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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1629691.html
I'm afraid I was simply not convinced by Titus Alone. In fact, I was bored and confused by it. Titus, having run away from his home, finds himself in the neighbouring industrialised countryside (where people have never actually heard of Gormenghast, despite its absolute domination of its own hinterland). He becomes the object of obsession - in particular of the two women, Juno, with whom he has a love affair, and Cheeta, who rejects him and then develops a bizarrely elaborate plan to humiliate him by throwing a party at which various aspects of Gormenghast are satirically brought to life, but also of the self-appointed guardians from the Under-River. The imagery was intense, and I suppose it is in some way a spiritual and allegorical journey for Titus growing up, but in the end he ends back exactly where he started, and it did not work for me.
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3652211.html
Where the first two books had some pretty improbable events, at least things seemed to happen for a reason. Here it's one bizarre scene after another, with plot developments that are never resolved - who are the two stalkers in helmets, for instance?
I really recommend skipping this and ending your reading of the trilogy with the second book, with Titus' departure from Gormenghast as the ending. Titus Alone is much shorter than either of the other two, but you will wonder why you bothered.
One last thing - Peake's concept of hydrogeology is a bit counterfactual. Gormenghast Castle is almost drowned in a great flood - where did the water come from? Is Gormenghast not on elevated ground anyway? And in Titus Alone, you have the network of caverns under the river. Normally caves are created by rivers which then drop down to lower levels. There is so much else wrong with Titus Alone that I won't dwell on it, but it struck me as a curiously consistent blind spot.
I'm afraid I was simply not convinced by Titus Alone. In fact, I was bored and confused by it. Titus, having run away from his home, finds himself in the neighbouring industrialised countryside (where people have never actually heard of Gormenghast, despite its absolute domination of its own hinterland). He becomes the object of obsession - in particular of the two women, Juno, with whom he has a love affair, and Cheeta, who rejects him and then develops a bizarrely elaborate plan to humiliate him by throwing a party at which various aspects of Gormenghast are satirically brought to life, but also of the self-appointed guardians from the Under-River. The imagery was intense, and I suppose it is in some way a spiritual and allegorical journey for Titus growing up, but in the end he ends back exactly where he started, and it did not work for me.
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3652211.html
Where the first two books had some pretty improbable events, at least things seemed to happen for a reason. Here it's one bizarre scene after another, with plot developments that are never resolved - who are the two stalkers in helmets, for instance?
I really recommend skipping this and ending your reading of the trilogy with the second book, with Titus' departure from Gormenghast as the ending. Titus Alone is much shorter than either of the other two, but you will wonder why you bothered.
One last thing - Peake's concept of hydrogeology is a bit counterfactual. Gormenghast Castle is almost drowned in a great flood - where did the water come from? Is Gormenghast not on elevated ground anyway? And in Titus Alone, you have the network of caverns under the river. Normally caves are created by rivers which then drop down to lower levels. There is so much else wrong with Titus Alone that I won't dwell on it, but it struck me as a curiously consistent blind spot.
My overall advice: check this out after you've had enough time to let the first two books simmer. I read it immediately after finishing Gormenghast and I regret it. Let your memories and impressions of them cement before letting this book sledgehammer through them. (I don't know if I would've heeded this advice because of how fascinating this book sounded to me, but maybe I can convince someone else.)
This could've been more frustrating if the first two books weren't such complete artistic statements. This isn't a bungled conclusion, it's a (weird) new chapter. It's the same authorial voice (minus how fast time and plot flows here compared to before) and it's occupied with the question of what Gormenghast is in a way the previous books avoided, making this hard to mentally separate from the first two. Frustratingly, it does a really good job questioning Titus' sanity about Gormenghast ever existing, and does such an unconvincing thrown-off job going "nah it's definitely real" that the former feeling comes out ahead.
In the first half, I suspected that Peake wanted to write different kinds of books and saw a chance to use his fresh, blank-state Titus to explore those ideas with. I was down for that! But those suspicions fell apart by the final sections of this book. It was an...interesting ending, the most extreme expression of the macabre surrealism that was present in all the books. It seems mean or dismissive to blame the decisions behind this book to Peake's mental health, but it's hard to not think about it in that ending. It feels like it's simultaneously the book's most unhinged moment and its core thesis statement.
