Mordew (2020) by Alex Pheby

Book Review

Mordew (2020)

by Alex Pheby

   There is much one could write about Mordew by English author Alex Pheby but it likely to go unappreciated unless the reader has first read at least the first book in Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake.   If you haven't read or at least heard of Gormenghast the odds that you will like Mordew is basically zero.   Like Gormenghast, Mordew is what you call "low fantasy"- fantasy without a huge amount of magical or fantastical elements, where the fantasy is the vibe of the thing.   Unlike Gormenghast, Mordew does have some magical elements- Nathan Treeves, an urchin of a decrepit, post-apocalyptic  city controlled by "the Master,"  has special powers.   His journey of awakening takes him to some very dark places- at times it was hard to decide whether Mordew is Harry Potter-esque by the way it weaves some troubling themes and images into a basically YA plot or whether Mordew is a work of fantasy for adults.

  Whichever it might be, Mordew was a real discovery for me- highly recommended- and check out the Audiobook edition, which is fantastic.