The Gormenghast royal family, the castle's decidedly eccentric staff, & the peasant artisans living around the dreary, crumbling structure make up the cast of characters in these engrossing stories. Peake's command of language & unique style set the tone and shape of an intricate, slow-moving world of ritual & stasis:

"The walls of the vast room which were streaming with calid moisture, were built with gray slabs of stone & were the personal concern of a company of eighteen men known as the 'Grey Scrubbers'.... On every day of the year from three hours before daybreak until about eleven o'clock, when the scaffolding & ladders became a hindrance to the cooks, the Grey Scrubbers fulfilled their hereditary calling."

Peake has been compared to Dickens, Tolkien & Peacock, but the Gormenghast trilogy is truly unique. Unforgettable characters with names like Steerpike & Prunesquallor make their way through an architecturally stifling world, with lots of dark corners around to dampen any whimsy that might arise. This true classic is a feast of words unlike anything else in the world of fantasy. Those who explore Gormenghast castle will be richly rewarded. --Therese Littleton