The Vorrh: Book One in the Vorrh Trilogy
May 2015 · Hachette UK
5.0star
5 reviews
Ebook
400
Pages
About this ebook
'A benchmark not just for imaginative writing but for the human imagination in itself...Read this book, and marvel.' Alan Moore
'A work of genius.' Iain Sinclair
'Brian Catling is simply a genius. His writing is so extraordinary it hurts.' Terry Gilliam
In the tradition of China Miéville, Michael Moorcock and Alasdair Gray, B. Catling's The Vorrh is literary dark fantasy which wilfully ignores boundaries, crossing over into surrealism, magic-realism, horror and steampunk.
In B. Catling's twisting, poetic narrative, Bakelite robots lie broken - their hard shells cracked by human desire - and an inquisitive Cyclops waits for his keeper and guardian, growing in all directions. Beyond the colonial city of Essenwald lies the Vorrh, the forest which sucks souls and wipes minds. There, a writer heads out on a giddy mission to experience otherness, fallen angels observe humanity from afar, and two hunters - one carrying a bow carved from his lover, the other a charmed Lee-Enfield rifle - fight to the end.
Thousands of miles away, famed photographer Eadweard Muybridge attempts to capture the ultimate truth, as rifle heiress Sarah Winchester erects a house to protect her from the spirits of her gun's victims.
'A work of genius.' Iain Sinclair
'Brian Catling is simply a genius. His writing is so extraordinary it hurts.' Terry Gilliam
In the tradition of China Miéville, Michael Moorcock and Alasdair Gray, B. Catling's The Vorrh is literary dark fantasy which wilfully ignores boundaries, crossing over into surrealism, magic-realism, horror and steampunk.
In B. Catling's twisting, poetic narrative, Bakelite robots lie broken - their hard shells cracked by human desire - and an inquisitive Cyclops waits for his keeper and guardian, growing in all directions. Beyond the colonial city of Essenwald lies the Vorrh, the forest which sucks souls and wipes minds. There, a writer heads out on a giddy mission to experience otherness, fallen angels observe humanity from afar, and two hunters - one carrying a bow carved from his lover, the other a charmed Lee-Enfield rifle - fight to the end.
Thousands of miles away, famed photographer Eadweard Muybridge attempts to capture the ultimate truth, as rifle heiress Sarah Winchester erects a house to protect her from the spirits of her gun's victims.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
5 reviews
Paul Gray
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July 3, 2019
A dense and rich narrative that rewards the persistent reader with a complex narrative and evocative setting. Ideas as unusual as the prose tone also delight anyone willing to read this book at its own pace. A modern Gormenghast.
adrian hauser
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April 27, 2017
Loved the magical realism of this story. Can't wait to hopefully find out more about the 'kin' in book 2.
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Brian Catling was born in London in 1948. He is a former Professor of Fine Art at the Ruskin School, Oxford, and is an acclaimed performance artist and sculptor. His Vorrh trilogy is followed this year by Earwig, which is being filmed by Lucile Hadžihalilovic.
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