Solid 5 stars.

Audiobook is very well narrated.

Wow! What a ride! This (audio)book is so much fun!! I just LOVE weird, quirky books with out-of-the-ordinary characters.

The main characters are a delight, especially Captain Cady Meade. She is delightfully old, gross and hag-like in her demeanor, though she harbours a long-held secret and a humongous heart. the ragatag crew assembled for the voyage that takes place in this book are all so deeply loveable in their weirdness.

Some are not going to enjoy the storyline that jumps around from place to place. I personally didn't find it hard to follow at all, and perhaps the audiobook narrator is to thank for that or perhaps my ADHD?! I was captivated with each new revelatory shift in plot, and wanted with all of my reading heart to be onboard the Juniper for this mighty adventure. In addition to the characters and world-building being fantastic, the writing is superb.

The truth is that I have almost completely stopped reading books written by men - especially straight, white men. I just cannot fathom how certain authors (of distinct privilege) can imagine their way into vastly different worlds, while blatantly bringing along the patriarchal, white supremacist, ableist, capitalist problems/systems that dominate the world we actually live in. This book has a smidge of that, but is so fantastical that it (thankfully) leaves quite a bit of that behind. I will definitely be moving Jeff Noon to my collection of favourite authors after reading this, and will be looking into their other works.

I very much look forward to the second half of this story being published (?later this year?). I dearly want to spend more time with these characters, and see what is going to happen to them on dry land.

Huge gratitude to NetGalley, and the publisher Dreamscape Media, for an audioARC of Gogmagog, in exchange for my honest review.

I tried, and I wanted to like it, but my mind was flowing in tons of different directions. The narration with different intonations and voices did not help. I found that having a narrator who starts the sentence strong and loud and finishes it quietly and mumbling spreads havoc to my attention span. Unfortunately, nothing against the story or author but the audiobook on its own did it a disservice.

So this review will be a bit weird. I did decide to DNF this book at about 60% in, but that’s due only to my ADHD/mood reader brain.

The book itself has an absolutely gorgeous atmosphere from the beginning, introducing you to this amazing world. As the story is progressing, we get to know more about the main character and who/what she is. The bits that are given here and there about her paint her as this unique character and I just want to know more and more!

The reason for not finishing this book now is because I am not much for quest fantasies and I do need to be in quite the specific mood for it. But I will certainly be coming back to see what will happen with Gogmagog!

Rating: 4/5 stars

This was a weird one, but in the best way possible. Fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman, place your pre-orders now, because you don’t want to miss this wild ride!
Long review incoming, because I really found a lot to love here.

The Story:
Cady Mead, an elderly woman with an enigmatic past as a river-taxi captain, now lives her retirement days out drunk, holed up in a rundown seaside resort and trading her bawdy tales for shots of rum. All that’s about to change, when two strangers seek her out, asking for transport across the dangerous river Nysis to the city of Ludwig. Intrigued by their story and request, Cady accepts perhaps the most treacherous quest of her career: ferrying a ragtag group of misfits across a murky river possessed by the ghost of a long deceased dragon…
What follows is a journey that is equal parts fantastical and unmooringly strange.

What I loved:
Both Jeff Noon and Steve Beard have made a name for themselves within the field of “New Weird Fiction” and the two of them use their individual strength with great synergy in this collaboration. As you might have been able to guess from the synopsis, Gogmagog’s worldbuilding takes center-stage in its success, and I had a blast exploring it alongside our crew of equally unique characters. The strange ecosystems of a polluted ghost-river, the grimy steampunk-esque cities on its banks and the gritty folks with their own quirks and histories inhabit its ports, all add to the vividness of the world of Ludwig. And by “vivid”, I don’t mean “bright”; the world of Gogmagog is everything but… Noon and Beard paint a landscape rich enough to smell, but the smell is one of rot and decay, and the bodies of inhabitants that have survival on their mind rather than cosmetics… (I’m looking at you here Cady…) I wouldn’t want to visit Ludwig or the river Nysis, but thanks to the skill of these authors, I nonetheless felt like I was right there on the muddy shores.
Similarly unique and vivid are Gogmagog’s characters; a cast of mismatched weirdo’s out of a Becky-Chambers-fever-dream. There’s a robotic body-guard, a resurrected soul, and a young girl with a strange connection to ghost and shadows, including that of the river itself. Last but not least, we have Cady herself, whom Haegra-heritage makes her only partially human herself.
Although it took me a while to get a feeling for their characters, besides their obvious quirks, I found myself invested in their (back-)stories soon enough, and came to care for at least some of them more than I anticipated. Much to the credit of their well-written wit, that might admittedly be hit or miss for some readers…
As befitting of the genre of New Weird: there’s plenty more to explore beneath the surface than first meets the eye. I will let you embark on that treasure-hunt for yourself, but let me say that I appreciated some of the references, motifs and themes explored in here a lot.

