Jeff Noon is a master and major voice in fantasy/science fiction. This new title is entertaining, clever, and another compelling entry from a master of the genre.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Angry Robot for an advanced copy of this mix of fantasy, science fiction and alternate history about a river, a long lived sailor and ghost that unites them both.

The river, to paraphrase a poet are lovely, dark and deep. Waterways have ghosts of their own, creatures who seem different than what is taught, old sailors trying to make it home after centuries lost, ships that are there one minute, the next gone, or maybe too close to avoid. The Nysis is sixty miles of meandering water, mighty in some spots, hiding secrets in others. Created from the ghost of a dragon, the River contains creatures of smoke, and animals that can broadcast thoughts. Haunted areas pull the unwary down in its depths, all while connecting the capital to the many small towns that line its path. Travelling this river is an old woman looking for her youth, a duo of a mechanical man and a child with a secret, with an uncertain past close behind them all. Gogmagog by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard is a fantasy story set in an alternate seemingly England, one very similar to today, and is the first book in a promising duology.

Cady Meade was once according to her, one of the finest Captains to sail the River Nysis. Meade could read the currents, avoid the eddys, knew where to stop for drinks, and always tried her best to keep her passengers safe. Now she spends her days at a sailors pension house, drinking a breakfast of malt vinegar and eggs, singing shanties for coins, drink, and smoking material. Two travellers seek her aid, one a mechanical man, rare in Cady's time as many had been forcibly retired long ago, with a child who had a small purple light dancing around her. They ask Cady to bring them to the capital, in time to take part in a ritual to help the young girl. To get there one must sail the Nysis, sixty miles of river created by the ghost of a dragon. Cady has other plans, but those fail, and Cady realizes her fate is tied with the travellers, especially when the child has a fit and repeats a word that Cady just dreamed about. Gogmagog. Soon it becomes clear that something is chasing the travellers, and the river that Cady knew so well is changing in very strange ways.

Jeff Noon and Steve Beard have created a fascinating world to explore, one with technology similar to ours, guns, movies, war, deception, short wave radio, and yet completely itself. The world revels itself slowly, sometimes a little herky-jerky, but is very interesting and makes sense. The characters especially Cady seem real, and though Cady can be annoying with her attitude, and sometimes her actions, Cady is well-developed with motivations that become clearer as the book goes on. There is a lot of imagination in the book, the idea, the ghosts, the tech, giving the characters bad times that many are still trying to navigate, like the river they are travelling. Both writers are quite descriptive and many passages are really beautiful either in description, or in feelings meant to be conveyed. However there are some rough transitions between chapters that might give a reader whiplash wondering how characters came to that point. Though as the story unfolds, this also becomes clearer.

Recommended for fans of Noon and his Vurt books. This is a clever story, and one that goes in many different ways and places. Role players will enjoy this also for the cleaver world building, ways of revealing plot, and the magic and ideas. I eagerly await the next book.

What a fantastic cast of characters.. An excellent fantasy novel with action and high adventure. I loved the different characters in the novel. Will definitely be reading more from the authors. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

What a fun and crazy story! I was entertained throughout and thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This is a hard book to classify. Part mystery, absurdist fantasy, lost civilisation, and encompassing themes of found family, loss, and redemption. I'm looking forward to seeing how the second book wraps the events up.