This book highlights an unfortunate flaw with the trilogy, in that Titus is not that interesting of a character. He's not poorly written, he's just such a stock character. In Gormenghast, his angst was understandable for his age and claustrophobic expectations. Now that he's older and free from those expectations, and at the center of this book!, he has no prominent features besides "unexplained ingratitude." That personality stage is necessary in a coming-of-age arc, but one we didn't get to see completed, so we leave off with our hero hanging in this state of irritating adolescense without the satisfaction of seeing him wise up and mature. The series' whole point was Titus leaving the setting we loved and becoming his own person, which I respect artistically, but it was better done by the final sentences of Gormenghast than...actually getting shown, interesting ideas and side characters there may be.
Considering how much of Titus Groan and Gormenghast were wrapped up in their setting and wide cast of characters they built, this book continuing on without them was a daunting task and it did a better job than it should have. I'm confident that if he had more time, Peake would've wrote new places and new casts of characters as lush and creatively as he did Gormenghast. Overall I agree with Bill Kerwin's review that this book didn't get the proper lived-in fleshed-out attention the first two books had to make them great, and that it's not an unsalvageable idea. But in the state it's in, it's one of the most strange, inexplicable, frustrating, and fascinating sequels I've read.
This could've been more frustrating if the first two books weren't such complete artistic statements. This isn't a bungled conclusion, it's a (weird) new chapter. It's the same authorial voice (minus how fast time and plot flows here compared to before) and it's occupied with the question of what Gormenghast is in a way the previous books avoided, making this hard to mentally separate from the first two. Frustratingly, it does a really good job questioning Titus' sanity about Gormenghast ever existing, and does such an unconvincing thrown-off job going "nah it's definitely real" that the former feeling comes out ahead.
In the first half, I suspected that Peake wanted to write different kinds of books and saw a chance to use his fresh, blank-state Titus to explore those ideas with. I was down for that! But those suspicions fell apart by the final sections of this book. It was an...interesting ending, the most extreme expression of the macabre surrealism that was present in all the books. It seems mean or dismissive to blame the decisions behind this book to Peake's mental health, but it's hard to not think about it in that ending. It feels like it's simultaneously the book's most unhinged moment and its core thesis statement.
This book highlights an unfortunate flaw with the trilogy, in that Titus is not that interesting of a character. He's not poorly written, he's just such a stock character. In Gormenghast, his angst was understandable for his age and claustrophobic expectations. Now that he's older and free from those expectations, and at the center of this book!, he has no prominent features besides "unexplained ingratitude." That personality stage is necessary in a coming-of-age arc, but one we didn't get to see completed, so we leave off with our hero hanging in this state of irritating adolescense without the satisfaction of seeing him wise up and mature. The series' whole point was Titus leaving the setting we loved and becoming his own person, which I respect artistically, but it was better done by the final sentences of Gormenghast than...actually getting shown, interesting ideas and side characters there may be.
Considering how much of Titus Groan and Gormenghast were wrapped up in their setting and wide cast of characters they built, this book continuing on without them was a daunting task and it did a better job than it should have. I'm confident that if he had more time, Peake would've wrote new places and new casts of characters as lush and creatively as he did Gormenghast. Overall I agree with Bill Kerwin's review that this book didn't get the proper lived-in fleshed-out attention the first two books had to make them great, and that it's not an unsalvageable idea. But in the state it's in, it's one of the most strange, inexplicable, frustrating, and fascinating sequels I've read.
Weird characters, weird worlds... what else could I expect? logical ending. the first book is still my favourite
While the first two books were very languid, and the writing repetitive and sometimes ponderous, I really enjoyed it. However, this book moves rapidly forward, jumping frequently…which ended up frustrating and confusing because you didn't get to spend the time within the new settings. I realize this is not specifically Peake's fault, but it was a little disappointing after the others.
