Book Review: Titus Groan (Gormenghast Trilogy, Book 1) by Mervyn Peake

 

Titus Groan (Gormenghast Trilogy, Book 1)     

Author: Mervyn Peake

Publisher: Weybright and Talley (rev January 1, 1967)

American release date: October 26, 1982

Format/Genre/Length: Hardback/Literary Fiction/543 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Gormenghast Castle is an ancient edifice whose history goes back many years. There has always been an Earl of Gormenghast, and the current holder of that title is the seventy-sixth in his line. He has many people who live in the castle and both depend on it and him to keep it running, but the Earl’s greatest love is for his vast library, which is cared for by a man named Sourdust. However, joy has arrived in Gormenghast with the birth of an heir, who is given the name of Titus.

Not everyone is excited about the birth, however. Lady Fuchsia is fifteen and feels too old to not be an only child.  Petulant and moody, she rejects the birth of her brother. She is an odd teenager, and has her secret places within her room, which leads to the attic, where she can be alone. The person she is closest to is the woman who has actually raised her. Not her mother, the Countess, whose attention is all for her birds and her cats, but Nannie Slagg, who has now become the nanny of the new young lord. Fuchsia is mightily displeased, but no one seems to notice, not even Doctor Prunesquallor, whom she is also rather close to. The good doctor lives with his sister, Irma, who exists in a strange world of her own.

The present Earl has a long, lean servant named Flay who has been with him for many years and sleeps on the floor outside of his lordship’s bedroom door. He is a man of few words and creaking bones. In the kitchen, a corpulent tyrant named Swelter holds sway, abusing the young kitchen workers in his charge, keeping them in a state of fright. One day, one of these abused creatures, a 17-year-old named Steerpike, simply runs away. Caught by Flay, he manages to escape by climbing out of the window and ends up on top of the castle, a perilous position to be in. But he manages to find his way to a safe place – one that just happens to belong to Fuchsia.

The earl also has a pair of twin sisters, Clarice and Cora. Identical in every way and quite self-absorbed. They think and move alike and are generally both in harmony and in discord.  They feel neglected by their brother and they despise their sister-in-law. They also feel that Fuchsia should visit them far more often as they are deserving of her attention – of everyone’s attention. In fact, they are angry that Gertrude, the Countess, has the power which should be theirs. The only people they have any communication with are Dr. Prunesquallor and his sister. But that changes when they meet Steerpike, whom Fuchsia has introduced to the doctor and who has become his assistant.

Gormenghast will never be the same now that Steerpike has arrived…

Titus Groan is the first book in the Gormenghast trilogy. It’s hard to actually define it. Is it gothic, is it horror, is it fantasy…. What is it? It defies genre identification, in my own opinion, being in a class of its own. What I will call it is fascinating. Peak creates this incredible world and its inhabitants so vividly that you can feel them. His prose is very descriptive. His characters are both believable and fantastic. The action moves, not quickly and yet inexorably, from beginning to end. There is a BBC series of the books, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyer as Steerpike, Christopher Lee as Flay and two Harry Potter alumni – Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon) as Swelter and Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia) as Irma Prunesquallor. At four hours, it can’t possibly capture the depth of this series, but it does cover the basics, and I found it worth watching. However, I would read the books, whether before or after or simultaneously. This is an amazing series and I am looking forward to the next book.

Wednesday Briefs: Dracula #33(7.3)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

A storm is brewing and Dracula is anxious to be on his way. But will things work out as he wishes just because he wishes them to? See what's happening in this week's chapter of Dracula. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Dracula #33(7.3)

Relief swept through Avram at the sight of the wagon. Andrei’s arrival was a timely one. Avram was grateful that he did not have to try to explain to Dracula why it would be unwise to steal the smuggler’s boat, when neither one of them could operate the craft and neither were they familiar with the route they would need to take to reach the Danube. Prior to this, their travels had always been accomplished over land, not water.  Not to mention that Andrei’s cousin would not be happy with them for abandoning his relative/business partner and would probably refuse to take them to Vienna. That in itself would only lead to problems as the vampire was not good at being told no when it came to getting what he wanted. And they were in no position to do anything else at the moment, having no alternatives. No prudent ones, anyway.

Avram was not surprised to see that Andre was not alone. Beside him on the driver’s seat was another man, no doubt the owner of the wagon. Avram didn’t recognize him but assumed he was one of those involved with Andrei in his smuggling activities. Andrei was yelling at the horses to go faster, no doubt due to the impending storm. As if to accentuate the need for urgency, a blue-white flash of lightning arced across the sky in a sideways fashion, immediately followed by a thunderclap and the first drops of rain.

Andrei pulled up the horses at the sight of Avram and Dracula. “Hurry and get in!” he shouted above the rising wind. “We have to hurry and get the cargo loaded and below deck before the storm breaks.”

