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A review by librovermo
Gogmagog by Jeff Noon, Steve Beard
4.0
So, I finished this book over a month ago and wrote what I felt was an absolutely ballin’ review. And then the notes app on my phone mysteriously deleted the one note where I type up all my book thoughts and reviews, so I lost it. I spent some time moping and now I present: a few things I remember from the review I wrote + some other stuff 😭
The people in the story of Gogmagog may have been sailing through the body of a ghost dragon, but reading this book felt like sailing through the shared fever dream of Jeff Noon and Steve Beard. It was very strange, sometimes confusing (though I don’t mind being confused for a time as long as it’s not due to poor writing and writing here is excellent), but always fun.
Cady brought a lot of the entertainment, which comes as no surprise considering she’s a crotchety old woman who gives new meaning to the phrase “swears like a sailor,” and she gets real creative with it. It’s really her dynamic with the rest of the cast of characters and how her feelings change that I found most interesting. But each of the rest of the crew on the boat (it’s a small boat) definitely stands on their own and Lek (a robot man, to put it simply) was another favorite. I liked the descriptions of his face cycling through expressions to find the emotion he wanted to display.
I had a bit of a rollercoaster relationship with Gogmagog for the first 60% and I couldn’t really decide whether I liked it or not. I knew I loved the writing, I loved the world, but I wasn’t sure I loved the world-building and how things were explained. I had a lot of questions and not much confidence I’d receive any answers. It was as if I as asking the book was like “ehhh, maybe I’ll tell you later,” which gave me conflicting feelings. But ultimately, I am super glad I read it. There was just the right amount of action vs down time and with the intrigue thrown in, I was excited to immediately start book two of the duology, Ludluda (it releases in December but I was lucky enough to receive the eARC from Angry Robot).
Also: I’m typically a fast reader and it never causes issues but I needed to slow down for this one. I’d read slowly for a while, then catch myself reading too quickly and have to go back to reread bits. About 20% in, I ended up (kind of accidentally) finding the audiobook on Hoopla, and tried immersive reading instead. From then on, I enjoyed the book so much more. The audiobook acted as a metronome, keeping time for me and helping me read at a slower pace. Plus, the narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davies, has a wonderful, soothing voice. I felt like I was being told a tale by my grandpa and it was so nice and cozy.
The people in the story of Gogmagog may have been sailing through the body of a ghost dragon, but reading this book felt like sailing through the shared fever dream of Jeff Noon and Steve Beard. It was very strange, sometimes confusing (though I don’t mind being confused for a time as long as it’s not due to poor writing and writing here is excellent), but always fun.
Cady brought a lot of the entertainment, which comes as no surprise considering she’s a crotchety old woman who gives new meaning to the phrase “swears like a sailor,” and she gets real creative with it. It’s really her dynamic with the rest of the cast of characters and how her feelings change that I found most interesting. But each of the rest of the crew on the boat (it’s a small boat) definitely stands on their own and Lek (a robot man, to put it simply) was another favorite. I liked the descriptions of his face cycling through expressions to find the emotion he wanted to display.
I had a bit of a rollercoaster relationship with Gogmagog for the first 60% and I couldn’t really decide whether I liked it or not. I knew I loved the writing, I loved the world, but I wasn’t sure I loved the world-building and how things were explained. I had a lot of questions and not much confidence I’d receive any answers. It was as if I as asking the book was like “ehhh, maybe I’ll tell you later,” which gave me conflicting feelings. But ultimately, I am super glad I read it. There was just the right amount of action vs down time and with the intrigue thrown in, I was excited to immediately start book two of the duology, Ludluda (it releases in December but I was lucky enough to receive the eARC from Angry Robot).
Also: I’m typically a fast reader and it never causes issues but I needed to slow down for this one. I’d read slowly for a while, then catch myself reading too quickly and have to go back to reread bits. About 20% in, I ended up (kind of accidentally) finding the audiobook on Hoopla, and tried immersive reading instead. From then on, I enjoyed the book so much more. The audiobook acted as a metronome, keeping time for me and helping me read at a slower pace. Plus, the narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davies, has a wonderful, soothing voice. I felt like I was being told a tale by my grandpa and it was so nice and cozy.