Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Stumbling Block |
1990 |
Buy |
| Several Clouds Colliding |
2012 |
Buy |
| Only the Lowly |
2019 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Earwig |
2019 |
Buy |
| Munky |
2020 |
Buy |
| Hollow |
2021 |
Buy |
The Vorrh Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Vorrh |
2012 |
N/A |
| The Vorrh |
2015 |
Buy |
| The Erstwhile |
2017 |
Buy |
| The Cloven |
2018 |
Buy |
Brian Catling was a British sculptor, performance artist, poet, and novelist. He was Professor of Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford and a fellow of Linacre College. His fiction sits at the intersection of dark fantasy, horror, and literary surrealism.
His best-known work is The Vorrh Trilogy, which begins with The Vorrh (first published in 2012, US edition 2015). The series is set around a vast primordial forest in Africa with mythical properties, and the prose draws on Raymond Roussel, colonial history, and folklore. His later standalone novels include Earwig (2019), a dark tale of a man caring for a strange girl in a Liege flat, and Hollow (2021), which follows seven mercenaries during the Wars of Religion. His poetry and performance art collections span decades, from The Stumbling Block (1990) to Only the Lowly (2019). Catling died in September 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Brian Catling written?
Brian Catling has written ten books across three series.
What was Brian Catling's first book?
Brian Catling’s first book is The Stumbling Block, published in 1990.
What is The Vorrh Trilogy about?
The Vorrh Trilogy is set in and around a vast, ancient African forest that has mythical properties. The forest, called the Vorrh, erases the memories of anyone who enters it and may contain the Garden of Eden at its heart. The trilogy blends colonial history, mythology, and surrealist imagery across three novels: The Vorrh (2012), The Erstwhile (2017), and The Cloven (2018).