Product Description
Foreword by Tad Williams

Feared by enemies and friends alike, Elric of Melniboné walks a lonely path among the worlds of the Multiverse. The destroyer of his cruel and ancient race, as well as its final ruler, Elric is the bearer of a destiny as dark and cursed as the vampiric sword he carries—the sentient black blade known as Stormbringer.

Del Rey is proud to present the sixth and concluding installment of its definitive omnibus editions featuring fantasy Grand Master Michael Moorcock’s most famous—or infamous—creation. Here is the full text of the novel The Revenge of the Rose, a screenplay for the novel Stormbringer, the novella Black Petals, the conclusion to Moorcock’s influential “Aspects of Fantasy” essay series and other nonfiction, and an indispensable reader’s guide by John Davey.

Sumptuously illustrated by John Picacio, with a Foreword by Tad Williams, Elric: Swords and Roses is a fitting tribute to the most unique fantasy hero of all time. ... Read more

Product Description
This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: City of Golden Shadow, the Dragonbone Chair, the War of the Flowers, Shadowmarch, Tailchaser's Song, to Green Angel Tower, Shadowplay, Stone of Farewell, Tangaloor Firefoot, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, Sea of Silver Light. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: City of Golden Shadow is the first book in Tad Williams' Otherland series. The science fiction novel tells the story of a frightening virtual network created by a group of rich men known as The Grail Brotherhood. These men include; Felix Jongleur, who was a child at the time of the First World War, and is currently the world's oldest man; Jiun Biao, a Chinese economist, described as "the terror of Asia;" and Robert Wells, the owner of Telemorphix, the world's largest telecommunications company. The book tells the story of a group of ordinary people who are drawn into the network to stop them. The "Otherland" of the book's original and series title is a virtual world or worlds. "City Of Golden Shadow" is a city in the Otherland network, to which the main characters are being summoned. The first character introduced is a man called Paul Jonas, apparently an infantryman on the Western Front of the First World War. In what he at first believes to be a dream or hallucination, he meets a woman with wings, who gives him a feather. He wakes from the experience to find himself back in the trenches, but realises the experience was not a dream when he discovers the feather. Two of his comrades, Finch and Mullet, begin express doubts about his sanity. Eventually, Paul runs off into no-man's land. There, he finds the bird-woman, but Finch and Mullet have pursued him, and they have been transformed into monstrous shapes: Mullet is grossly fat and Finch has no ey...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1097311 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

PIRACY - DO NOT BUY
These people seek to rip off both the reader as well as the author and publisher.Unlicensed and barely legal, plus the product you will receive is dreadful.DO NOT BUY.Thank you - The Beale-Williams Enterprise ... Read more

Product Description
Otherland Series by Tad Williams. Complete 4 Volume First Edition/ First Printing Hardcovers with Dust Jackets. ... Read more

Product Description
This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Novels by Tad Williams, Short Story Collections by Tad Williams, City of Golden Shadow, the Dragonbone Chair, the War of the Flowers, Shadowmarch, Tailchaser's Song, to Green Angel Tower, Shadowplay, Stone of Farewell, Tangaloor Firefoot, Rite: Short Work, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, Sea of Silver Light. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: City of Golden Shadow is the first book in Tad Williams' Otherland series. The science fiction novel tells the story of a frightening virtual network created by a group of rich men known as The Grail Brotherhood. These men include; Felix Jongleur, who was a child at the time of the First World War, and is currently the world's oldest man; Jiun Biao, a Chinese economist, described as "the terror of Asia;" and Robert Wells, the owner of Telemorphix, the world's largest telecommunications company. The book tells the story of a group of ordinary people who are drawn into the network to stop them. The "Otherland" of the book's original and series title is a virtual world or worlds. "City Of Golden Shadow" is a city in the Otherland network, to which the main characters are being summoned. The first character introduced is a man called Paul Jonas, apparently an infantryman on the Western Front of the First World War. In what he at first believes to be a dream or hallucination, he meets a woman with wings, who gives him a feather. He wakes from the experience to find himself back in the trenches, but realises the experience was not a dream when he discovers the feather. Two of his comrades, Finch and Mullet, begin express doubts about his sanity. Eventually, Paul runs off into no-man's land. There, he finds the bird-woman, but Finch and Mullet have pursued him, and they hav...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1097311 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Bogus??
How can a 58-page book contain all the items this volume purports to contain? It can't. Something's wrong here. Buyer beware. ... Read more

Product Description
The great anthology of short novels by the masters of modern fantasy.

