Gogmagog was an imaginative and wild ride of a book. It certainly fits the weird description but not in the way I thought it would, it’s just something you have to read to see for yourself. I really loved the boating aspects and the descriptions of it, the world-building is vivid and raw. At times the action/magic literally comes at you as a reader and this felt unique. The characters are amazing and so fleshed out. Be prepared for plenty of swearing and lots of quirks. Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Gogmagog is the first of a fun science fiction duology set in an alternate post-war London. The people are five different races (winged, insected, derived from plants, etc) that were wildly inventive and unique living in a land where the main river is haunted by the ghost of a dragon (or is the ghost of the dragon?? The ambiguity, surprisingly, makes the book even better). The main character is a 1000 year old plant lady that is at the end of her latest reincarnation and looks and acts like a 60-year-old: she's irreverent and crotchety and scared of death and I would die for her.

I'd say the only part I didn't like in this book is the references to John Dee - the old Elizabethan astrologer and magician. Being a big Elizabeth II fan as a kid, the insertion of Dee definitely broke the immersion into this fantasy world.

10/10 good scifi, one of the most rewarding #netgalley reads I've come across so far.

This is a strange one ! It took me a while to get to grips with the strange crew, the language and the general weirdness of the whole book. Did I like it ? Still not sure, but it is definately something very different. Will have to read the second half before I am sure.

There's a growing subgenre I like the call 'weird crew on a spaceship', with titles such as 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' and 'Shards of the Earth'. 'Gogmagog' isn't sci-fi but it fits right into this subgenre as an eccelctic crew comes together on the riverboat Juniper to safely deliver a young girl to her destination. For me, the novel is hit-and-miss, with intense, evocative set pieces which don't quite mesh together by the end. A unique and bizarre setting, with the ghost of dead dragon lying across the river the crew need to navigate, keeps things compelling enough.

Characters: This is a distinctly non-human cast. You have Cady, the crotchety old captain who is more than she seems; Brin, her young cargo who has a mysterious link to the river as they travel; Lek, a robotic butler-turned-guard who protects and fights for Brin; Yanish, whose people have strange shadows and a connection to the dead; and Numi, a resurrected soul. Each character and creature feels completely unique, which can be enjoyable at first but can start to drag as you constantly have to remind yourself of each character's non-human attrributes. It's enjoyable to have an older woman (or immortal Haegra) as the main character: a POV we don't see a lot of fantasy and sci-fi. There are complex relationships between all the characters, with everyone moaning and complaining at each other for much of the novel.

Worldbuilding: A difficult world to understand at first, and a deeply sad one when you realise this is a land torn apart by war and grief, with towns and people teetering on the brink. The ghost of the dragon Haakenur lies over the river Nysis, exerting a magical, often insidious influence over the river and it's banks. It's an interesting creation from Noon and Beard, and the crew must brave different 'sections' of the river, each linked to different organs of the dragon. The rest of the world is steampunky-fantasy, with elements of modern technology yet dominated by magic. It's a post-war settng and pall of death hangs over everything and playing a significant role in the plot and characters. I liked the ideas in the world but they were someties confusing and overly complex.

Plot: Whilst the world is complex, the plot is farely standard if you strip away all the weirdness of the characters. Cady (and her crew) have a quest to deliver a Macguffin (Brin) to the capital city, and they're going to follow the haunted river to do so. The book take place over a couple of jam-packed days, with events speeding along at a good pace. The ending, to me, felt unfullfiling with plenty of open threads left for sequels. I wanted more resolution to the stories in the novel.

Prose: I especiialy enjoyed the descriptions of Cady's links to plant-life, and her trance-like descents in the Deep Root, and her sullenness and stubborness shine from her POV. There's plenty of interesting images and moments explored cleverly and with a eye for detail from Noon and Beard.

Overall, I didn't click with this book as much as I thought I would. I enjoyed certain chapters but it didn't really come together for me. If you like weird books with even weirder characters, this would be right up your alley.

Honestly don’t know what genre to put this in. This is one weird and highly imaginative fantasy novel like no other I have ever read. It does not give you much background and introduction at the beginning and then slowly interjects various information throughout the journey which allows the reader to piece together the story a bit at a time. It is perfectly executed and well written. With that said, I like that it does not baby the reader. The characters are lively and well defined. This is one story that is strange, crazy, highly imaginative and unexpected and there’s nothing much to do but sit back and let it all play out. Cannot wait to find out what happens next in Ludluda.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gogmagog is a funny old book, one that, initially, I thought wouldn’t quite be for me, only for it to grow on me, like some kind of invasive plant life (an apt description, but you’ll have to read it to find out why).

