I'm working on Titus Groan, the first book of the Gormenghast trilogy. It is... painful. I'm only about 17% in and really struggling. It's not even a matter of not being interested, or there being something wrong with the book, I just find it dreadfully unpleasant to read. Everything that is depicted so far is ugly and grotesque and repulsive. I take it that's the point, but well, it's not the sort of experience I like to have while reading. At least now I know what Steerpike's name is a reference to.
Steerpike isn't a pleasant sort.
I like C.S. Lewis' quote about the Gormenghast book, namely that "they are actual additions to life; they give, like certain rare dreams, sensations we never had before, and enlarge our conception of the range of possible experience."
Most people I know either love it or hate it. I'm in the former category - I think the books stand among some of the best literature as a whole, and I can't think of anything I've read in fantasy that surpasses them. Dissenters will be dealt with when the feline invasion occurs, and cats rule people's reading lists with iron claws.
I can't say I agree with Lewis' quote at the moment. I'm 50% through Titus Groan and had to take a break to read some Pratchett because it's just torture. But it's not even unique torture. I'm not experiencing any sensations I haven't experienced before. Though I suppose when it was written it was more original, obviously. Nowadays I can pick up a handful of random fantasy books and at least 2 will repulse me the way this one does. I would place it among the worst literature as a whole.
Though I really am trying to reserve my final opinion for when I'm done with the book. According to wikipedia it doesn't seem there's actually a completed story here though. The full arc is completed in the second book. I shudder at the thought of reading two of these. No, I don't think I can stand it.
Thanks for the actual Lewis quote. That was enlightening.
Finished Tanith Lee's Night's Master from the Tales of the Flat Earth series. An out-of-print rarity. I enjoyed it. She writes beautifully.
I'm now reading Darkness at Noon. Quite harrowing, but most excellent.
Finished Tanith Lee's Night's Master from the Tales of the Flat Earth series. An out-of-print rarity. I enjoyed it. She writes beautifully.
I'm now reading Darkness at Noon. Quite harrowing, but most excellent.
Yes! I forgot to mention that the Tales of the Flat Earth should qualify for your list. Glad you caught that. I think that list is AWESOME. Pretty much all my fantasy favs are on it. I refer to it from time to time to find titles I'd overlooked or hadn't gotten around to.
Reading the Dragonbone Chair right now. This might be my reader fatigue setting in (I just burned through The Runelords by David Farland--specifically the Earth King saga), or just the fact I did a ton of code review that day, but I am finding it hard to go through. So, I have to ask is it good? Because I am had a hard time getting through the first couple of chapters.