Mordew (Cities of the Weft #1), by Alex Pheby

Mordew is the first book in the weird (and trust me, really weird) gothic fantasy series Cities of the Weft, written by Alex Pheby, published by Galley Beggar Press. A wildly imaginative and dark story that, at moments, feels like a fever dream where the author has just let all his creativity run wild, brilliantly stitching together all the pieces to deliver a novel that takes you into an unforgettable ride which is just the starting chapter of an ambitious trilogy.

A story that revolves around the character of Nathan Treeves, a boy from the slums of the city of Mordew; with his family in a desperate situation, especially his father suffering lung worms, the only option left is trying to earn his keep with the Master of Mordew and to get the medicine for his father. However, the plan goes in a totally different direction, with Nathan owing one of the most dangerous people in the whole Mordew, Page, and joining a thieving gang; just the first step of a journey that ups the stakes (and progressively gets weirder) as we advance the parts this book is divided into.

And honestly, I think it's difficult to capture the essence of this story without big spoilers, but I also firmly believe that part of what makes this a Journey with capital letters is the experience of discovering all along Nathan; not only because it's a really enthralling story, but because at some point, you just accept weird things will happen, the powers will scale, but there's still something under the surface that is threatening our characters but you can't exactly point what.

Another detail that is remarkable is how Pheby manages to give each character their own unique voices and mannerisms, reflecting their origins and past; the dialogue is certainly one of the finest crafted I've read in a long time.
As said, Mordew is quite the setting, from the Living Mud, the Master and the Mistress, the talking dogs, how the Spark works; all of those details are quite distinctive, creating a weird but visually impressive setting that goes perfectly with the plot Pheby is trying to unravel. The glossary also deserves a mention, how it is used as a way to actually continue the story, to give us more after what theoretically is the end, and introducing us to details that could have been nebulous to us.
The pacing is excellent, using the four-part structure as an excuse to progressively up the stakes and the scope of the story, acting as a full course menu. Despite being a relatively long book, I practically devoured it in two sessions because I needed to know what happened with our characters.

Mordew is an excellent novel, a perfect story if you are, like me, deep into the weird city themes (and add the random theological questions into the mix? You totally got me); a brilliant weird fantasy book that goes straight onto my favourite list. Won't pass much time until I return to the Cities of the Weft world!