A great, character driven adventure in a mythic world
This lively and hugely entertaining book begins with an introduction to the main character, Arcadia (Cady) Meade. She’s grouchy, feisty, argumentative, not always right and would always call a spade something much more colourful (and smelly). You can tell at once that she’s going to be interesting, but not necessarily easy, company through the book. After all she starts her day with a glass of vinegar with a raw egg cracked into it. And then she gets right into the physical necessities – no modesty here.
She’s a retired river captain who once regularly navigated her boat up the River Nysis, passing through the length of the body of a dead dragon’s ghost, to carry passengers to Ludwich, the capital. When the story begins, she’s living in a ‘home for dried up sailors’, selling her stories in return for drinks and smokes and collecting strange weeds and seeds for their properties, both medical and more interesting.
The story leaps forward quite quickly as other quirky characters join the cast; Yanish, once, Cady’s apprentice and now more a friend, a rather worn and tattered machine man and a strange and sick young girl in urgent need of transport to Ludwich and this is where the journey through a richly folkloreish landscape begins.
The story is saved from being too folky by the sheer exuberance of the characterisation and the growing sense of danger, there’s a good deal of rollicking but also plenty of hair’s breadth escapes and as the journey progresses, all the characters experience profound changes. Also, while there are many folk and myth references, the actual magic is fresh and inventive as is an enjoyable steam punk element. There is wonderful world building within the framework of the river and the myths and magic.
While the characters are remarkable and slightly gothic in style, which I suppose could be a reason to compare with Ghormenghast, this novel has little of the claustrophobic tightness of Peake’s work; even though it is mainly confined to the River and its banks, there are flights of the imagination that lead away from the story and loop back (just as you’re wondering if you’ve got lost) and the energy of the writing compelled me in a very different way from Peake’s work.
I wouldn’t say this is a stand alone novel as the ending came rather suddenly – while it is described as a duology I would have preferred a little more resolution. Otherwise, a great, adventurous, character driven read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was a lot of fun. Really enjoyed the world building and the prose. Our patrons will love it. Will be ordering!

This is a well written, interesting book, but it ends leaving a lot of the story untold. Almost none of the major threads were tied up. I guess this would be fine if you were able to get the subsequent book(s) at the same time and commit to reading the whole series, but it feels so unfinished as a standalone book that I have to deduct a star. That said, I did still enjoy the book. The main character, Cady, is very unusual. Not only is she an old woman (practically nonexistent as a protagonist demographic), she's also somewhat of an alcoholic, gambling addict, very free with her bodily fluids, extremely verbally contentious with just about everyone, and even likely to get into physical fights. In spite of all this, her intentions are good and she's quite likeable. She ends up taking a very dangerous job escorting a robot and a 10 year old girl with mysterious magic along a river completely influenced by a dead dragon's ghost that is somehow degrading. How this came about is somewhat revealed through the story, along with some interesting background on Cady and the girl. The travelers journey from one scrape to the next. Good reading, but I recommend waiting for the next book before starting this one.

Gogmagog by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard was described as a weird fantasy novel that would appeal to readers of Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, which is one of my all-time favourite fantasy works. I also very much enjoy reading contemporary weird fiction by authors such as Jeff Vandermeer and China Mieville. As a result, this was a highly anticipated read. I am pleased to report it delivered on that promise.

The first thing which immediately piqued my interest while reading was the narrative voice - it was quirky, but not overtly so, and the contemporary nature of the writing built momentum and felt tonally apt.

The second thing which was incredibly fun to read was the myriad cast of characters. Here I do see the Gormenghast comparison with the bizarre, the peculiar traits and personalities making their appearance throughout the narrative in an organic way. The main character was especially interesting to follow.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, it was a wild ride from start to finish.

But what is Gogmagog (beyond the publisher synopsis)? I would say it is a journey and also a quest (in an unconventional sense) in a unique setting. The atmosphere, the world and the characters are the highlight of this novel, imbuing personality to Gogmagog and making it come alive. To say too much about the story would be to spoil the "magic" in my opinion. My recommendation would be to dive in and enjoy the ride (yes, pun intended).

The storytelling was great with a particular plot development near the end completely recontextualising the entirety of what I had read previously and leaving me eager for the second part of the duology.

If there were some things I would nitpick, one would be that the pacing at times seemed a bit too frenetic and I would have liked to see a bit more work around the theming (particularly using the river as a motif). However, as this is part one of a two part novel, it is possible that will come later.

Overall, I thought this was an extremely well-written, imaginative novel with a unique narrative voice and would recommend it to all readers looking for something new in speculative fiction and in particular, to readers of weird fiction.

Many thanks to Angry Robot Publishers and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Publishing Date: 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Review: Wow. This was some crazy shjt. While the world building was epic, the writing was very “angular”. The scene hopping, without continuity, was strangely refreshing. One minute your on a boat and the next, in a fight with a robotic man with no idea how you there. Moving from one reality to another in the blink of an eye was a bit confusing but you grow in acceptance of magic suddenly unfolding.

These authors bark up my preference tree in a big way with eccentric writing and jaundiced characters.

Rating: 4.9/5