Robert Jordan relates crucial events in the years leading up to The Wheel of Time in "New Spring."

Ursula K. Le Guin adds a sequel to her famous books of Earthsea, portraying a woman who wants to learn magic, in "Dragonfly."

Tad Williams tells a dark and enthralling story of a haunted castle in the age before Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, in "The Burning Man."

Terry Pratchett relates an amusing incident in Discworld, of a magical contest and the witch Granny Weatherwax, in "The Sea and Little Fishes."
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Excellent Glimpses into Wonderful Worlds
Many years ago, when this series of three books first came out in paperback, I bought the first volume because of the Stephen King Dark Tower Story.I love the Dark Tower series and when I accidentally stumbled on this story, I was very excited.Needless to say, I loved the novella but I also read the other novellas in the volume and quickly became an Orson Scott Card fan and have read the Ender series written by Card because of this volume (I was already a fan of Sci-fi so the Ender series was a logical place to start on Card books).This volume also got me interested more in the fantasy genre and before this had only read the Stephen R Donaldson series "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" which I still highly recommend as being one of the best fantasy series available.However, since reading volume 1 of the Legends series, I have become a huge fantasy fan.

So, I finally ran across this particular volume (Legends Volume 3) in a used book store and when I saw that Terry Pratchett and Tad Williams had contributed novellas, I had to buy it.To start off, I have not yet read any of the Jordan "Wheel of Time" series because I have heard so many different opinions about his style of writing.His books are huge to say the least so that has made me shy away from his series.I must say though, that after reading "New Spring" (which he has since expanded on to make a prequel novel) that I am interested in the series and plan on reading the first book to see if I like it.Yes, it was confusing for the first half of the story since I had no background to this series, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading and ended up enjoying the story.

The second story is Ursula LeGuin's Story "Dragonfly".This story is simply beautiful.I have read some of LeGuin's other stories but never any full novels.I WILL be reading this series, though I know the series is older than the others in this volume.

Tad Williams' story is also well written and as great as I had expected.I own the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series but have not read it yet, though I have been looking forward to reading it.I have read his "Otherland" series (over 4000 wonderful pages) and loved every word of it.From reading the "Otherland" series, I consider Mr. Williams one of my favorite authors, right up there with Stephen King with character development and making the reader feel like you are there with the characters sharing the adventure with them.This guy is one of the greatest.

The last story is "The Sea and Little Fishes" by Terry Pratchett, another one of my favorite authors.This novella is just as funny and well written as any of his books.It is a great introduction to his Discworld universe and provides an excellent example of this series.Read this story, laugh, and nod your head in agreement to the social commentary that he throws in and I bet you will want to read more.Pratchett's Discworld series will have you laughing and even on the verge of tears in some places.I would recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters (one of the Granny novels), "Guards! Guards!" (a great dragon story and introduction to the Night Watch of the Discworld series), or "Mort" ( a hilarious story about a favorite Discworld character known as "Death".Did you know that the great stallion that "Death" rides is named "Binky"? How funny is that?)

Anyway, I went on a lot more about these stories then I intended.Get the Legends series, all three books and then get the new Legends II series which also has some great novellas by authors like Terry Brooks and another one by Tad WIlliams which is based on that great "Otherland" series.You will not be disappointed.It is well worth the money you spend.

Be careful, the revs & book info for all 3 vols are mixed up
I purchased this book looking for the stories by King and McCaffrey, only to find out that they are in a different volume.The reviews and book info are the same for all three volumes, so I suppose this review will also be listed on all three.Anyway, this is a review for LEGENDS 3!

There are four stories in Legends 3:

New Spring, by Robert Jordan, a Wheel of Time story.

Dragonfly, by Ursula K. Le Guin, an Earthsea story.

The Burning Man, by Tad Williams, a Memory, Sorrow and Thorn story.

The Sea and Little Fishes, by Terry Pratchett, a Discworld story.

This is a case where they saved the best for last :)Each story gets progressively better.I thought I would go ahead and read this book rather than return it since I am always on the lookout for new (to me) fantasy writers.After all the hype about Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, I must say I was sorely dissappointed.The story was fairly interesting, and maybe the books are better than this short story, but I can't say I'm in much of a hurry to buy them now.However, I think maybe my daughter might like the children's versions.

