Mordew

By: Alex Pheby

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Alex Pheby's Mordew launches an astonishingly inventive epic fantasy trilogy.

God is dead, his corpse hidden in the catacombs beneath Mordew.

In the slums of the sea-battered city, a young boy called Nathan Treeves lives with his parents, eking out a meagre existence by picking treasures from the Living Mud and the half-formed, short-lived creatures it spawns. Until one day his desperate mother sells him to the mysterious Master of Mordew.

The Master derives his magical power from feeding on the corpse of God. But Nathan, despite his fear and lowly station, has his own strength - and it is greater than the Master has ever known. Great enough to destroy everything the Master has built. If only Nathan can discover how to use it.

So it is that the Master begins to scheme against him - and Nathan has to fight his way through the betrayals, secrets, and vendettas of the city where God was murdered, and darkness reigns.

Propulsive, compulsively readable, full of unforgettable characters and a talking dog who wants to be a philosopher, Mordew is an epic fantasy strange, new, and terrifyingly alive.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

©2021 Alex Pheby (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Really special

The narration is truly spectacular. And this book is something to be sought out. Definitely worth the credit.

A very unique fantasy realm that feels so rich and flushed out you get a vivid sense that under the surface are countless secrets to be uncovered. My only qualm is that this book falls into the same protagonist trap that many fantasy books suffer from: a boy with powers he doesn't understand is guided through the story often without agency. If you can get past that, this is a world you will lose yourself in.

Should have liked this much more than I did...

I wasn't previously aware of this author, and only found this title because it is narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. KHS is the brilliant voice behind the (equally brilliant) Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, and he is fantastic here. There is so much to like in the story. And yet, I found myself at times getting agitated, incredulous, and - worst of all - bored. At 18+ hours (624 pages in print) this story seemed to take hours to really get started, and then lurched through revelation after revelation till the cliffhanger ending. Not sure if I will spend another 18+ hours on Malarkoi (Cities of the Weft, 2), scheduled for release in October 2023. (That book is currently listed to be the same 624 pages as Mordew.) Any roads, I don't often post reviews. I may have been hoping for some kind of cathartic revelation regarding this book as I typed. But, no - still conflicted. However, if you want to read /listen to a great series by a brilliant narrator, check out Rivers of London. Cheers!

Tragedy (spoiler?)

To waste such a talented performer on such an arduous text. Although, the real difficulty was in maintaining interest. Yawn. I stuck with it to the end, constantly hoping that the story would pick up, but the end was as disappointing as the rest. I did love the characterization of the talking dog, who seemed to have a better understanding of the land of Mordew than the main character did.

what did I just read?

the author made an interesting world, but refuses to answer any of the questions you will naturally have about it.
Story is slow and plodding for the first 75% of the book, then suddenly hits breakneck pace as it desperately tries to tie up all the loose ends into a fringed knot with more loose ends than it started out trying to tie.
The cover summary literally starts with mention of a dead deity whose corpse twists the world, but said God is NEVER even mentioned or alluded to until chapter 80-something!

“A Satanist’s Harry Potter”

This book was absolutely phenomenal. The language used, the narration in various voices, the darker than pitch story itself! Can’t wait for the second book to be released in the US. I may even end up paying the UK shipping rate so I can continue posthaste!

Excellent writing

Good prose and well defined characters. The world building has some really interesting details and plot doesn’t go where you’d expect it to. Has a bit of a lull in the middle but it recovers and anyways, it’s read by Kobena Holdbrook-Smith, who could make your mother’s grocery list into compelling literature. Pretty daring all in all and definitely has a lot more care and craftsmanship put into it than your average fantasy yarn.

Stunning

A very different and dark take on the fantasy genre. Throughly enjoying it and how it’s evolving. Performance is superb.

Next level creepy fantasy with spectacular narration!

If you love a long book, with serious world building at its core, with many twists and turns, this is for you. Imagine a Dickensian vibe mixed with a creepy Baroque fantasy and put in a blender with some Cronenberg-style visuals and you just start to get at the deep and vivid vibe in this book. I was so excited to have the world continuing to unfold for me and there is even a very cool little map at the front this book, that I missed reading the audiobook. The locales sort of build upon each other, starting in the slums where there is mud that is semi-alive and creates “flukes” or Cronenbergian style creatures with multiple limbs that live only for a moment and ending up in lavish palaces that have a Mervyn Peake kind of style. Each environment has a whole world of characters to match its intricate visuals. The people start to really embody the spaces they are in and work hand in hand with the visualizations created to really build something incredibly deep, rich and intricate.

You will be able to envision every aspect of this book as the descriptions and world building are some of the best I’ve read this year. But you will never be able to guess how the story unfurls. I was continuously surprised and delighted at the directions this book took. Just give it a few pages and if it seems to speak to you, you are in for an amazing ride. I found each location more surprising and exciting than the last and was propelled through this book at a feverish pace.

AUDIOBOOK: I highly recommend reading this as an audiobook, the narrator, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, does an absolutely brilliant and magical job. The voices the narrator creates are so particular and bring to mind such incredible visuals, that you will fall for many of the characters simply based on their dialog and voice acting.

Great story but a little dark

A little dark, but a really great story. I bought this book just to hear Kobna Holdbrook-Smith narrate it! It was a pleasure to listen to.

More please

What a tale this was AND the narrator is, as expected, flawless. Very dark, detailed and time consuming — worth every word. Wow.