Only the mythic setting earns the trilogy the label of fantasy. No boilerplate fantasy tropes are present, no magic, no elves or fell beasts.

There is nothing in Titus Groan in the way of a clear-cut hero, no brave Conan, no crafty Frodo out to save the world from the forces of evil, neatly encapsulated in the figure of a dark lord in his dark fortress or some similar cliché. In a genre that has traditionally delivered the message “Good Will Triumph Over Evil,” these novels might be considered a grimdark precursor. Perhaps much of the reason the Gormenghast trilogy has remained largely obscure to today’s fantasy readership is due to its unconventional narrative and unrelenting darkness. And though Tolkien might have set the formula from which the vast majority of later fantasy writers borrowed or stole (no sense in being coy about it), Mervyn Peake earns his position in the fantasy pantheon for this prodigious and masterful history of Castle Groan, a crumbling, sprawling edifice beside craggy Gormenghast Mountain. Share book reviews and ratings with Thomas, and even join a book club on Goodreads.Ī sumptuous, poetic epic that took its author 13 years to complete, the Gormenghast Trilogy is considered by some to have an equal or even greater degree of importance to the development of modern fantasy as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Book cover artwork is copyrighted by its respective artist and/or publisher.

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