Ratings2
Average rating3.5
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. Dennis Knuckleyard is a hapless eighteen-year-old who works and lives in a second-hand bookstore. One day, his boss and landlady, Coffin Ada, sends him to retrieve some rare books, one of which, Dennis discovers, should not exist. A London Walk by Rev. Thomas Hampole is a fictitious book that appears in a real novel by another author. Yet A London Walk is physically there in his hands, nonetheless. Coffin Ada tells Dennis the book comes from the other London, the Great When, a version of the city that is beyond time. In the Great When, epochs blend and realities and unrealities blur, while concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous and terrible beings. But, Coffin Ada tells Dennis, if he does not return the book to this other London, he will be killed. So begins Dennis' adventure in Long London. Delving deep into the city's occult underbelly and tarrying with an eccentric cast of sorcerers, gangsters, and murderers, Dennis finds himself at the center of an explosive series of events that may endanger both Londons. Mystical, hilarious, and magnificently imagined, The Great When is an unforgettable introduction to the consciousness-altering world of Long London.
Featured Series
1 primary bookThe Long London Quintet is a 1-book series first released in 2024 with contributions by Alan Moore.
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Contains spoilers
The Great When is a tough book to recommend. At times, the complicated prose transported me to the alternate London the characters inhabit. But most often, it was so dense and inscrutable that it greatly detracted from my enjoyment. The plot picks up in the second half, but I didn't necessarily like the sudden shift in the conflict's focus. I wish we spent more time with (or in the heads of) some of the side characters, as it sometimes feels like this book pitches a series rather than commits to one, like a TV show afraid it won't get picked up for a 2nd season.
Three things I wish I had known before starting this book (in no particular order; also, these are my opinions and not facts):
The main character is young and immature, and some of the "immature" scenes feel unjustified. Spoiler example: he fawns over a sex worker that he thinks is 25, but she turns out to be 15 for no reason other than "man, times were rough back then, huh?"