Also, Titus is a total ass. I was able to appreciate and almost forgive the steadfast, unchanging natures of the characters in the previous books. Despite everything, they were almost pitiable, yet relatable and amusing. But here, I had no sympathy for his unrelenting crying and whining.
Also, Titus is a total ass. I was able to appreciate and almost forgive the steadfast, unchanging natures of the characters in the previous books. Despite everything, they were almost pitiable, yet relatable and amusing. But here, I had no sympathy for his unrelenting crying and whining.
This final part of the trilogy was more difficult to get through and felt repetitive at the start. However, by the end I was just as enraptured as I had been by the first two books. Amazing.
Also, say it with me guys...
“The real Gormenghast was the friends we made along the way!”
Also, say it with me guys...
“The real Gormenghast was the friends we made along the way!”
My favorite of the Gormenghast trilogy. Bizarre and beautiful fantasy. I've yet to read anything quite like Peake. He created an entire separate cosmos with Gormenghast. A true original, which is, sadly, very very rare.
Despite my unending love for this series, I have to admit that Titus Alone is not quite as brilliant as the first two volumes. Peake's descent into mortal illness is all too apparent, and he simply didn't have the time to create something with the depth and breadth of Titus Groan or Gormenghast. It's one of the great literary tragedies, I think, that he died so young and so horribly, unable to truly finish what is one of the finest fantasy series of all time. But despite the lack, much of which, it has to be said, comes from the absence of Gormenghast Castle itself, there's still moments of real power here. Cheeta's recreation of Gormenghast at the Black House is both chilling and genuinely horrific, and Muzzlehatch is one of the few characters drawn sharply enough to compare with earlier inhabitants. And Titus himself, who has always been less than what was around him, begins to understand just what it means to have walked away from Gormenghast, what he has given up and will forever yearn for.
Because this series ended before its time we'll never know the ending Peake had planned for it - how Titus reconciles himself, if he can, to Gormenghast and destiny. But the sense of that great castle, crouched and waiting, survives... it permeates the text, making it something that Titus can never truly escape, and I like to think that, in the end that might have been, he never really wanted to.
Because this series ended before its time we'll never know the ending Peake had planned for it - how Titus reconciles himself, if he can, to Gormenghast and destiny. But the sense of that great castle, crouched and waiting, survives... it permeates the text, making it something that Titus can never truly escape, and I like to think that, in the end that might have been, he never really wanted to.
Book 3 in the Gormenghast series takes the story in an unexpected direction, and one that I felt was not nearly as successful as the first two books. This review is not a spoiler for Titus Alone, but because it is book 3, it is generally a spoiler for the first two books in the series, so I don’t recommend reading this if you have any interest in books 1 and 2, which I reviewed here.
One of the intriguing and compelling aspects of Books 1 and 2 that made it feel so dark and claustrophobic was the enclosed and isolated nature of the kingdom of Gormenghast. Book 3 takes the Earl to-be Titus Groan, as a youth (teenager it would seem), and sends him out in the wide world. He essentially runs away from home. His reason being that he doesn’t want to be defined and ruled by the rituals of Gormenghast and expectations of his royal position. He’s also rather torn up by the death of his sister. Unfortunately, he’s a bit of an idiot. He basically runs away…with nothing. He’s a homeless teen traveling from city to city most of which are hostile to random homeless teens from unknown cities.
The original Gormenghast world seemed to exist in medieval times. There was no technology beyond swords and books. Yet here in the third book, Titus encounters cars and airplanes of some strange sort. It seems as if Gormenghast was so isolated it had no contact with the greater world, which doesn’t really make much sense in any logical way…it’s not on an island or deep in a jungle. Why it would be so separated is never explained.
Titus is not only a bit of an idiot, but he’s also an impulsive teenage jerk. He’s not very likable and his decision-making skills are quite poor. He is repeatedly caught by the law, women seem to fall for him, and he rejects them due to his self-justified wanderlust and a sense of royal entitlement. Because he was born to rule a kingdom, he has a degree of relatively undeserving self-confidence that seems to draw romantic interest from women.
