First one that comes to mind is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Anyone else know of any good books that can remind you of the lore in Fallen London?
Have you read Glass books of the Dream eaters? It’s set in a sort of alternative Victorian London and quite fun, also the cover is rather pretty.
There is ‘Whitechapel Gods’ by S.M. Peters. It is very much an industrial/steam-punk story which builds towards a veritable civil war in this filthy London district.
the werks of Mervyn Peake. the Titus Groan books especially. I think that the Failbetter guys have cited him as an influence. mandatory!
edited by Ria Byss on 4/7/2012
Gail Carriger’s The Parasol Protectorate series! Soulless (1), Changeless (2), Blameless (3), Heartless (4), & Timeless (5). It’s priceless.
I don’t usually quote press kits but in this case it’s spot-on: "The Parasol Protectorate books are comedies of manners set in Victorian London: full of vampires, dirigibles, and tea. They are Jane Austen doing urban fantasy meets PG Wodehouse doing steampunk."
Actually, Carriger herself would be a perfect Fallen London character. Her real name is Tofa Borregaard and originally she’s an archaeologist… :)
edited by Rupho Schartenhauer on 3/24/2015
Oh, and then there’s Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures, of course. “Fallen Paris”, if you will…
Even if you’re already familiar with the film, the book is worth a look for the illustrations alone!
I sincerely recommend Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Watch a steampunk scientist (read: wizard) and his insectoid girlfriend hunt, what is essentially, The Vake.
China Miéville absolutely effing rules. I will say no more. :)
China Miéville absolutely effing rules. I will say no more. :)[/quote]
China Miéville absolutely effing rules. I will say no more. :)[/quote]
I have to agree, I’ve read Kraken, wich I loved, and I’m currently reading The Scar. Very good books. Have to check out his other works as well!
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer and Trial of Flowers by Jay Lake.
How about Stephen Hunt’s Jackelian books: Court of the Air, Kingdom Beyond the Waves, Rise of the Iron Moon and Secrets of the Fire Sea? (Haven’t read Jack Cloudie yet, it’s on my list…)
I can’t say it’s exactly reminiscent of Fallen London, but I highly recommend Tim Powers’ The Anubis Gates. Time travel, Egyptian Gods, body swapping werewolves, evil clowns and gypsies, urchins… how can it not be made of win? :D
i suspect that people here might enjoy Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.
A lot of the City Watch books in the Discworld series remind me of Fallen London, especially the Velocipede Squad.
The second chapter of Courtney Crumrin and The Twilight Kingdom has a lot of Neathy elements. Also it’s a lovely comic.
The setting isn’t all that similar, generally, but I have to say that almost all of Holly Black’s books remind me of Fallen London. It’s just something about the dark yet completely charming style of them.
Though it may not be necessarily Fallen London, it does have a certain quirkiness that can parallel it. The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, a book entirely in pictures about an immigrant to a rather… strange yet wonderous world.
[quote=Ria Byss]the werks of Mervyn Peake. the Titus Groan books especially. I think that the Failbetter guys have cited him as an influence. mandatory!
edited by Ria Byss on 4/7/2012[/quote]
I could not agree more. Titus Groan and Gormenghast are two of my all-time favourite books; Mervyn Peake’s writing is like nothing else, the language is exquisite. I’m always saddened by how few people have read them, even among bibliophiles. The world contained in these books is even stranger, darker, and moodier than Fallen London; such a host of wicked, sublime characters! Such delicious description! Forgotten acres of castle rooms, ridiculous poetry, odd traditions, murder, deceit, seduction, and insanity, these books have it all.
A book reminiscent of [color=660000]seeking the name[/color]. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Never have I read a book so intricately designed to portray ones subtle decent into madness. It’s very experimental in its design with odd page layouts and ever jumping around notes and side-stories this gives the novel a manic feel unlike any other. I think its one of those underground classics that truly deserves its status. Go to your local bookstore I grantee they will have one copy, they always do. Flip trough the book if your not taken in by the rapid change of content I don’t know what would convince you to read it. Seriously through best horror novel I’ve ever read.
I have other books I’d suggest I just need to find a way to connect them to Fallen London first. =p
edited by Cubethulhu on 8/15/2012