Luda

A Novel

By: Grant Morrison

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

A drag queen initiates her protégée into the magical arts in this phantasmagoric epic, the first novel from the legendary comics writer and New York Times bestselling author.

“Grant Morrison is a modern mythmaker.”—Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Luci LaBang is a star: For decades this flamboyant drag artist has cast a spell over screen and stage. Now she’s the leading lady in a smash hit musical. But as time takes its toll, Luci fears her star is beginning to dim.

When Luci’s co-star meets with a mysterious accident, a new ingenue shimmers onto the scene: Luda, whose fantastical beauty and sinister charm infatuate Luci immediately . . . and who bears a striking resemblance to Luci herself at a much younger age.

Luda begs Luci to share the secrets of her stardom and to reveal the hidden tricks of her trade. For Luci LaBang is a mistress of the Glamour, a mysterious discipline that draws on sex, drugs, and the occult for its trancelike, transformative effects.

But as Luci tutors her young protégée, their fellow actors and crew members begin meeting with untimely ends. Now Luci wonders if Luda has mastered the Glamour all too well . . . and exploited it to achieve her dark ambitions.

What follows is an intoxicating descent into the demimonde of Gasglow, a fantastical city of dreams, and into the nightmarish heart of Luda herself: a femme fatale, a phenomenon, a monster, and, perhaps, the brightest star of them all.

©2022 Ballantine (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Grant Morrison is a modern mythmaker—a once-in-a-lifetime storyteller who has crafted some of the most evocative sagas of our generation. With Luda, Morrison has created a mesmerizing, evocative, and unforgettable journey that still manages to be grounded and character driven. Luda discards the trappings of genre boundaries to concoct something wholly new and truly phenomenal.”—Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity

“Flamboyant and provocative, witty and incendiary, a delirious drag performance that alternates between spotlight bright and greasepaint sleazy. There are those who have been waiting their entire lives for Grant Morrison to write a novel. Some of those uninitiated will discover that, without knowing it, they were among their number all along.”—Kieron Gillen, co-creator of The Wicked + The Divine

“Morrison's debut novel twists genre and gender inside and out in a gonzo free fall through the world of drag theater.”—Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt

Stellar Performance

Vikas Adam is a one man ensemble cast. The world is a stage and we're in one big drag show.

A treat

this story is what one would expect if Grant's autobiography, a drag Queen's memoir, a tome of magic, and a detailed tourist guide to Glasgow were cranked through a meat grinder. An unusual mix that only one person could make work.

enjoyed the story, and was fascinating to see what Grant could do in novel.

If you know Morrison, read this book

If you’re familiar with Grant Morrison then you’ve already read this book, if you’re not then you should be. The story is enhanced by one of the best narrators I’ve ever heard on audiobooks.

unbelievable

Gotta listen to it again. damn that's good stuff. Try it .. you'll like it,

wow what an incredible narrator!

Now I understand why Vikas Adam is one of the greats! I don't think I would have appreciated this as much without him inhabiting the many characters (and it works even better with the complex layer of narrative). Grant Morrison loves language and it's perfect to hear the vocabulary and alliteration being spun out so gorgeously. Bravo!

Finally some real wit

I so often feel that the world is homogenous in the darkest and most boring ways possible. But not while I read Luda. Luda reminded me to read strange books again, to romanticize the mundane pain of existence, to take up ritual again, to question people's stories as often as their intentions, and to ENJOY lusting after things I cannot have and will always say "no" to. The narration is as perfect as the story is twisted. If you buy the book you get to look at how the author warded the physical pages. 100/10. I want Hollywood to ruin it just so i can have a movie. I may beg.

If your melted-by-internet brain is too tired by all that blue light to keep up with complex sentences, drag queen level wit, and the verbal processings of queer genious... complain about things you can't understand being "long winded" and then leave us alone.

Wild ride

What an enchanting story. There was so much especially for those of us who find themselves moving to the crone stage. I listened to the story twice: once at regular speed and a second time at .8. There was so much to take in.

Whew…..

The narrating, main character is incredibly long-winded. Also, it is several hours into the story before it remotely becomes interesting.

not great. completely incoherent

The book was completely incoherent could barely finish the first few chapters. The story bounces around so much from sense to sentence you have no idea what's going on. The narrator does not help.

Hated it!

I know hate is a horrible word to use, and I rarely ever use it. But it’s the right word for this audible book. The reader is too dramatic. The story rambles on with no point and I find my mind drifting. Typically I get consumed with the story and can barely stop listening. I found listening to the story painful. Sorry, just my opinion.