The story is a meandering one, much like the river on which our protagonists find themselves. Really, this is half of a story (with the second half coming later this year) and I can see for some people that it might not work. This book is, in effect, just setting the stage for the second half. So a certain amount of meandering is acceptable here, and the kind of meandering that allows the book to be character-driven.

Truly, not an enormous amount happens in this book. The actual journey the characters embark upon doesn’t take all that long (although at times it feels like it should be taking longer). As I said, this is character-driven, so really the journey is not about the travelling and adventuring but about them — their relationships and their dreams, the way they slowly lower their defences and draw together. And, of course, it’s also kind of about saving the world.

Which brings me neatly to my next point: the world that Jeff Noon and Steve Beard have created. It’s a very visceral-feeling fantasy world, I think, one that you could almost reach out and touch. There aren’t a lot of info-dumps going on, so the background information you get is quite sparse, and yet, this is a world that comes to life off the page. You can almost feel the mist on your skin or the creak of the boat, as it journeys down the river. That’s what sucked me into this one first and foremost.

So, if a character-driven fantasy is something you’re looking for, then make sure you pick this one up in February. And if, like me, you were a little dubious at first, just give it a chance!

A fantasy in the old sense, a great story of the past catching up with us. Characters feel real with real motivations and everyone gets what they're owed.

Gogmagog is the first book of the First Chronicle of Ludwich duology and one of the most interesting books I've ever read. The cover immediately caught my attention and I pretty much requested it immediately. The story is engaging, the characters are well-developed, and the worldbuilding is exceptional to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys weirder books with a very unique setting. I can't wait to read the final book and find out how the journey ends. Thanks to Angry Robot and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy.

5/5

LOVED this. If you are a fan of Gormghast or Mordew by Alex Pheby-- purchase the book! The worldbuilding was so unique and the writing style and characters reminded me a bit of Bancroft's Books of Babel's cast but unique in their own way.

I am planning to do a short review for our podcast. Will return here with the transcript if I can format it correctly. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

“Gogmagog” is the story of Cady, an elderly woman living on the banks of the Nysis River after a long career ferrying people along it. At the beginning of the novel, a young woman and a Thrawl (artificial human) approach Cady wishing to be taken along the river. The river is also haunted; Cady in particular has a strong affinity to be able to see the ghostly figures along its banks.
While I found the premise interesting, the characters and narration style fell fairly flat for me, and I felt the worldbuilding was lacking.

The speculative fiction genre got a bit of a kick in the teeth back in 2000 with the release of China Miéville’s Perdito Street Station and Jeff Vandemeer’s City of Saints and Sinners and with these, the advent of what has become known as New Weird. One source in 2023, defined New Weird novels as exercises in worldbuilding characterized by a heterogeneity of sources, genres, and details" and "particularly eclectic; mixing modern street culture with ancient mythology." In all of those respects, Jeff Noon and Steve Beard’s new novel Gogmagog sits firmly in the New Weird. It is a ferocious and bizarre exercise in world building that is unafraid to mix elements and subgenres of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Gogmagog opens with Cady Mead, an old salt who used to ply the waters of the Nysis through to the city of Ludwich. A war and a deterioration of the river has seen water traffic dwindle and those days are long gone. But Cady has a calling and when a strange girl and her robot protector come and ask for passage on the river to Ludwich, despite the dangers of the journey she agrees to accompany them in her old ferry, Captained by her former crewman. And so begins an epic journey up a river haunted by the spirit of a dead dragon and full of dangers and wonders.
For those who enjoy this style of fantasy there is plenty to enjoy in Gogmagog. From its steampunk styling to its earthy humour, to its mindbending ideas, creatures and species to its deep mysteries. And with very little exposition – Noon and Beard drop readers into this world and expect them to just work things out for themselves. And they do this through the action and an the interactions of a central found family of flawed characters, misfits and runaways.
Gogmagog, the first of a projected series, spends its whole time navigating the river to Ludwich. And yet it never feels like it is spinning its wheels. Every stretch of that river holds new challenges, discoveries and secrets. So that the whole enterprise becomes an intriguing table-setting for the action and answers to come in future volumes.

