Thanks for this. I’ve seen the BBC adaptation, which I liked a lot, and been thinking about reading the books. From the excerpts I can see it’s the kind of prose that you need to read slowly to really get - but when you do, it appears to be extraordinarily rich and interesting prose. I really like that. Am still feeling a bit daunted by the length of two, or even three, novels to ‘get through’, though, even if I can persuade myself to read slower 
His poetry is wonderful, as well (excerpted from Titus Groan):
It’s playful and quirky but with ominous undertones. Perfectly in keeping with the pitch-black sensibilities of the novel as a whole.
I have them around here somewhere and have been meaning to re-read them. I prefer the first two books, especially the character’s speeches; it’s all so wonderfully over-the-top. This is also what I enjoyed most about the TV series–the sight of so many fine British actors gleefully gnawing scenery as they say their lines (that, and it was my introduction to Jon Rhys Myers, whom I have been a fan of since).
British actors really seem to excel at that kind of almost-but-not-quite over-the-top character acting - it’s always so enjoyable to watch. And John Rhys-Meyers was born for that role.
My favorite lines are at the end, where the knife pierces the cake and the sea “vibrates to the drone of a cake in the throes of love”. What a wonderfully grotesque image. 
I generally like wordy writing styles, but my one attempt to read the trilogy didn’t work. I never got totally grabbed, but I still think if I force myself to read more, I would be carried through to the end.
I got distracted by other things and found the book easy to put down at the spot I was at. I think I was probably into chapter 8 or so, and Titus was still only a couple of hours old.
Still, I will try again sometime, and I think I’ll enjoy them.
I’m coming into this thread really late, so I’ll just echo the other folks who said that the first two books are utter classics but the third is skippable.
You have to read them on their own terms–Clark Ashton Smith did prose poems; Mervyn Peake did prose art.
BTW, if you liked the Gormenghast books and want to experience a different side of Peake, you might want to check out the book Mr. Pye. It’s a charming little story about a fellow who’s a little too good for his own good.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Do I detect Peake’s influence in the writings of Prachett? I believe I do.
-FrL-
I’d honestly recommend reading Titus Groan and Gormenghast, and then just losing your copy of Titus Alone.
The books are worth it just for the character names (my favorite is probably Swelter, the evil cook.)
Peake is a brilliant poet and one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Imagine Dickens writing high fantasy. (In fact, the Gormenghast books can be read as parodies of Dickens.) However he’s not a page-turning story teller. The story is slow, a tale of arcane castle politics. There is little actual magic, if any. Most of the pleasures come from the bizarre characters, lovingly described, and Peake’s luxurious decadent prose. I haven’t read any Rowling but, other than both being fantasists, I doubt the two have anything in common.
Peake is easily the equal, if not the better, of any of the writers in whole bean’s list.