Jeff Noon & Steve Beard
"In the end, only one thing mattered: the course of the river in her veins."
6
When she was young, Cady Meade sailed the treacherous waters of the river Nysis, transporting people and goods to the capital city of Ludwich, but that was when she was young. Now she's a drunk, old woman living off a sailors pension, stories of her youth and shots of rum. When two strangers arrive seeking Cady by name and requesting transport down the now untravelable river, Cady begins to wonder just how far behind her, her glory days are.
Judging The Book By It’s Cover
The copy being discussed in this review is the 2024, An Angry Robot paperback edition with cover illustration by Ian McQue and design by Alice Claire Coleman.
We picked up this book based on its intriguing blurb and distinctive cover art.
The cover features a sketch-like illustration with a limited but carefully chosen color palette, evoking the tone of the world within. At first glance, the artwork appears simple, but a closer look reveals a wonderful level of detail. The gold foiling on the title—both on the cover and the spine—adds a striking contrast, elevating the otherwise understated color choices.
The blurb on the back cover (where all blurbs should be! – Rob) strikes a great balance, offering just enough insight to pique curiosity without giving too much away.
Overall, the book’s presentation is clean and well-executed. The layout allows the artwork to shine while still drawing your eye to the actually shiny title.
Closing the Book
This book had so much potential. The characters are intriguing, each with their own backstory, and the plot weaves their individual journeys together in an interesting way. But we’re not sure if any of it was executed to its fullest potential.
What started as a tight-knit group of five characters, each with their own story to explore, expanded to seven—some more minor than others—but their narratives often felt like they got in each other’s way. The characters we wanted to focus on, Cady and Brin, were frequently pushed to the sidelines. At times, they almost felt like side characters in what was seemingly their story. It often felt like we were obliged to follow every character’s journey, even when some of them didn’t add much to the bigger picture.
Another challenge was the story’s timeline. Taking place over a single day, the sheer number of events unfolding in such a short period felt unrealistic. While we appreciated the way the overlapping stories were woven together—often in an engaging and well-executed way—there were moments where the narrative skipped forward in time with no clear indication of how much time had passed. Given that the entire book unfolds within a day, these missing moments stood out, sometimes making us double back to check if we’d missed something.
The world of Gogmagog is rich, filled with diverse cultures and a unique, sometimes bizarre setting, but we wanted to explore it in more depth. There’s so much potential in this world, but we never felt like we got to fully immerse ourselves in it.
Jess also found some of the writing choices and descriptions a little confusing. There were moments where things weren’t explained clearly—likely because the characters already understood them—but as a reader, she sometimes struggled to follow along. A little more explanation in key places would have helped with clarity.
That said, despite these frustrations, we are invested in the story. Gogmagog left us with enough intrigue that we want to continue reading, and with another book in the series, we fortunately have the chance to get some answers. We just have to wait.
Ultimately, we think the book would have benefitted from a more streamlined plot—focusing on one core character arc while allowing others to exist in the background, rather than squeezing so much into a short 352 pages. The world and characters are compelling enough that this could have made for an amazing extended series, giving the story more room to breathe.
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