Dragonfly was better, and the ending was the best part of all.If this was the beginning of the series, I'd be much more likely to want to buy the books, but from what I can figure out, this happens at the end of the series.Will we ever find out what happens next?I kinda doubt it.There hasn't been a new book in this series for a long time.But, I might eventually check this series out.

The Burning Man was pretty cool.It seemed to kinda stand alone though.Can't really imagine what the series is like.

The Sea and Little Fishes was the coolest.The whole Discworld thing, the world being flat and flying thru space on the backs of four elephants riding on a giant turtle was a little weird, but that hardly had anything at all to do with the story.It was about witches, not so much about magic as how they interacted with one another and with the mortals all around them.I think I'd like to read more of these.

I hope you find this helpful and don't make the same mistake that I did, thinking all of these stories are in one book, because they are actually in three.If you did find it helpful, please vote that you did.Thanks!

Terry Pratchett Junky
Yes I know it's probably outrageous to the other authors of this book (but I don't care); I bought it for the Terry Pratchett short novel. The Terry Pratchett short novel "All the little fishes" (in case your wondering) takes place on discworld, revolving around Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg and the witch trials. These are the trials they have at the Ramtops every year where each witch proves her worth and shows off her magic ability. If you have the Nanny Ogg cookbook or want to learn more about the witch trials there are references to it in there. It is an excellent short story around 80 pages. However what makes it worth reading is that it really has the No-nonsense gritty fun of Granny Weatherwax proving she is the best of all the witches! Nothing like a contest of wills to bring out the wickedness. If you like Granny weatherwax or are at least smart enough to be afraid of her this story is for you! The other authors are worth a glance too, after all they got famous for some reason or other. I do have to admit Anne McAffery also tempted me to get the book as there is a pern dragon saga story as well, and her stuff is also a good read for sci-fi fans.

A Good Prequel chapter
If you are craving a new story in the Wheel of Time, try this one.It is a great look into the past of Moiraine and Lan.It is something that was hinted at in the main novels, but it certain expands on the readers knowledge of their relationship.Lan for much of the series is stone cold and he is hard to relate to, much like Rand 7-10.Lan is much like the boy Rand used to be, except a warrior.

It has to be read after 4 or 5, or it won't be as thoroughly enjoyed (thats for newbies).The great thing is Robert Jordan expressed an interest to do another such novella if the opportunity arose.Little stories can be found in "The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time" til the next book comes out.

As Amazon predicted, I indeed loved this.
I read Legends in one piece, so please bear with me reviewing here. Legends (and Far Horizons) as well, were a brilliant move. Short stories about the worlds you know and love, in one book with yet unexplored worlds... it's awesome, both from the fan's and the publisher's point of view.

The quality of the stories was high. King's story was beautiful and enchanting, I am not a great fan of Pratchett, though, Feist and Goodkind's stories were entertaining enough, if not a little predictable.

I felt myself also highly attracted to Williams' story for some reason. And I havent even read the series. Still gotta find the first book somewhere. :)
Jordan's story, as a WOT fan, was nice enough. It was nice to be back in the WOT world again (this was during the wait for book 9). For me, it grabbed hold and didnt let go. Although I agree that it might be a little vague and incomprehensible for the people who are not familiar with the Wheel of Time.
The big thing about Legends though, has got to be the Hedge Knight. It got me to reading Martin's work, and it had got me to favoring Martin above Jordan as soon as I was done with the series.

Legends did what it was made for - introduce fans into worlds they havent explored yet, and show them a little bit more of the worlds they know and love. So yes, Legends was brilliant. ... Read more

Product Description
Titus Groan is seven years old. Lord and heir to the crumbling castle Gormenghast. Gothic labyrinth of roofs and turrets, cloisters and corridors, stairwells and dungeons, it is also the cobwebbed kingdom of Byzantine government and age-old rituals, a world primed to implode beneath the weight of centuries of intrigue, treachery, and death. Steerpike, who began his climb across the roofs when Titus was born, is now ascending the spiral stairacse to the heart of the castle, and in his wake lie imprisonment, manipulation, and murder.

Gormenghast is the second volume in Mervyn Peake's widely acclaimed trilogy, but it is much more than a sequel to Titus Groan--it is an enrichment and deepening of that book. And back in single volumes for the first time in years, a new generation of fantasy fans will grow to love this tour de force that ranks as one of the twentieth century's most remarkable feats of imaginative writing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

MAN VS. CASTLE
This is easily one of the best books I've read.

