 👍🏻 7y
Moray_Reads @Cinfhen it's a true original, they're nothing quite like it. Such a shame Per didn't live to complete it 😟 7y
43 likes2 comments
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Lizpixie
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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#SplashIntoSummerReads #day15 #Chunkster 🎶I like big books and I cannot lie🎶 Just a few of my chunksters off my shelves, I could've gotten twenty times this at least, Elizabeth George in particular doesn't know how to write a short novel, plus there's Stephen King, JR Ward, Laurel K Hamilton & lots more Karin Slaughter as well. Looking forward to the next few months when a lot of these authors are publishing new novels! #SizeQueen

RanaElizabeth My most impressive accomplishment as a reader was finishing Gormenghast. Truly, truly a chunkster. 7y
BibliophileMomma 🙌🏼😍 7y
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scripturient
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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#TBRtemptation - Just put this on my amazon list after seeing it at the bookshop the other day. Have you read it?

Lizpixie I have a thirty year old copy of this that my dad bought me for my birthday when I was 15. It's much prettier than this edition. This is classic old school fantasy kind of like halfway between Lord Of The Rings & The Mists Of Avalon. 7y
RowReads1 One of my all time favorites. Very imaginative. One thing is that it's sometimes heavy on description and short on plot. 7y
TNbooklover66 The first two are just amazing. I didn't like the third as much but the whole trilogy is one of my faves. 7y
85 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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WomanRoars
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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What if Roald Dahl wrote the Lord of the Rings?

7 likes1 stack add
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candyflossramparts
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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I don't have that many #doorstoppers on my shelves. These two are my most doorstopping. Pictured with my muscle mug, since they require a bit of heavy lifting. 😉 #riotgrams

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DreesReads
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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I am reading this 1168 page monster of a trilogy in one volume. The first 2 novels are #1001books list books. I was nervous about it being a "fantasy", but 230 pages in (over halfway through the first of the 3 novels), I am enjoying it! It feels a bit like Undermajordomo Minor and The Buried Giant, both books I loved!

23 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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DreesReads
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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Cat room! I want to go here.

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Tarlia
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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For #funfridayphoto, I've been obsessed with getting this book for some reason I can't remember now. Picked it up at a book market and now it's sitting there.

Tarlia Just realized I used this same book in a past FFF! 7y
13 likes1 comment
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Hobbinol
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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If you've never roamed the dark, surreal halls of Gormenghast Castle, you might want to pay a visit to honor the #royals therein. I first met them as a teen when I was only just discovering how absurd life really is. Now I 'd love to return since I've been fully inculcated with the bizarre.

The illustration is from the author's original manuscript.

Moray_Reads I literally just pulled my copy of Titus Groan from the shelf rest for this prompt! Great minds 7y
Hobbinol @Moray_Reads That's equally bizarre 😂! (edited) 7y
LeahBergen I've always meant to check this trilogy out. 7y
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saresmoore I'd like a separate stack for amazing books I've never heard of recommended by @Moray_Reads and @Hobbinol. @LeahBergen and @shawnmooney 's suggestions would fit in nicely, too. 7y
Hobbinol @saresmoore 😆You come up with some good ones yourself! You're just another stack-junkie like me😆❗️It would be good though if we could create files in our stacks... maybe you're onto something! 7y
Hobbinol @LeahBergen There's no time like the presents 🎁 , I always say. Birthday list? 7y
LeahBergen @saresmoore And you, too! 😘 7y
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Leniverse
The Gormenghast Trilogy | Mervyn Laurence Peake
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A classic I haven't read, but my partner has been gently trying to interest me in it for years. I even bought him the TV-series, but didn't watch it with him. TBR 2017, I promise! #SeasonsReadings2016

vivastory This is also on my list. Maybe I'll tackle it after LOTR trilogy. 7y
Leniverse @vivastory I'm always surprised when I come across readers who haven't read the LOTR trilogy. My brother has read exactly 4 books in his life that he wasn't forced to read (yes, I know, it's weird that we're related), and those were the Hobbit and LOTR. 😆 7y
RealLifeReading I loved the mini series and read the books after! 7y
vivastory @Leniverse I have a few strange reading gaps. For almost ten years the vast majority of my reading was poetry & despite reading & loving large sections, I've never read Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" cover to cover. 7y
Leniverse @vivastory I'm sure we all have strange reading gaps. I know I have them. Trying hard to fill them. The one I'm the most embarrassed about is not having read 7y
22 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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JustTrish
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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So many good villains! How to choose? Well it's rough, but Steerpike comes out on top. He's so relentlessly, deliciously EVIL, but at the same time, I feel his pain, the rejection and loneliness...
honorable mention to
•Draco Malfoy (just a baby villain, but still)
•Mrs. Coulter (Dark Materials) but NOT Nicole Kidman, she kinda ruined her for me 😣
•Amy in Gone Girl - Evil but brilliant.
#favevillains

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Tarlia
Gormenghast Novels | Mervyn Peake
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Scored this doorstopper at the book market earlier tonight. Here is the dog, sleeping instead of running away from me when I try to set up this shoot. She is a local rescue and resident loose fur machine.