Editorial Content for The Great When: A Long London Novel
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Alan Moore is the creative genius behind such classic graphic novels as From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, in addition to literary fiction and nonfiction. He now delves into some historical fantasy with the release of THE GREAT WHEN, which is set in London following the end of WWII.
The novel explores multiple universes --- the London we know and an alternate version that exists in another dimension. However, it all begins with a book. “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen” is the best opening to a novel that 18-year-old Dennis Knuckleyard has ever heard. He works for the elderly and emphysema-riddled woman known affectionately as Coffin Ada at her London-based bookstore.
"THE GREAT WHEN is exactly the type of hyperreal historical fantasy you would expect from Alan Moore’s fertile imagination. It is also just the first installment in what is being billed as the Long London Quintet. I cannot wait to see what happens next."
Ada sends Dennis on a mission to another book dealer in town where he is told to pick up some books for her shop. He makes the trek and returns with them in a box that once contained Oxydol dish soap. Dennis goes through them and finds several classic titles. However, there is one book that he is not familiar with: A London Walk by Reverend Thomas Hampole. Ada has a more violent reaction to it, which she tells Dennis is not from our world. It is a made-up novel that was mentioned in a story from Arthur Machen and never actually existed. She does not want it anywhere near her store and tells Dennis that he must find a portal to “other” London and return it.
Dennis follows directions to an area of the city where he suddenly finds himself transported to another very different version of London that is a cross between something from the mind of Lewis Carroll and a bad LSD trip. Apparently, Arthur Machen himself made excursions here, and it left such an impression on him that he used elements of it and made references to it in his work. Having possession of this strange, otherworldly book makes Dennis a popular person with the underground denizens and not in a good way.
Grace, a fiery redhead, allows Dennis to stay with her and help him with his mission. Before he can venture back, they are discovered by a creepy and feared member of the criminal underworld. Jack Spot has heard about the book but is not interested in its contents. Instead, he wants Dennis to set up a meeting with the powers that be in other London, also known as the Great When, so he can introduce himself. In return, he promises not to have his henchman kill Dennis and Grace.
Dennis gets a location for a portal from a local warlock and makes his journey to the Great When. Not only does he fulfill his obligation of returning the book, he gets together with the council of City Heads and makes an introduction for Jack Spot to meet with them. While there, he comes across many odd characters, including a human-like talking cat who is quite reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat from ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. Dennis also notices that there is something threatening both versions of London, and he will be the only person capable of preventing catastrophe in each dimension.
THE GREAT WHEN is exactly the type of hyperreal historical fantasy you would expect from Alan Moore’s fertile imagination. It is also just the first installment in what is being billed as the Long London Quintet. I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Teaser
London, 1949. Amidst the smog of the capital stumbles Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless 18-year-old employed by a secondhand bookshop. One day, on an errand to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fictitious book, a figment from another novel. Yet it is physically there in his hands. How? Dennis has stumbled on a book from the Great When, a magical version of London beyond time and space, where reality blurs with fiction and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous, terrible beings. But this other, magical London must remain a secret. If Dennis cannot find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks repercussions, such as his body being turned inside out (or worse). Soon he finds himself at the center of an explosive series of events that may alter and endanger both Londons forever.
Promo
London, 1949. Amidst the smog of the capital stumbles Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless 18-year-old employed by a secondhand bookshop. One day, on an errand to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fictitious book, a figment from another novel. Yet it is physically there in his hands. How? Dennis has stumbled on a book from the Great When, a magical version of London beyond time and space, where reality blurs with fiction and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous, terrible beings. But this other, magical London must remain a secret. If Dennis cannot find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks repercussions, such as his body being turned inside out (or worse). Soon he finds himself at the center of an explosive series of events that may alter and endanger both Londons forever.
About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author and legendary storyteller Alan Moore, the first book in an enthralling new fantasy series about murder, magic and madness in post-WWII London.
The year is 1949, the city London. Amidst the smog of the capital stumbles Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless 18-year-old employed by a secondhand bookshop. One day, on an errand to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fictitious book, a figment from another novel. Yet it is physically there in his hands. How?
Dennis has stumbled on a book from the Great When, a magical version of London beyond time and space, where reality blurs with fiction and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous, terrible beings. But this other, magical London must remain a secret: if Dennis cannot find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks repercussions, such as his body being turned inside out (or worse).
So begins a journey delving deep into the city's occult underbelly and tarrying with an eccentric cast of sorcerers, gangsters and murderers --- some from legend, some all too real, and all with plans of their own. Soon Dennis finds himself at the centre of an explosive series of events that may alter and endanger both Londons forever.
Audiobook available, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
