I'm grateful to NetGalley for providing an extract of Susanna Clarke's new book, "Piranesi",

This is a tantalising extract. We meet "Piranesi", apparently one of two inhabitants in a vast building, or complex, of halls filled with statues, the only place that he (or his companion, "The Other") seem to be aware of. Piranesi speculates about how many humans there have been: fifteen, he thinks, including him and The Other, based on skeletons he has discovered. He seems to have no knowledge of any parents.

The reader will ask other questions. Piranesi can read and write. Who taught him?

What is this place he lives in - apparently washed by tides in its lower levels?

One clue - only - one familiar reference - in this extract tells us a little about Piranesi's world.

The extract leaves me wondering if Clarke's full work builds on that, leading P. to discover more about a wider world, or if it will be left to intrigue. Think Gormenghast, before Titus leaves. A world unto itself, with apparently no need of the outside. There's scope in that for a story that examines events in the self-sufficient space we are shown, init also for a wider one - for a voyage to the outside, for strangers to arrive. Which will it be?

There are few answers in the extract but enough to make me anticipate this book even more! Roll on September!

Wow! I’ve been waiting for 17 years for this and just this short extract has lured me in immediately. I was in two minds whether to read the teaser as the thought of getting a taste of it then having to wait a further 4 months is agony. Such imaginative and skilful writing bursting from the pages, it was never in doubt. I’m so excited for the full novel – huge thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for fully whetting my appetite.

PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION:
Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has?
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell transported over four million readers into its mysterious world. It became an instant classic and has been hailed as one of the finest works of fiction of the twenty-first century.
Fifteen years later, it is time to enter the House and meet Piranesi.
May your Paths be safe, your Floors unbroken and may the House fill your eyes with Beauty.

NO SPOILERS
Fifteen years is a long time to wait for a writer’s next novel but this extract from Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi looks as though my patience will be well rewarded. It is beautiful.

Clarke writes with such intimacy; I feel Piranesi is whispering to me alone…and what whispers! It’s mad, bizarre, beautiful, intriguing.

I rarely buy a fiction book in hardback and have never pre-ordered but this may well be an exception. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was a big, imposing tome (though hard to hold and read in bed so I bought the paperback, too!) and I hope Piranesi will be the same.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the Exclusive Early Extract of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

I didn't know what to expect, I just knew this wasn't "Johathan Strange & Mr Norrell". I started to read and I was hooked because I knew this was the start of a new amazing trip.
I recognized the style of writing and was fascinated by what I read.
Now I badly need to read the rest because it was like seen a great banquet and being able to eat just some crumbles.
But they were excellent crumbles.
I hope September will arrive soon.

OOh - what a tantalising and exciting peek into the new book I am already waiting to read. Scene setting, character building and looking like it's packed full with intrigue and entertainment - roll on September!

"When the Moon rose in the Third Northern hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of Three Tides. This is something that happens only once every eight years.'

Gorgeous writing, a sense of mystery and unknowingness (who are the 15 - or is that 16? - people who have ever lived?) and scenic writing to die for! This extract is very short but oh so intriguing. Hope I get my wish for the complete book!

Obviously, Susanna Clarke's new novel is hotly anticipated, and this short extract gives an intriguing flavour of it. There seems to be a mystery at its heart about what is going on in the strange world being described by the narrator/writer figure, and the style (some kind of written account, possibly by the protagonist) suggests that there's going to be some kind of metafictional element, similar to the footnotes of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

The extract leaves you wanting to know a lot more about what on earth is going on and it seems like the novel is going to build an uncanny world for readers to experience. It's very difficult to tell where the novel is going to go, which I'm sure will be part of the fun.

In my opinion a short extract is meant to leave you wanting to read more and desperately waiting the publication date in order to do this. The short extract I have just read ticks all those boxes. I found myself saying no when I could no longer turn a page. I am truly waiting impatiently I might add to get my hands on the full story in order to determine if there are only 2 left in the house/world of it there will be a twist.
For a very short extract this was a belter to read.