Trying to get at what makes Gogmagog so special is difficult, but any attempt to do so would have to start with establishing that this is a story about taking a boat ride on the wildest, weirdest river you can possibly imagine with one of the most fascinating characters I've seen in a fantasy book in a long time. As a reader of weird fiction and fantasy, there really isn't a better way to grab my attention than to say a river is the haunted corpse of a long-dead dragon and that a strange, secret plant lady is going to be the primary protagonist.

There is honestly so much to get into when it comes to this book (which is the first part of a duology), from the way that the magic/steampunk-ish world leaps from the page to invite readers to imagine a place full of robots, aliens, dragons, plant people and more without ever being overwhelmed, and the skill at which our protagonist Cady Meade is brought to life. Cady has the personality of a salty sailor, and has lived many rich lives. She is shocked when her usual expected renewal of her youth is denied to her in favor of something she never expected, an event which is further complicated by her agreeing to shepherd a group full of secrets through the increasingly dangerous river waters. Her attempts to cope with these changes, to protect her charges, and try to comprehend the way her world is changing is just excellent.

This is a great tale held back in my opinion only by the way that it ends setting up for the second entry, but aside from that this is a thoroughly enjoyable and surprising.

Could this be my book of the year?! I loved everything about this and cannot wait for book two. Noon and Beard have created something so cruelly special.

Incredible. Honestly. What a book to kick off 2024.
Thankyou Angry Robot and NetGalley for providing an ARC of Gogmagog in return for my honest review. I haven't read a book of this calibre since finishing The spear that cuts water by Simon Jimenez and The Locked Tomb works of Tamsin Muir.
Gogmagog. I'll admit my knowledge of such is of Lovecraftian origins via the recent works of King. I have since done my research and was still surprised to find this Gogmagog was neither Lovecraft or Welsh Mythology inspired.
In fact the visuals of this book was unlike anything I have ever read. The world building and mood is reminiscent of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, but steampunk, both whimsy and dark, with an Arcane, and sometimes Miyazaki aesthetic. Seamlessly both Sci-Fi and fantasy in genre. I can imagine it brought to film either via Anima or digital animation.
The characterwork is fantaststic. These characters are not human and yet they are extremely relatable, and I particularly love the use of vulgarness to give Cady her human qualities.
Our protagonist is no beauty, or a prophecy destined princes. But rather a drunkard centaury old being that is just sick of everything, except for her beloved boat Juniper. Its the tale of the reluctant quest and tie-ing up of loose ends. In a world that I honestly couldn't believe possible to have come from ones imagination. It's actually bonkers.
I couldn't flaw the writing and I liked that we weren't babied scene by scene.
I cant not wait for LudLuda and will definitely be buying trophy copies of these extremely original books.

Review also posted here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6111080928

I would never have come up with the concept of this book if left to my own devices.

It's so insane...I mean, the whole sailing through a late dragon's ghost to transport a sick girl and her crazy robot has to be the wildest thing I've heard so far. And the ship's captain is a 78-year-old babe whose diet is basically Bacardi and Marlboro. Like.... what!?

Worldbuilding? Amazing. Characters? Heartwarming, easily likable, and so raw. Emphasis on raw. Dialogue? Hilarious! Literally, no one says more unhinged things than Ms Cady Meade. Atmosphere? There!!! It's magical. Vibes? Good, the entire time.
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The less you know, the better your experience you'll have reading this. I feel like I've spoiled enough, and I haven’t even said anything. I genuinely can't wait for book two because that ending, teaaa.

Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for sending me an ARC. 🫶🏽✨

Cady Meade, retired sailor, chewer of tobacco and drinker of whatever whiskey she can get her hand on is hired to ferry one last passenger load up the river. The river is also the ghostly body of a dead dragon, and Cady is not quite the person she seems. Through villages of resurrected people, nightmare clouds and various sorts of the ghostly dragons body the crew are part of some greater political maneuvering.

It is very steampunk, acid trip! I thought it was hugely imaginative, with excellent characterization. I see that its book 1 of a series and the ending did feel a tad abrupt

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for honest feedback. And in the name of honesty, I’ll start with a warning- this is a very, very weird book.

If you don’t like Weird fiction, this is probably not the book for you. The same is true if you aren’t comfortable with strong language and coarse humor. However, if you like Mervyn Peake or Jeff Vandermeer, **************************you’ll probably like this one.

That said, it is an excellent book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The basic premise is that the protagonist (Cady Meade) must get some passengers up the river to the capital in time for a coming-of-age ceremony.

