3.5 stars. A solid continuation of this series. I liked the pacing especially in this book and I felt my attention was never waning.

Review: Back to the land of Ludwich, er I think? Lots of place names and instances to get your head around but the main characters remain to lessen the blow. There is a very determined effort to revel in descriptive prose based around Fanyr and the Nysis. It is all stench and ecto-goo in variety.

Cady leads the charge through a meandering story line that embraces the weird. A finely tuned read that that is slightly diminished in song from the first novel.

I received this ARC for an honest review

4.1/5

Ludluda was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 following the superb first installment of this duology, Gogmagog by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard.

Events pick up immediately from the conclusion of Gogmagog and once again our unlikely crew are journeying up river and having some interesting stops along the way as the various pieces of the mystery are revealed. I really appreciated the 'show, don't tell' approach to the writing in the first book and this left me craving for answers in this concluding part, but equally I was hoping that the sense of bewilderment and gradual discovery would continue without hand holding exposition - thankfully for my tastes, not everything was fully explained, leaving room for interpretation and additional discovery on a reread. I spent much of my read of Gogmagog trying to figure out where this story was being told as in whether it was a secondary fantasy world or actually our own Earth but in a different time. With Ludluda, this question is answered but I will not spoil what this was here.

The Chronicles of Ludwich offers a truly unique reading experience which defies the boundaries of genre, pulling in elements of fantasy, fairytale, science fiction and beyond. The prose throughout has a dreamlike quality and at times can carry you along like the eddies and currents of the rivers depicted in this story whilst also having the ability in parallel to be crude and direct. As an avid Fantasy and Science Fiction reader, I can often get the sense when starting a new book of having previously read the story already as tried and tested tropes are repackaged again and again but with this Duology I was struggling to compare this with anything else or figure out precisely the literary influences that may have inspired it so I guess that is my way of praising the amount of originality that went into this work.

Many thanks to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review. Ludluda is due to be published on 3rd December 2024.

Another knock out of the park for this duo. A fantastically written series and one that deserves the shelf space.

A strange, surreal fantasy world with a great cast of characters and an engaging plot. This is just as good as book one and held hints of Brut tradition folklore here and there – which I enjoyed. I had a great time reading this.

An abstract fantasy just as good as the first, with more world building, and more existential questions.

Luluda tells the story of a journey through a strange modern city whose power is sourced from the ghost of a dragon. Ludwich may no longer be at war with its great political rival overseas, but veteran sailor Cady Meade, survivor of many battles, suspects that the hard-won peace is about to break. She promises to deliver a preternatural ten-year old girl to a coming-of-age festival in the heart of Ludwich. But she has been warned by the prophets that dangers lie ahead.

Cady suspects that the young girl’s fate is entwined with that of the city. When the girl disappears, the old sailor must hunt her down, accompanied by a know-it-all mechanical man whose circuits are slowly grinding to dust. But Cady’s mission has always been to guard Ludwich from enemies both known and occult, and she will never give up.

Following the course of the River Nysis through the city, and beyond, Cady must uncover the final mysteries of the great dragon Haakenur’s life and death and afterlife. Her greatest battle is about to begin.

Not quite as good as book one, but still very engaging and interesting. Held my interest because of interesting and relatable characters. Plot waS FUN and unpredictable. A good ending as well. Would recommend to most fantasy fans:)