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The Vorrh

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The Vorrh

By: Brian Catling
Narrated by: Alan Corduner, Alan Moore
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About this listen

Prepare to lose yourself in the heady, mythical expanse of The Vorrh.

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.

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.

©2015 Brian Catling (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary Science Fiction Steampunk Mind-bending Robotics Fantasy

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Critic reviews

"There are not many books that rearrange the molecules of your being, turning your eyes inside out. The Vorrh, this saturnine post-traumatic testament, is one of them. A work of genius." (Iain Sinclair)
"Brian Catling is simply a genius. His writing is so extraordinary it hurts, it makes me realize how little imagination I have." (Terry Gilliam)
"In Brian Catling's phosphorescent masterpiece The Vorrh we have one of the most original and stunning works of fantasy that has ever been my privilege to read, a brilliant and sustained piece of invention which establishes a benchmark not just for imaginative writing but for the human imagination in itself. After investigating other worlds of fantasy, The Vorrh is like a first experience of the ocean. Read this book, and marvel." (Alan Moore)
"When even the warts of a novel are winning, it s hard to misunderstand that you have something special on your hands, and The Vorrh is absolutely that. Equal parts dark fantasy and surrealist dream, it is inescapably dense, and unrelentingly intense. Shelve it shoulder to shoulder with 2012s other most notable novels, be they of the genre or not, then consider carefully which stands lacking in comparison." (Tor.com)
All stars
Most relevant  
This book should be required reading for all fantasy enthusiasts. Immediately original, but feels like it’s existed forever.

Nothing like this

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The way this story has been read is excellent. Some of the content is beautiful and touchingly written whilst some of it is, what I can only call, base! Other parts are ordinary or confusing, leaving me feeling like this piece has been written by several different people. It is a fantasy of course, so perhaps that's ok, who knows!

Strange

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Just like the Vorhh itself, once you start the book you'll never leave it. Too much ambiguity, and surprisingly little characterisation of the titular forest. Some interesting ideas spotted here and there, but almost tries to hard to be novel and interesting to the point of vagueness and mediocrity.

Just like the Vorrh itself

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Very well written and the narration is impeccable but the tale is stuck in setting-the-scene mode. It never quite comes together and there are more unanswered questions at the end than half way through. I couldn't identify with any of the characters, they were either too objectionable or outright alien in their behaviour and motives.

A quarter of the way in I thought I had discovered the new M John Harrison - original, eloquent, refreshing, highly skilled. To some extent I was disappointed. As I say Catling is a very good writer and his tales hold the attention but ultimately there's a certain lack of satisfaction, a certain frustration with things left hanging. I will go ahead and download the sequel but my hopes aren't that high.

Never really gets started

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This is a fantastic audiobook. Alan corduner's performance is impressive, the musical interludes complement the novel's atmosphere, andd Alan Moore's afterword sets Catling's work in literary and artistic contexts that help the reader make sense of their encounter with the novel. Let the buyer beware: explicit content abounds here, weird sex and graphic violence. Don't buy this book if you're of a squeamish disposition, but if you're not perturbed by all things weird, go buy and read it immediately. You won't regret it!

Not for the faint-hearted

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A book unlike any other, the Vorrh is a staggering achievement. Horrific at times, beautiful at others, but always utterly intriguing and enigmatic. The tapestries that Catling can weave with words are magnificent and completely tangible, having a presence and solidity that is both entirely surreal and yet completely believable.

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

A book unlike any other.

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Astounded by this story, exceeded any expectations. Brill performance too, one of the best I've heard for an audio book.

Brilliant

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I found this book tricky to get into at first. The characters, the locations and the story was hard to keep straight in my head - I resorted to creating a spider diagram to remind myself of names and relative narratives. But, as I got more into it, things became clearer and i found myself fascinated. I am about to begin the second book in the trilogy and am hoping it will be as intriguing as this one. It's not like anything else I have read and as such feels challenging, but I recommend you to persevere with it.

Confusing, dense but fascinating

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Interesting effort. Something quite different. I found myself hypnotised at first by the beautiful prose and the strangeness of the story. Unfortunately I felt that although it had some good points and the concept was good by the end I was bored and found the end quite a let down. I don't think I will be getting the rest of the trilogy but you never know. if someone can convince me to listen on and that there is some point to the end of the trilogy then maybe I will. But I get the feeling it's all about the experiment and experience of this book rather than where it goes. I like a bit more than show.

Hoped for more

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This book blew me away. I love fantasy, and this is a fantasy book, but it pays no attention to what a fantasy book "should" be like. It is visceral, psychadelic, a mix of very human, very real emotions, and the jarring unfathomable vorrh. My only warning is this book does not gather pace in building a world, it really takes it's time to flesh everything out. It's a book that demands your attention, if your mind wanders you will miss important details. Give yourself some time and really read/listen to it.

A truly singular piece of fantasy

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