What I didn’t love:
The story-structure follows a take on the (unlikely-) hero’s journey up the river, exploring the worlds backstory as we move along. Noon and Beard don’t take the reader by the hand, so don’t be surprised if you feel slightly lost before you gain a footing in the story. Although I was happy to go along with the ride, and felt like it really paid off to do so, I can see how this will bother some readers.
My only major issue with Gogmagog’s plot was its pacing, which felt distinctly unbalanced. Don’t get me wrong: a lot of action happens. Too much in fact to realistically take place in a single day. The same can be said for the character-interactions, their growth and relations. Had the authors not made the timeline so clear (1 single day!), I would’ve guessed the journey took about 2-4 weeks at least… That at least would’ve felt more realistic.
For being só action-packed, there’s a bit of a lull in the middle, where one too many port is called and events begin to feel repetitive. Luckily that was only brief and easily forgivable.
On a final personal note: be aware that there’s plenty of (what I’d call) “potty-humor” in the book. Comedy derived from bodily-grossness and Cady being completely disgusting and uncivilized for the sake of it. If, similar to me, that brand of humor generally doesn’t seem to work for you; approach with caution.

Many thanks to Angry Robot and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend the wonderfully narrated and produced audio-version; Matthew Lloyd Davies brings the characters to life in a way that text alone couldn't have conveyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

This was a wild story with lots of things going on at once. I feel like I personally would have had a better time reading this in a different format because I felt like I kept missing various things because of all the details. I do like that this book is so rich in world building though. Cady is an interesting main character, but also gross, which makes sense for her when you read it. I think this world does have a lot more to it and am interested to see where the story goes next.

You ever just super unsure you are saying an incredibly important detail of a book wrong and need someone else to say it to you? Was lucky enough to help Angry Robot with this one and Netgalley hooked me up with the audio so I can say the title correctly (70% of the time).

"Gogmagog" by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard is one of the stranger settings I've encountered. It takes place on a river that is also a 60 mile long ghost dragon. Please read that last bit again. Cady, is a disgusting, foul mouthed, drunk who is tasked over her vast lifespan to handle certain events. When two strangers show up insisting her ferry them down river it's the last thing she wants, considering drink and slightly decayed food could be eaten instead. But she ends up on the river with them of course. Hopefully the knowledge to avoid the vast array of threats on the river/ghost dragons is still rattling around in there.

Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies, I was throwing an unreasonable amount of extra syllables into some names.

Reasons to read:
-It is so weird, but every little bit of the world is just interesting
-Exquisite swearing
-Cady is a hoot, she super gross, but it makes sense once you get to know her
-Side characters have devastating stories going on too
-Oh are we going to do the thing folks frown on but is sometimes super justified?

Cons:
-Maybe don't read and snack with this one

Gogmagog was such an enticing blend of sci-fi, fantasy and adventure that really engaged me! A river voyage filled with treachery, action, secrecy and fantasy? Sign me up! The book really took me on a winding tale - much like the characters’ journey down the river - that constantly revealed more backstory, world building and character history. It really was a non-stop ride throughout the novel.

The authors weaved together imagery in such a beautiful way and created hilarious characters alongside mysterious ones. I don’t want to say too much to avoid spoilers but I’d recommend this one to fantasy lovers who are intrigued by the blurb. I’ll certainly be picking up the next instalment to see what the characters get up to.

Audiobook’s really engaging & includes background noise.

Cady runs a river taxi. She ferries passengers through a 60 mile ghost dragon on the Nysis. She starts her day today by picking up a very sick young girl who’s in danger & an AI. Right up my alley.

The Nysis is treacherous, there’s challenging ports & horrors that lurk beneath the surface.

Cady lost her ability not to age so this could be her last journey.

In “Gogmagog,” we follow Arcadia (Cady) Meade, the captain of the ship Juniper on the river Nysis, as she guides a motley crew of characters to the capital city, encountering adventures and misadventures along the way. Combining fantasy and sci-fi elements, I found the worldbuilding incredibly interesting, but never really wrapped my head around the world and it’s history. I found the chapters felt disconnect at times and found myself often going back and reading chapters or sections multiple times to try and make connections or better understand the world-building – a little tricky in an audiobook.

