Another series, of which the last (Titus Alone) can safely be ignored if the reader desires; it is very different from the first two books, adds little or nothing to them, and was never really finished.
The first two, though...wow. Weird, weird stuff. Titus Groane and Gormenghast are unusual as "fantastic" literature in that they have no element of the supernatural; everything in the book is at least theoretically possible. But the overall impression created by the books is intensely fantastic...much more so than in many novels in which there are lots of supernatural things which are considered prosaic by the people to whom they happen (the Harry Potter books are one example; the Weasleys are an ordinary English family who just happen to be wizards). There is pretty much nothing "normal" about anything in Gormenghast. Possible, yes. Normal, no. The atmosphere of highly codified strangeness Peake generates in his careful description of Gormenghast, its traditions, and its inhabitants is perhaps the best thing about the book.
It also has wonderful names, and a truly chilling villain (and some unlikely heroes). I think a lot of people would find these books dull or simply unintelligible , but I loved them. (Again, the first two; the last is a different kettle of fish.)
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