The catch is that the river is inhabited by a dragon’s ghost and the ghost has fallen ill, causing the usual strange abnormalities of the ghost to grow worse and even more unpredictable. Nothing is quite as it seems and mystery and mystery are unveiled but never fully solved, nor are the mysteries ever understood. They flit at the edge of the awareness of both the reader and the characters resulting in a sense of surreal uncertainty as reality itself never seems particularly stable.

The characters are rich and complex, each with the secret traumas that they carry with them up the river, which brings all of them to the fore in intense, often frightening ways that push the characters to the limits of what they consider themselves capable of, and then beyond.

In many ways, this book is a post-covid, 2020s American pilgrimage. Haunted by past wars, everpresent disease, and uncertainty, and the dark shadows of their heroes, they muddle through the world uncertain of what they are doing or why in a way that felt deeply relatable.

If science fiction at its best presents intellectually engaging ideas about humanity, the future, and science, then fantasy also has its highest aspiration - to capture the vivid color and emotion of dreams. The original titans of fantasy literature definitely lived up to that lofty goal - take The Lord of the Rings, for example - but also indelibly shaped what fantasy could be for decades. There are plenty of excellent stories told in some version of the “standard fantasy setting,” but, regardless of quality, this particular flavor of fantasy still has a stranglehold on the imagination. What else could fantasy be if it was willing to cast off those shackles?

Maybe it’s something like Gogmagog.

Gogmagog tells the story of Arcadia “Cady” Meade, a grizzled elderly seawoman who finds herself hired to transport a strange young girl and her robotic caretaker across a river formed from a dead dragon. We’re quickly introduces to the strange twists of this world - it has television powered by crystals, there was some terrible recent war complete with bomber planes, there are different types of sapient peoples (including some with mind-reading antenni and others with mood-revealing gems stuck in their foreheads, with autonomous shadows that can hold memories when trapped in blankets), and of course, that the twisting river is still haunted by the ghost of the dragon that died to create it. Every new bit of worldbuilding is a delight, and Noon and Beard inject Gogmagog with a host of vivid, dreamlike images and setpieces that are already inspiring new ideas for my own storytelling - the highest praise I personally can give a fantasy story.

While most of the characters are relatively simple, Cady is a delight; a profane, grumpy old woman with lifetimes of mystery in her past, clad in a old weathered bowler and rumpled suit, who spits archaic British aphorisms and brews hallucingenic drugs from magical seeds. It probably won’t come as a shock to hear that Cady has one very big secret, but its reveal is impressive, with ramifications that further cement her as one of my favorite characters in recent genre fiction. It’s extremely fun to see what new weirdness lies behind the next bend of the ghostly river, and how Cady will go about trying to keep her ecletic bunch of passangers safe. I can’t say that I found the tale too emotional, but it’s sense of fun and inventiveness goes a long way towards making up for that, even if that sense of remove keeps me from putting this book with the absolute best of the genre.

Despite its weirdness, in many ways, the world of Gogmagog still broadly conforms to what we imagine from secondary world fantasy - it’s a unique world composed of several different types of sapient beings, with magic and ghosts and dragons and war. The story is the wellworn tale of a group of adventurers traveling to an important destination, with a series of unique encounters along the way, as the party picks up new members. The prose, while well-written, is relatively simple and readable. Other examples of the weird or slipstream take bigger risks than Gogmagog does, which makes it more of fantasy genre piece that draws from weird fiction than the inverse.

But for all my hedging, I love stories like this! The glut of Dungeons & Dragons style adventuring fantasy stories says something about people’s love for this narrative structure, not to mention its longevity from classics like The Odyssey. Gogmagog may not be that experimental in its form or voice, but it manages to hit a personal sweet-spot between more a more conventional approach to narrative and a rich imagination. It’s the perfect kind of thing to jolt the seasoned fantasy reader out of a rut of samey imagined worlds, and would serve as both a great example of and worthy introduction to the world of weird fantasy.

Rating: **** 1/2

Gogmagog: The First Chronicle of Ludwich is set to publish on February 13, 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Longer review to come. But it's definitely worth the read. Gogmagog is imaginative, clever, and mostly immersive. The plot does meander a bit, but not strongly enough to detract readers' from enjoying the story.

I loved this first part of the Gogmagog duology
The characters are very real and relatable.
the plot is fantastical and fast moving
A whole new world that had me engrossed.