This book made me laugh and cry! Now I have no problem keeping my pants on. Every reader will find a bit of wisdom to take with them on their journey to become pure. A definate must for drag queens, dykes, the queer next door, and anyone who frequents Wherenext.com. Read it now!

This is supposed to be part 3 of the trilogy, but it has VERY little to do with the first 2 books (both of which I loved, BTW). The only thing in common with the first books is the character of Titus (who was a baby in the first book, so was really only a character in the second book). The first 2 books spend much (most) of their time in a rather enchanting world that is confined to a castle and the immediate area around it, yet none of this book takes place there. Much more disturbing, however, is this volume takes place in a VERY different time period than the first two books. The first 2 take place in a castle that is lit by candles and has no visible technology (the only thing that is described that was invented in the last 800 years is a reference to "guns", but they are never used and it is unknown how primitive the "guns" would be). In this book they have cars, airplanes(!), and tiny self propelled spy devices that don't even exist today! (Not to mention helmets that give you superhuman strength, and other fantastic future things - it goes from medieval castle straight to comic-book future). It is not even internally consistant - one woman flys an airplane to visit a ruin she last saw during a failed expedition to explore the unknown in one direction, an expedition that had to quit because of an unpenatratable LINE OF TREES (were the trees so tall they could stop the airplanes?). At "plot" is barely in existance, and has lots of people doing things for no rational or decernable reason (really a stark contrast to the first 2 stories, which went to some length to give you insight into the characters).
Read the first two, then skip this one - it is not only not in their league, it will actually diminish your remembered enjoyment of the first two.

I enjoyed this book very much but it IS rather different from the preceding novels (Titus Groan, Gormenghast), which are really complete as a pair. Though related it is not necessary to have read them in order to follow the action of this story.

Young Titus Groan, Lord of Gormenghast after his Father's assassination and the death of the villainous Steerforth, decides to set out to see something of the world beyond the eccentric traditions of his decayed and moribund realm. He finds a decaying and eccentric city, where he makes some allies as he becomes a nine-days wonder.

Peake excelled at depiction of a monstrous and decaying world filled with wierd eccentrics. If you like that kind of thing, you'll love this book!

To my knowlege, the only thing ever written in the English language that even comes close is Shakespeare's latter plays. For characterization, plot, description, humor, pathos and sheer gothic intensity and wonder, Peake's Gormenghast trilogy may be without parallel in all of human literature.

Read it and find out what the English language is capable of.

Quentin Crisp passed away last year at the golden age of 92 -- an infinitely wise child who managed the difficult trick of never growing up. What a loss to society and the English language!

As a film critic, he was not in a class with, say, Stanley Kauffmann for discussion of film quality and technique, or John Simon for bitchiness, but Crisp was a lovely English stylist, and his unique point of view made him a delightful companion at the movies.

Even if you don't agree with his judgments, they are a hoot to read. This book has a sunny quality that contrasts with the acrid humor of his autobio, _The Naked Civil Servant_. While you might visualize him telling you that story over a stiff drink in a dark corner, the tone of this book is more like a breezy meeting at a teahouse.

Of Cher, he writes, "She is tall and rangy and so lean that you fear that her collarbone will saw its way through her hazardously thin shoulder straps." Since "the French appear to think that they invented flirtation ... Their films on this subject are almost always pervaded by a cloying quality of self-congratulation." Of "My Dinner With Andre," he says, "I could not bring myself to make a report on it because it was as boring as being alive." Mr. Depardieu is "the European equivalent of Mr. Nolte, though he lacks the golden skin tone, as of a basted chicken, which adds so greatly to the allure of the American star."

Most of the pieces in this collection were written for a column in Christopher Street magazine, and the audience for that publication must be kept in mind with regard to some of his film choices -- and as Crisp, well into his 70s and 80s at the time, makes remarks such as "sex is a mistake" and "homosexual men are pathologically incapable of making love with their friends or making friends of their lovers...."

Call this a lightweight junket. You won't remember much of it when you are finished, but it sure is a fun ride along the way.

I would really like to hear the tapes of Hadleigh's interviews. Whether or not the gentlemen in this book were gay is not the point; the point is, would Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, et al, willingly out themselves to some writer (with a tape recorder) they'd just met after being in the closet for decades? The fact that Hadleigh waited till all his subjects were dead before publishing only raises my eyebrows higher.