The best part of this story, and the element that kept me plugging through, was Cady. This curmudgeon of an old sailor was a welcomed change from the typical “young gun on a quest” we find in fantasy books such as this, and Cady was perfectly personified by Matthew Lloyd Davies. Each scene with her felt vivid and her backstory was full of surprises – I would love to learn more about her past adventures.

Overall, “Gogmagog” was a strange but wonderful read, and while I would highly recommend the audiobook for Matthew Lloyd Davies performance of Cady, I would encourage readers to have the text in front of them as they listen. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

I found myself struggling with this book. I got to 25% through the audiobook before I decided it wasn't for me. I love the story premise. I was super excited to read about an older main character. I feel like fantasy rarely does that. I struggled with Cady. She felt more like an old man rather than an old woman. If you changed the genders, nothing about this character would change. It might have helped if the book had narrated by a woman, but I can't say for certain. The pacing felt extremely slow for me. All of those things combined make it a tough sell for me

This was so much fun! Gogmagog's irreverent tone reminded me of City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky, with the creative worldbuilding of The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan, and the sailing adventures of The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker. Our main character, Cady, absolutely stole the show: it was so refreshing to read a book about an older woman who had absolutely no fucks left to give. This book was hilarious and original, and I absolutely adored it.

Since I received an ARC of the audiobook, I'd also like to mention that the audio was great, both in terms of the performance and the production. Matthew Lloyd Davies's narration was outstanding.

DNF 42%.

This is a very weird book. It's very imaginative and the authors have a great narrative voice for the main character; an old cranky lady who lives on a boat and has a lot of secrets. But the worldbuilding and writing were all just a little esoteric and not explained well enough for me and I didn't like the audiobook. Could give it another try at another point, though.

Diría que casi por definición, los lectores de géneros estamos acostumbrados a leer cosas que se salen de lo habitual, que no son necesariamente realistas. Sin embargo, muchas veces estos mundos fantásticos se amoldan a unos caminos que ya conocemos y aunque nos gustan, quizá no nos sorprenden tanto como deberían o como quisiéramos.


Pero para soslayar ese problema, nada como adentrarse en la fantasía weird, a la que se podría adscribir este Gogmagog. Una novela que te deja siempre desubicada, con una protagonista tan carismática como envuelta en enigmas, un viaje aparentemente corto que se convertirá en una odisea (nunca mejor dicho) y en general, una imaginación tan desbordante que nunca sabremos que nos encontraremos no ya en el siguiente capítulo o página, si no en el siguiente párrafo.

También merece una mención especial el narrador del audiolibro, Matthew Lloyd Davies, que despliega ante nuestros asombrados oídos una ingente cantidad de voces distintas para personalizar a cada miembro del elenco del libro. Realmente espectacular.

Jeff Noon y Steve Beard deciden que su fantasía tenga una pátina de modernidad haciendo que el viaje por el Nysis sea en un barco a motor, que existan autómatas que parecen humanos gracias a una tecnología muy avanzada, pero todo se diluye en las nieblas del río, encontrando en cada meandro una nueva maravilla o amenaza, con un tono que refuerza la atmósfera mágica sin llegar a explicarla demasiado, para dejar a la interpretación del lector qué es lo que está pasando realmente.

Los saltos en la continuidad de la narración son una decisión consciente por parte de los autores que buscan incrementar la extrañeza del lector respecto al mundo. Por ejemplo, prácticamente la principio de la novela la protagonista hace referencia a su gusto por comer moho de un determinado color para acto seguido olvidar esta referencia y saltar a otro espacio temporal. ¿Un desafío al lector? Probablemente.

Gogmagog es un libro muy comprimido en el espacio temporal en que se desarrolla, pero pasan tantas cosas que resulta difícil creer que todo ocurre en el transcurso de unas pocas horas, quizá ayudado por esa escenografía onírica de la que los autores hacen uso indiscriminado. Aguardo con impaciencia la segunda entrega de la novela para qué depara el futuro a los personajes.

Gogmagog, while solidly enjoyable, left a bit to be desired in my reading experience. This "epic journey to complete a quest" story follows a motley crew of characters as they travel down a river to deliver a child to her destiny. Their adventures and misadventures are intermingled with extremely intricate world-building in, what I imagine, is a set-up for future adventures in this world.

What comes to mind is the age-old outfit accessorizing advice of "put everything on and then take off the last thing you put on" in order to prevent over-accessorizing. This world-building would have worked better for me if the authors had cut back a little on the amount of lore they created. I was overwhelmed with the history and special powers and politics and lore that was mixed into this story. This was extra challenging in an audiobook format that made it difficult to flip back for reference. Eventually, I kind of tuned out the over-complicated world-building, which reduced the book's efficacy.