Avram held his breath, expecting either a refusal or some sort of sarcasm from Nico. But, to his surprise, the vampire leapt onto the back of the wagon without a word, then turned and held out a hand for Avram.

That was unexpected.

Not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Avram took Nico’s hand and the vampire pulled him into the wagon with ease, which then began to roll away immediately. He balanced himself precariously between Nico and the side of the wagon, holding tightly to both lest he fall off. An assortment of boxes and barrels lay in the bed of the wagon. He could understand the necessity to get everything out of the rain before it was ruined.

They quickly reached the point where the boat had been tied up and began to schlep the contents of the wagon into the hold of the boat.  Not surprisingly—at least not to Avram—Dracula was stronger than they were and carried his burdens effortlessly. Perhaps that was a mistake, but they had no time to worry about that now, not with the storm about to break over their heads as it was. They managed to stow everything with a minimum of water damage, to Andrei’s relief. His companion thanked him and quickly drove back the way he’d come.

Andrei glanced uncertainly between Avram and Dracula, as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “We should take cover,” he said instead, shouting over the cacophony of the storm.

“We should go,” the vampire insisted. He crossed both arms over his chest stubbornly, clearly expecting to be obeyed. “Now.”

Lord have mercy.

“Are you mad?” Andrei waved his arms to indicate the tumult around them. “We have to let this pass and then we’ll go.”

“Go now.” Dracula stood firm, refusing to capitulate. “The storm will cause no harm.”

“It’s coming from behind us. We can’t outrun us.” He had to yell to make himself heard.

Despite being buffeted by rough winds, Avram stumbled across the deck to place himself between Nico and Andrei, forestalling a possible fight as the two men glared at one another. This was neither the time nor the place, especially under the circumstances. They were becoming more and more drenched by the second, thunder rolling above them in clamorous waves

Dracula took a step toward Andrei, who took a reciprocal step. Avram braced himself as he sought to catch Nico’s eye, silently plead with him for forbearance. At the same time, he stretched an arm toward Andrei to prevent him from doing anything foolish… such as attacking a vampire.

Nico’s gaze was no longer fixed on Andrei, it seemed to encompass the chaos about them—the wind, the rain, the roiling waters of the river. Avram watched him in fascination tempered with horror. Was he really going to do this in front of the smuggler?

Apparently so.

to be continued

Now go see what's up with the other Briefers!

Cia Nordwell

J Ray Lamb

 

 

Saturday is Horror Day #191 - Trap

 Trap

Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is the kind of father teen-aged girls dream of when he gets tickets for them to the concert Riley (Ariel Donoghue) is dying to see! She's had issues at school recently with being bullied by a group of girls she thought were her friends, and Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) is her very favorite performer.  Riley knows the words to all her songs (although she doesn't sing them very well) as well as her dance moves.

As they make their way to their seats, Cooper can't help but notice a massive police presence in the venue, far more than a mere concert would warrant. He quickly figures out they are searching for him, everything is a trap, and he has to find a way to safely himself and his daughter out of this place.

I don't consider it a spoiler to reveal that Cooper is the serial killer the police are searching for, hence the title of the film. You can see this much from watching the trailer. Unfortunately, the trailer is more interesting than the film. We watch Cooper continually leaving his daughter alone as he tries to find his way out, which entailing a lot of perfect coincidences falling into place and everything going his way, including getting Lady Raven to choose his daughter as her Dream Girl.  Honestly, I felt as though he sleepwalked through is performance, and I do like Josh Hartnett. The girl playing his daughter was okay, but she needs more acting lessons. And Saleka Shyamalan does too. I wonder if she would have been cast if she weren't the director's daughter.

I watched this movie despite thinking Shyamalan hasn't done anything good since The Sixth Sense, and I won't watch anything else after seeing this. It's rather predictable, not very interesting, despite hopeful moments I thought might lead to something interesting... but they didn't. The twist at the end was not even logical and rather ambiguous. There is a small extra scene during the credits, if you make it that far. I had high hopes for this but those were dashed. Lackluster all the way around. I'll give this film 2.5 Stars.

On a side note, look for Hayley Mills as a police profiler. Nice to see her again. Sorry it was in this film.

Wednesday Briefs: Dracula #33(7.3)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

A storm is brewing and Dracula is anxious to be on his way. But will things work out as he wishes just because he wishes them to? See what's happening in this week's chapter of Dracula. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Dracula #33(7.3)

Relief swept through Avram at the sight of the wagon. Andrei’s arrival was a timely one. Avram was grateful that he did not have to try to explain to Dracula why it would be unwise to steal the smuggler’s boat, when neither one of them could operate the craft and neither were they familiar with the route they would need to take to reach the Danube. Prior to this, their travels had always been accomplished over land, not water.  Not to mention that Andrei’s cousin would not be happy with them for abandoning his relative/business partner and would probably refuse to take them to Vienna. That in itself would only lead to problems as the vampire was not good at being told no when it came to getting what he wanted. And they were in no position to do anything else at the moment, having no alternatives. No prudent ones, anyway.