[NO SPOILERS]

KEY THEMES: As the title of my review implies, "Man vs. Castle" sums up GORMENGHAST quite well. However, there are actually TWO men fighting the castle, in different ways and for different reasons. First there is Steerpike, an ambitious youth who is fighting for the chance to rule the whole castle and all those in it. Then there is Titus Groan--the youth who is not-yet-but-almost of age to rule the castle like his father before him--who is fighting the very traditions that are part of everyday castle life.

Where Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World (P.S.) and We (Modern Library Classics) are dystopias of the future, GORMENGHAST could be viewed as a dystopia of the past--a world where the masses are--supposedly--happy but where there is at least one who thinks that a better life can be found.

SETTINGS: Although most of the story takes place in Gormenghast Castle, many new parts of it are explored and described in detail. In addition, there are also several trips to the claw-shaped Gormenghast Mountain.

CHARACTERS: Due to the events in the first book, Titus Groan, some of my favorite characters were not present. However, within a dozen pages or so, the author introduces us to a good handful of characters that, if not better than the older ones, certainly are on a par with them. Of this new cast, one of my favorites was Deadyawn, the school Headmaster who rolls around in a chair-and-table contraption like Stephen Hawking. Then there is Bellgrove, a professor and sometime mentor of Titus, the main character.

PLOT: Without spoiling anything, this second volume deals with Titus Groan, heir of Gormenghast, as he goes from boy to man (the book covers a span of about a decade). Almost equal to this plotline are the schemes and wicked plans of Steerpike. Finally, there is the legendary party that is about to be hosted by Irma Prunesqualler, a flat-chested hag who is desperately in need of a husband.

OVERALL: I liked this book much better than TITUS GROAN and even though Mervyn Peake maintains his general formula of 2/3 description/detail and 1/3 plot, I still felt that what plot there was certainly engaged my mind and encouraged me to finish this book all the faster. The climax is a bit long, but certainly a nail-biter and definitely satisfying. Even better, although this book hints at the sequel that is Titus Alone, I feel that GORMENGHAST ends quite perfectly. For that reason, unless I can be convinced otherwise, I am more than satisfied with ending the series here.

Book arrived exactly as described.
Book arrived quickly and exactly as it was described. I would definitely buy from this seller again.

"And the Twins Make Five..."
Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" books are a difficult series to categorize in terms of genre, as they really are in a league of their own. Whenever the subject of Peake has arisen in conversation and I've been called upon to describe them to the uninitiated, my efforts are always rewarded with baffled looks. The books defy most attempts at classification; and although they're usually put in the "fantasy" section of libraries and bookstores, the trilogy is bereft of the usual Tolkienesque fantasy trappings (mystical creatures, heroic quests, magical quests). There are however, a few throwbacks to fairytales: a youthful hero who grows into manhood, a distressed - and sexually frustrated - damsel, a series of helpful or hindering secondary characters, and an insidious villain who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But ultimately the books have more in common with the likes of Charles Dickens and Emily Bronte, what with their grotesque, shrewd characterizations of weird and horrible people, and the way in which these characters go about their lives (which is basically making themselves and everyone around them miserable). They are a rich, dark, Gothic rendering of a world without any discernable reference point in terms of the time period; and it's all told in dense prose that's simply exhaustive to read. They're crammed full of detail (all of it beautiful, most of it superfluous) in a style that makes it feel as though you're wading through words, and which often meanders off to visit places and stage dialogues that have no bearing on the central plot at all.

And yet somehow Peake makes all of this fascinating. "Gormenghast" has a hypnotic effect on a patient reader, and I was utterly intoxicated throughout my reading. As I'm sure is the case with most people, overlong descriptions irritate me, but I'm willing too put up with a lot as long as there's eventually payoff to such ramblings. And in Peake's case: there is. In droves! In fact, the time he takes in setting a scene has the advantage of racketing up and drawing out the anticipation in the climactic moments. When Titus, Flay and Prunesquallor track Steerpike through an abandoned wing of the castle to regions unknown, or when a frightened Fuchsia tiptoes through the darkened halls to a secret rendezvous, Peake's slow pacing lends the book an excruciating, nail-biting tension.

