Titus Alone

I was already aware of the consensus that “Titus Alone” was widely considered a severe let-down after the first two Gormenghast books, so my expectations were low to begin with. However, despite the obvious shift from those earlier works, Peake's talent, his love of language, his creativity and his knack for unique characters still shine through, so that while a little tricky at first, I soon found myself enraptured in the story just as I had with the previous novels.

It is hard to leave Gormenghast behind, both for Titus as well as the reader, and at first the feeling of reading a Titus novel set outside the realm of Gormenghast is a disorienting one. Peake doesn't make it any easier by setting the rest of Titus' adventures not in our own world (Wouldn't that be something, Gormenghast like some Gothic Shangri-la, a mythical kingdom lost to time and cartography?) but in a strange dystopian realm with a mix of old and futuristic technologies. Here he meets up with people who have never heard of Gormenghast and believe Titus to be mad. Though Titus finds new friends in this strange land, he also finds sinister enemies with he must contend. Though arguably not the ideal end to the series, especially since the ending leaves things open ended, it was still good to follow Titus' adventures for a little bit longer.