Titus Alone features a panoply of odd characters just as the first two books do, but unfortunately we never become invested in them in the way we do in the first two parts of the series. They seem less comprehensible and somehow…irrelevant. In fact, they are strange in some ways that seemed too similar to the characters from the first two parts of the series…making them feel derivative. His style at this point has become a bit formulaic. Still uniquely his style…I’ve never read any other author with his techniques, but at this point he's imitating himself too much. The peculiarities also worked much better for me when they arose in the isolated world of Gormenghast. I can imagine how such quirks could arise in a very isolated place, but in the outer world they begin to feel contrived.
The writing is still quite fine overall. Peake has a poetic craft with prose that can’t be denied. Unfortunately, the story here feels unnecessary. I’m glad that I read it…out of a sense of completism and curiosity. But it failed to stand up to the value of Books 1 and 2 in the Gormenghast series. I’m going to reiterate that I highly recommend the first two parts, but Book 3 is an unnecessary read.
One of the intriguing and compelling aspects of Books 1 and 2 that made it feel so dark and claustrophobic was the enclosed and isolated nature of the kingdom of Gormenghast. Book 3 takes the Earl to-be Titus Groan, as a youth (teenager it would seem), and sends him out in the wide world. He essentially runs away from home. His reason being that he doesn’t want to be defined and ruled by the rituals of Gormenghast and expectations of his royal position. He’s also rather torn up by the death of his sister. Unfortunately, he’s a bit of an idiot. He basically runs away…with nothing. He’s a homeless teen traveling from city to city most of which are hostile to random homeless teens from unknown cities.
The original Gormenghast world seemed to exist in medieval times. There was no technology beyond swords and books. Yet here in the third book, Titus encounters cars and airplanes of some strange sort. It seems as if Gormenghast was so isolated it had no contact with the greater world, which doesn’t really make much sense in any logical way…it’s not on an island or deep in a jungle. Why it would be so separated is never explained.
Titus is not only a bit of an idiot, but he’s also an impulsive teenage jerk. He’s not very likable and his decision-making skills are quite poor. He is repeatedly caught by the law, women seem to fall for him, and he rejects them due to his self-justified wanderlust and a sense of royal entitlement. Because he was born to rule a kingdom, he has a degree of relatively undeserving self-confidence that seems to draw romantic interest from women.
Titus Alone features a panoply of odd characters just as the first two books do, but unfortunately we never become invested in them in the way we do in the first two parts of the series. They seem less comprehensible and somehow…irrelevant. In fact, they are strange in some ways that seemed too similar to the characters from the first two parts of the series…making them feel derivative. His style at this point has become a bit formulaic. Still uniquely his style…I’ve never read any other author with his techniques, but at this point he's imitating himself too much. The peculiarities also worked much better for me when they arose in the isolated world of Gormenghast. I can imagine how such quirks could arise in a very isolated place, but in the outer world they begin to feel contrived.
The writing is still quite fine overall. Peake has a poetic craft with prose that can’t be denied. Unfortunately, the story here feels unnecessary. I’m glad that I read it…out of a sense of completism and curiosity. But it failed to stand up to the value of Books 1 and 2 in the Gormenghast series. I’m going to reiterate that I highly recommend the first two parts, but Book 3 is an unnecessary read.
I found this whole mess really disappointing, especially after the previous 2 (which I very nearly loved).
OK, Titus does have to go somewhere else, but it's just so weird and disjointed and out of sync with everything that happened previously that it's difficult to see where they even mesh together. And Cheeta, oh, what a ridiculous thing.
Still, I could buy the ending - I just didn't want to have to go through all the rest of it to get there. I like Gormenghast, I can almost like Titus; Titus without Gormeghast is aimless and drifting and even a little boring.
OK, Titus does have to go somewhere else, but it's just so weird and disjointed and out of sync with everything that happened previously that it's difficult to see where they even mesh together. And Cheeta, oh, what a ridiculous thing.
Still, I could buy the ending - I just didn't want to have to go through all the rest of it to get there. I like Gormenghast, I can almost like Titus; Titus without Gormeghast is aimless and drifting and even a little boring.
No where near as good as the first two but not awful.