Ratings20
Average rating3.4
Oh what to say about mordew. There were a ton of cool and unique ideas in this book. Unfortunately about 80% of them are in the 200 page glossary at the back of the book. The “world building” in this book is virtually nonexistant and the pacing is all over the place. I havent read such a passive main character in a LONG time and boy does nathan do nothing but be influenced by whoever is nearest him at the current moment in time. Its unclear what if anything he stands for and you spend the entirety of the book watching him be manipulated by countless different figures for no seeming purposes at all. The first 3/4 of the book drag along painfully slow and then all of the sudden the whole world crashes down in their revolt and nathan ends up trapped. I had high hopes for this book but it was unfortunately so bad I cant even stomach the idea of continuing the series and Im amazed i didnt DNF this book
4 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Nathan lives in the slums of Mordew, the Master's city, and feeds himself, his prostitute mother, and dying father scavenging from the Living Mud that surrounds him. But he has a Spark that catches the Master's eye, and there's quite a lot more about Nathan and his origin than meets the eye.
Review
Mordew is a fascinating book with intriguing characters in a complex world. It's unfortunately also a book that's severely unbalanced. I'll start by noting that my e-book (or the conversion of it to EPUB) gave its length as 814 pages. In fact, it's just over 400, plus almost 300 glossary entries, plus a few dozen pages of (fairly vague) in-world philosophy or mysticism. I found the latter (and the initial dramatis personae) somewhat clumsy.
The book is divided into four or five parts, and the first is rock solid and captivating – the introduction to our protagonist and his world. After that, though, the book loses its way a bit. Nathan, who has grown up through hard times and choices, instantly reverts to a biddable child. There are some throwaway comments late in the book that try to paper this over, but it's an awkward stumbling block that takes us well out of the immersive book we've enjoyed until then. Then there's an interlude, and two more parts that, to my mind, are extremely rushed and hectic. While I see now that there's a sequel novel, I think Mordew itself could, and probably should, have been broken into at least two books to give the action time to breathe, and Nathan time to develop. As is, the reader just has to take the plot on faith. This is exacerbated by the fact that, through most of the book, Nathan is much more acted upon than actor. When he does act, his choices often feel fairly random.
“The future of fantasy starts here,” says the front-cover blurb. I think it's more accurate, though, to see Mordew as a throwback to the gothic novels of old, and particularly to Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast. But despite the similarities to Gormenghast, I think Mordew stands as its own book, and it's disappointing to see its cover lean so heavily on Peake's own artistic style. I do admit that, the further I got in the book, the more I thought Pheby owed to Peake, and the more I thought this was deliberate.
There's a lot here to like, and I do expect to pick up the next book in time. However, if the first quarter of the book deserves five stars, the remainder is less convincing. There are also a fair number of punctuation and grammatical/typographical errors – a surprise in a book that's been through two publishers and several editions. Some might be considered stylistic choices, but some are clearly just wrong.
this story and world are gorgeous in their construction but i found it difficult to care about any of the characters.
Gah. Dit is precies wat ik wou vermijden door alleen nog dingen te lezen die afgerond zijn: een boek dat wel interessant is, maar dat op een cliffhanger eindigt.
Om te beginnen: ik vermijd normaal gezien spoilers als de pest, en lees alleen maar een miniem stukje van de blurb of van non-spoiler-reviews om te beslissen of ik een boek zal lezen.
De eerste lijn van elke omschrijving van dit boek (“God is dead, his corpse hidden in the catacombs beneath Mordew.”) is een monumentale spoiler, in de zin dat die onthulling pas zeer ver in de tweede helft van het boek komt, en een hele reeks dingen van in het begin van het boek duidelijk maakt.
Tegelijkertijd is het ook geen spoiler, in de zin dat de auteur al met onze voeten speelt van op de allereerste pagina:
If, during the reading of Mordew, you find yourself confused by all the unfamiliar things, there is a glossary at the back.
Be careful. Some entries contain information unknown to the protagonist.
There is a school of thought that says that the reader and the hero of a story should only ever know the same things about the world. Others say that transparency in all things is essential, and no understanding in a book should be hidden or obscure, even if it the protagonist doesn't share it. Perhaps the ideal reader of Mordew is one who understands that they, like Nathan Treeves (its hero), are not possessed of all knowledge of all things at all times. They progress through life in a state of imperfect certainty and know that their curiosity will not always be satisfied immediately (if ever).
In any event, the glossary is available if you find yourself lost.
Dramatis personae
Mr Treeves
He was born from a stone weathered in the rain and ice of a winter perched on the Sea Wall. A fault in this stone was eased open by the freeze, and in the spring Treeves père wriggled out, salty and cold and weak. His strength was further wasted fending off frostbite and fish bite and death by drowning. He is now moribund and ineffectual, prey to lungworm infestation. He is Nathan Treeves's father.
Mrs Treeves
Down in the slums she is wife to Mr Treeves, mother to Nathan Treeves, servicer of all comers. A more ignoble thing it would be hard to imagine. Yet who are you to judge? Time will tell.
- many carcasses of butchered animals left to rot
- a child who is all limbs and nothing else
- a child who is made into a ghost
- a child with the face of a dog
- a child, blind in one eye, whose sight is partially returned
- a number of children, beaten
- children that are made into nothing but a spine and a head
- children that come unbidden from nowhere
- children who drink only wine
- a chimney with a devil's head on the top
- cities with odd names
- some clay figures animated by blood sacrifice
- combustible feathers
- a corpse that becomes two corpses
- a corridor suitable only for a child
- a country bounded by white cliffs to its south
- a creature that is transformed from itself into a rat
- creatures that are born directly from the muck
- creatures that live only for a moment, and then fall to pieces
- a crew of sailors, all with Irish names
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