The title refers to the stronghold of Gormenghast, the setting of both this and the previous book, Titus Groan. It is a sprawling household that is large enough to act as a self-sustaining city, and in turn, it is the entire world of those who live there. The inhabitants live and die within its walls, with no interest whatsoever in what might lie beyond the peak of Gormenghast Mountain and the surrounding forests. Described in minute detail, the rooftops and quadrangles, corridors and secret passageways are gloomy, claustrophobic and labyrinthine. Here is where readers might get frustrated at the excessive detail that Peake pours into his rendering of Gormenghast, and yet this too serves a purpose in the narrative, for the physical clutter of the place is matched only by its spiritual despondency, as the house is ruled by custom and ritual, so ancient that they have lost all meaning. Alongside the longing to leave such a stifling environment is the desire to stay and delve deeper into its depths.

Into this world is born Titus Groan, the seventy-seventh Earl of Gormenghast. The previous novel, named after this infant protagonist, recounted his birth, childhood and unfolding destiny. Obviously the fact that he was a baby for the length of the novel meant that the action focused on other characters: his morose father Sepulchrave, his mother Gertrude (a force of nature which sleeps most of the time, but is devastating when it wakes), his loveless, scatter-brained sister Fuchsia, and a plethora of servants. Predominantly amongst these servants is Steerpike, who along with Titus himself, is an element of change in this static world. The most engaging character in the book, Steerpike has dragged himself up from his life as a kitchen boy, and is still steadily climbing the social ladder with only his cunning, wits, and sheer ambition to drive him on. In comparison to this tour de force, Titus is a much more sedate character; not uninteresting, but certainly not *as* interesting as the malevolent Steerpike. The plot, such as it is, revolves around these two polar opposites: the young Earl who rejects his power, and the displaced kitchen boy who craves it and will do anything to get it: spying, arson, manipulation, blackmail, and murder of the most Machiavellian kind.

In many ways the trilogy is a coming of age story, in which Titus, dreading his own life as the overseer of dreary ritual, begins to rebel against the destiny laid out before him and attempt to understand the world beyond Gormenghast's borders. Likewise, it is an exploration of class relations and the dissolution of social structures that was occurring at the time of publication (the loyal Flay is superseded by the fluctuating Steerpike; the family dynasty of the Groans is undermined by the freedom of an outcast) and the journey of evil which by the story's end has taken on Biblical proportions. From an abusive and pitying childhood, Steerpike is the embodiment of pride, arrogance, vanity and viciousness, leading inevitably to isolation, madness and depravity. Peake describes the height (or should I say the depth) of Steerpike's evil thus:

"He no longer wanted to kill his foe in darkness and in silence. His lust was to stand naked upon the moonlit stage, with his arms stretched high, and his fingers spread, and with the warm blood that soaked them sliding down his wrists, spiraling his arms and steaming in the cold night air - to suddenly drop his hands like talons to his breast and tear it open to expose a heart like a black vegetable - and then, upon the crest of self-exposure, and the sweet glory of wickedness, to create some gesture of supreme defiance, lewd and rare, and then with the towers of Gormenghast around him, cheat the castle of its jealous right and die of his own evil in the moonbeams."

Wow. They don't write `em like that anymore.

Surrounding Steerpike and Titus are a range of characters such as Doctor Prunesquallor (my own favourite!) and his spinster sister Irma, a range of school professors led by the self-important Bellgrove, and a range of servants such as the exiled Flay and the long-suffering Nannie Slagg, some of which only act on the periphery of the action. However, they are given *plenty* of attention, particularly concerning Irma's extensive search for a husband amongst the professors. And yet, at the height of his power Peake is a undisputed master of storytelling: there's an Old Testament-like flood that forces the inhabitants into higher and higher levels of the castle; schoolboys that play a daring game which involves flinging themselves out of a high window, flipping on a branch and diving back in through the window and onto a wax-covered floorboard; and Titus's hours-long crawl through a secret passage into the frightening freedom of the countryside beyond Gormenghast's walls. All these things strike a chord in the imagination, and will stay with you for a very long time.

The "trilogy" is only one by default considering that Peake had planned a seven-book series that chronicled Titus's entire lifespan, a project that was sadly cut short by his death. It's difficult for fans not to long for what could have been, but for those that have yet to discover Gormenghast, the premature ending of the series shouldn't deter them from reading the first two installments. I have yet to read the third book: Titus Alone (Book three of Gormenghast Trilogy), but the combined "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast" make a satisfying, self-contained novel. Although it ends on a promise for more stories to come, it beings Steerpike's tale to a satisfying conclusion and provides a fitting, though open-ended finish for the protagonist.

