Lurid, venal novel is without equal (10)

I believe the answer is:

unrivalled

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'without equal' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'lurid venal novel' is the wordplay.
'novel' indicates anagramming the letters (letters in a new or novel order).
'lurid'+'venal'='luridvenal'
'luridvenal' anagrammed gives 'UNRIVALLED'.

'is' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for unrivalled that I've seen is " Surpassing all others".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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