Avram was not surprised to see that Andre was not alone. Beside him on the driver’s seat was another man, no doubt the owner of the wagon. Avram didn’t recognize him but assumed he was one of those involved with Andrei in his smuggling activities. Andrei was yelling at the horses to go faster, no doubt due to the impending storm. As if to accentuate the need for urgency, a blue-white flash of lightning arced across the sky in a sideways fashion, immediately followed by a thunderclap and the first drops of rain.

Andrei pulled up the horses at the sight of Avram and Dracula. “Hurry and get in!” he shouted above the rising wind. “We have to hurry and get the cargo loaded and below deck before the storm breaks.”

Avram held his breath, expecting either a refusal or some sort of sarcasm from Nico. But, to his surprise, the vampire leapt onto the back of the wagon without a word, then turned and held out a hand for Avram.

That was unexpected.

Not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Avram took Nico’s hand and the vampire pulled him into the wagon with ease, which then began to roll away immediately. He balanced himself precariously between Nico and the side of the wagon, holding tightly to both lest he fall off. An assortment of boxes and barrels lay in the bed of the wagon. He could understand the necessity to get everything out of the rain before it was ruined.

They quickly reached the point where the boat had been tied up and began to schlep the contents of the wagon into the hold of the boat.  Not surprisingly—at least not to Avram—Dracula was stronger than they were and carried his burdens effortlessly. Perhaps that was a mistake, but they had no time to worry about that now, not with the storm about to break over their heads as it was. They managed to stow everything with a minimum of water damage, to Andrei’s relief. His companion thanked him and quickly drove back the way he’d come.

Andrei glanced uncertainly between Avram and Dracula, as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “We should take cover,” he said instead, shouting over the cacophony of the storm.

“We should go,” the vampire insisted. He crossed both arms over his chest stubbornly, clearly expecting to be obeyed. “Now.”

Lord have mercy.

“Are you mad?” Andrei waved his arms to indicate the tumult around them. “We have to let this pass and then we’ll go.”

“Go now.” Dracula stood firm, refusing to capitulate. “The storm will cause no harm.”

“It’s coming from behind us. We can’t outrun us.” He had to yell to make himself heard.

Despite being buffeted by rough winds, Avram stumbled across the deck to place himself between Nico and Andrei, forestalling a possible fight as the two men glared at one another. This was neither the time nor the place, especially under the circumstances. They were becoming more and more drenched by the second, thunder rolling above them in clamorous waves

Dracula took a step toward Andrei, who took a reciprocal step. Avram braced himself as he sought to catch Nico’s eye, silently plead with him for forbearance. At the same time, he stretched an arm toward Andrei to prevent him from doing anything foolish… such as attacking a vampire.

Nico’s gaze was no longer fixed on Andrei, it seemed to encompass the chaos about them—the wind, the rain, the roiling waters of the river. Avram watched him in fascination tempered with horror. Was he really going to do this in front of the smuggler?

Apparently so.

to be continued

Now go see what's up with the other Briefers!

Cia Nordwell

J Ray Lamb

 

 

 

Saturday is Horror Day #190 - Unhinged

 Unhinged

Rachel (Caren Pistorius) thinks she has problems, between her ex-husband, being behind on bills, and then losing her job. But she's about to learn things can get a whole lot worse... and they do. While attempting to get her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school on time, because she overslept, she gets behind a truck with a driver who sits through one green arrow. She honks at him then angrily passes him. But she's picked the wrong man to upset, as this man (Russell Crowe) has just killed two people and isn't in the best of humor himself. He catches up with her and calmly requests an apology. She refuses, and now the game is on.

Russell Crowe gives new meaning to the term road rage. Of course, Rachel doesn't know this when she 

 confronts him, but she quickly discovers just how unhinged he is. What makes this movie scary, in my opinion, is that I can see this happening. Road rage is real and becoming more and more common, unfortunately. Crowe's character escalates it to a degree that is terrifying, and the people in Rachel's life suffer for her actions. This sort of things could happen to anyone. My advice is to keep calm, no matter what, and consider that the person you are honking at might be a potential homicidal maniac if you push the right buttons. I found it amusing that Rachel threw her boss under the bus in order to save herself and her son. Wonder what happened when that came out? Definitely worth a watch. I thought Russell Crowe did a good job as the man, while I had little sympathy for Rachel. She was whiny and made bad choices.  I give this film 3.5 Stars.