Fluked Opus
Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy (or more accurately, the Titus series) is an obvious influence on several different genres of dark fantasy and modern gothic literature. In this book's predecessor, Titus Groan, Peake introduced the dark and oppressive Gormenghast castle, a monstrosity of ancient origins, so vast that one could get lost in its catacombs for months. This megalithic castle is populated by a moribund royal court that is obsessed with archaic rituals, locked into Machiavellian schemes, and completely oblivious to the outside world. This second novel follows the coming of age of young Titus, the restless heir to the throne, as he rebels against both the tyrannical architecture of Gormenghast and the stunted rituals that will soon define his existence.

Like the first book of the series, Peake displays an astonishing gift for language and description, with a nearly overwhelming sense of style that really reflects Gormenghast's oppressive decay and the related psychoses of the many characters. There is a bone-chilling sense of darkness and madness here, built with subtle description of a skill level that goth horror writers could only dream about. But Peake's skillful verbiage is so meticulous in its descriptions of setting and mood that the reader nearly misses all the action and character developments. There are certainly more of those than in the first novel, especially surrounding the scheming machinations of the corrupt Steerpike and the inner conflicts faced by young Titus as he comes of age. But these developments tend to be buried by descriptions of the surrounding architecture and ambience that are so detailed as to verge on distraction.

Readers who appreciate both literary fiction and mastery of language will find that Peake's brilliance rises far above the stereotypes of the several sub-genres he has influenced. But his many outstanding plot and character developments are often buried beneath wave after wave of prose that describes mood and setting a little too well, nearly to the point of exasperation for the reader. The result is a very slow-moving story with an imposing torrent of skillful prose, which may prevent many readers from fully appreciating the excitement and intrigue of Peake's masterful story. [~doomsdayer520~]

Intoxicating
This is a review of Gormenghast, that is, the second part of the Gormenghast trilogy (after Titus Groan, and before Titus Alone).
After a somewhat slow beginning, in which Mervyn Peake first briefly summarizes Titus Grown by drawing up a list of which characters have died or gone missing, then introduces the reader with the plethora of new characters that are the teachers of Titus, the now seven-year-old seventy-seventh Earl of Gormenghast, the pace hopefully picks up again. And as the pages turn, the story becomes more and more exciting.

Irma Prunesquallor's party, and then her romance and the way the whole affair eventually backfires on Wellgrove, although it does not push the plot further, were fun to read. Titus's growing love for his sister Fuchsia, and at the same time his attempts at shunning both the physical prison that is Gormenghast castle and the mental cage that is its sacrosanct ritual, attempts that lead him into the mysterious forest where lurks the Thing, and to the grotto where Flay has taken shelter, were passionating. Finally, Steerpike's mischievious, murderous ambition, and the others' suspicions that gradually turn into evidences, and the memorable chases in the shadowy maze of the fortress that ensue, were purely mind-boggling.

Mervyn Peake's characters are so complex that in the end you like the ones you despised and hate the ones you loved in the first book. His words give life to such an amazing imagery, it vibrates and dazzles, it's intoxicating. This is magic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Light read
I found this story to be a meandering tale that at the end of the day didn't really take you anywhere at the end of the day. Nothing definitive happened at the end of it all.

If you want a light read with an occasional laugh this story is for you.

SOME GOOD...SOME BAD
This trade paperback collects the five one-shot specials as the helmet of Doctor Fate traveled from hand to hand in an effort to find a new bearer of the responsibilities of Doctor Fate, sans its Lord of Order, Nabu. The Helmet comes to Detective Chimp, Sargon the Sorcerer, Black Alice, Zauriel and Ibis the invincible...not exactly DC first-stringers but that's kind of the fun of the story. The best story for me was the Sargon story. Here we have DC at its best, taking a little known, Golden Age character and revamping him for modern times. In this case, David Sargent is the grandson of the original Sargon and inherits his grandfather's entire estate as well as the mantle of Sargon who was no mere stage magician. This story is presented by Steve Niles and Scott Hampton and has the best art of the five stories. The Ibis story was also very good and is very similar to the Sargon story as once again we have an old Golden age character who chooses a new successor. The Black Alice story bored me, as did the Zauriel story. The Detective Chimp story was mildly amusing. ... Read more