I will echo other readers' sentiments that Cady was the most interesting and successful character. Her curmudgeonly old sailor persona was well-done and the audiobook captured her well. I found myself wanting to hear more about her lifetime of adventures.

Overall, this book felt like a really cool Dungeons and Dragons quest with an extremely detailed Dungeon Master. If that's your jam, then this book is probably for you!

This was such a fresh take on fantasy. While it sounded a little out there, I had to try it. Overall I enjoyed the more contemporary world building. This had all the epic journey elements of a good fantasy novel and Cady as the Main character was relatable in many ways. I did get a bit confused at points as to where the story was going. Sometimes that was resolved later as I read along, but other times I just had to go with it.

Gogmagog was an imaginative and wild ride of a book. It certainly fits the weird description but not in the way I thought it would, it’s just something you have to read to see for yourself. I really loved the boating aspects and the descriptions of it, the world-building is vivid and raw. At times the action/magic literally comes at you as a reader and this felt unique. Listening to this can be a bit out there at times but I thought it was well done. I enjoyed the voice of the narrator, The characters are amazing and so fleshed out. Be prepared for plenty of swearing and lots of quirks. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an Audio-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Unique. Quirky. Strange. If you like these attributes, this book is for you. I just don't think it meshed. The book starts with a lot of goofy dialogue which sets the tone for the reader, but the narrative quickly changes to... ??? I don't know what to call it. The main character is an old plant... yes... an old plant human. A quest has begun... to do what?? I'm not sure. There's a demon dragon ghost in there somewhere. And there are bombs and airplanes and strange voices and old riddles. Yeah... there you have it.
If you like "strange" for the sake of strangeness, go for it. But there's very little story here.

As for the narrator... he's one of those that starts a sentence or paragraph very strongly and then tapers off to a whisper. You have a hard time protecting your eardrums and then immediately straining to catch what he's whispering at the end.

Thank you Caroline Lambe, Angry Robot, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for an eARC and advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

Gogmagog is a wild ride and a bit of a fever dream, the sort of novel that I find difficult to describe and I just gesture vaguely towards it like, “you know, you just have to see for yourself.”

Cady is an interesting character and the world of the novel itself is fascinating; it’s easy to get lost in it and while it was also easy for me to lose the thread, I overall enjoyed myself and the things being done with language and prose. The narrative voice is unique and entertaining and the atmosphere is lovely. I will definitely need to reread before the sequel comes out, but I’ll definitely be picking it up. To me this feels like a book that can be reread endlessly, and I think there’s a lot of potential here for me to pick at in future readings. This is like, maybe a little unhinged (or, you know, Cady is a little unhinged) but it’s also surprisingly funny. Gogmagog is strange and wonderful, and while I don’t know if I fully “got it” I still enjoyed the journey.

The audiobook was fantastic, and while I think the weird fiction nature of this book might make audio a slightly difficult format for a first time read (or, it was for me), the experience was good and the production was well done.

Is dark whimsy a genre? In Gogmagog, grumpy old sea captain Cady Meade (think Clint Eastwood meets Helena Bonham Carter, but also in a lovely shade of green) agrees to shuttle two mysterious passengers down a ghost-dragon river with secrets of its own. Though the world is bleak, there is plenty of humor to lighten the tone. If you like Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere or China Miéville's work, give Gogmagog a try when it comes out on Feb 12!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the advance listen!

The novel “Gogmagog” by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard is the first installment in “The Chronicles of Ludwich”. We follow the perspective of Cady Meade, the well seasoned captain of the Juniper on the river Nysis. One day she comes across a frail girl and her robot companion and takes them on a journey to the capital city while trying to solve her own mysteries.

The worldbuilding in this book was atmospheric and eccentric. It combines fantasy, sci-fi and post-apocalyptic elements in an interesting way. Unfortunately I could not quite fully wrap my head around the world and its history.

My favorite part was the main character Cady. Her personality, habits and stories were unique, complex and disgusting at times. She is a very old lady and expressed her bodily functions in a colorful way. Her interactions were vividly described and surprising at times. I also liked the glimpses we got of her backstory.

The overall plot and structure of the book sadly didn't work as well for me. Some scenes felt disconnected and had a dream-like quality that confused me slightly. I believe the title giving mystery was revealed too soon and the book could not hold my attention in the second half.

The audiobook production from Dreamscape Media was again fantastic! The narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies did a great job at bringing Cady’s character to life.

If you love strange fiction and fever dream-like stories, this might be exactly what you're looking for.

A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Dreamscape Media for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.