Review of Ludluda by Steve Beard & Jeff Noon

Gogmagog by Steve Beard and Jeff Noon was a breath of river air. I do not say 'fresh' river air. The dark mood, the edgy fantastic, the murky waters, the lurking evil (the swearing granny)—it was not a light affair. About an aging river boat captain dealing with a vegetal crisis, said swearing granny decides to guide a few ignorant tourists through the most dangerous parts of the river, in turn rekindling a rivalry with an ancient enemy. Gogmagog the first half, Ludluda (2024) is the bookend.

I'll cut to the chase. If you enjoyed Gogmagog, Ludluda will not disappoint. Same quick-pace, same offbeat imagination, same curmudgeonly Cady Meade tackling her yellow-eyed dragon. The book does spend more time on land—or at least different versions of something semi-solid underfoot. There are two excursions (more in a moment) into unexpected territory. And there is an exciting climax. But beyond this, the artistic vision and storytelling are consistent—nice, that.

Ludluda, or more precisely Noon and Beard, make a decision at about the halfway point of the narrative that will be to the reader's strong like or dislike, little middle ground. <disguised spoiler klaxon> They take the narrative to the “real world”. I won't explain here why those two words are in quotes, but I struggle with the decision nonetheless. It adds little story-wise or thematically. But it does disrupt—not fourth wall breaking, rather taking the reader out of the comfort of the fantasy world built to that point. It detracts more than complements but doesn't derail.

What I'm about to write will be meaningless in a year. But at the time of Ludluda's publishing, it did (does?). As stated, Ludluda is the second book of a duology. But in a world where years can pass between volumes in a fantasy series (decades if you're GRRM), only a couple of months separated Gogmagog and Ludluda. Readers had to wait literally only weeks to find out how Cady Meade's story ended—a pleasant occurrence in contemporary fantasy publishing.

If you enjoyed Gogmagog there is little reason why Ludluda will turn you away. I struggled with the two quasi-fourth wall breaking scenes, but they didn't prevent me from enjoying the book or duology as a whole. Bear and Noon's creation will not go down in the annals of fantasy writing. It will be swallowed by the mainstreams of fantasy publishing that is the early 21st century. But for readers looking for something one or two degrees outside those mainstreams—to escape into a world both familiar and unfamiliar with a ragged main character, it may be worth reading a sample chapter or two to see if Gogmagog/Ludluda are for your summer beach or winter Sunday morning coffee.