This opener for the new Long London fantasy series has a fun premise: it’s 1949 London and an 18yo bookseller who works for a secondhand bookshop has just learned about the “other” London, known as the Great When. He’s run into a book called A London Walk which sounds harmless enough but he only knows it because it’s referenced in a book he’s read. In HIS London. This is murder, magic, and madness in post-WWII London.

The Great When by Alan Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All books require a reader to supply the rest of the imagination to any work of fiction. This is an old chestnut. But then, there are certain books that require a reader to actively perform a magical incantation that will utterly transform their lives and turn THEMSELVES into magicians of the highest caliber.

And this book is one of those.

Now, don't get me wrong. I've read Moore's Jerusalem. The Long London project is all within it, too, but the Great When is probably a bit less intimidating (if just for length). The LANGUAGE, however, in both, is utterly lush, gorgeous, and on a whole, its words are a sight more brilliant than me, also as a whole.

And yes, I am admitting that I am astonished at the deft density of imagination and the words used to describe it all.

Moore is absolutely a one-off genius or a magician, himself.

And speaking of which, I want to make a quick little supposition about Dennis, the MC. With all the talk of High Arcana in Long London, I just want to point out that Dennis fits the bill of the Fool.

As we know, Fools walk blindfolded on the edges of cliffs and generally never fall off of said cliffs. They are blessed. They're also amusing as hell.

I wish everyone a very, very good time with this, and future, Moore books. He lands at the very top of my "omg omg omg this is seriously kicking my ass" list. Feel free to take my advice or not, but I recommend a hard-copy, a pen, and either tiny handwriting, a bunch of post-its, a dictionary, and a willingness to look up thousands of true-historical characters online for the sake of the novel's true depth and weave.

And yes, I did just imply writing in the margins of the book. This would be for my benefit. If someone (and you know who you are) complains that I'm DEFACING a book, I'll reply that I am merely ENHANCING it with my own observations, for future reader's edifications.

The fact is, these are modern classics that absolutely need devoted followers following with vast conversations. It's worth it. Oh, and I've officially put this on my unofficial 6th star list. Bon appetite!

If you’ve ever had nightmares about returning a book late to a library, this book will definitely resonate with those deep-seated dorkian fears. I’m not sure what I was expecting here. Alan Moore precedes Alan Moore when picking up a book by the one and same, but this was an experience of the weird and stagnant. The writing style impressed and exhausted me. The plot went everywhere and nowhere. The characters were all head scratchers. I loved it; at the same time, it was a chore to read. I’ve got serious review bifurcation and no good way of resolving it except rating this thing a four (it’s Alan Moore for book’s sake) and attempting to put my ponderings about it into words.

Primarily, nothing much happens for about 80% of the book. We meet Dennis and Ada, Dennis gets the radioactive otherworldly book, and then he sets about trying to return it—by meeting up with different people in different places. He gets chased around a bit, but then it’s right back to London and someone’s place and another long conversation. And the conversations are looong. Like the series name. We get a bit of action in the last 35-40 pages of the book, after we punch all the work of the first 300 or so on our reading timecards.

Dennis isn’t so much the protagonist as London is—and its different iterations act upon him. If you’re looking for action-packed goings-on with a character like V or Rorschach, you won’t get them so much here. Our hero Knuckleyard meanders through London rubble post-WWII in a daze, shiftless and bullied by his boss, Coffin Ada, chased around London by all sorts of people. He makes a couple of friends, talks to a wonky cat, has another conversation. It’s really cyclical.

The saving grace with this book comes with its absolute weirdness. The world is already post-apocalyptic, and it’s been lived through, so very close to reality (which makes the alienation worse), and then readers are thrust into another London with italics and psychedelic haze that turns words into colors. Oh, and what’s with all the phalluses?

Moore certainly has a way with words, which is why this book comes in at a 4 for me instead of a sleepy 2-3. If not for the slick artistry with wordsmithery, the myriad and sundry conversations that make up the narrative would have bored me to absolute tears. It takes quite the storyteller to make a slow pace keep a reader’s attention. Moore certainly does it here.

Ideally, one can’t understand the conundrum of The Great When until one reads it, and I recommend readers who search for fantasy they maybe haven’t read before to pick this one up. If they make it through the book, they’ll definitely have a new experience to just sit and think on.

My sincere thanks to Bloomsbury, holy cow I got approved, for the eARC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

"The Great When" marks the beginning of a new urban fantasy series by Alan Moore, best known for his iconic work in comics and graphic novels. Set against the backdrop of post-war London, the novel centers on 18-year-old Dennis Knuckleyard, who, having lost his parents during the war, works and lives in a bookshop run by the eccentric Coffin Ada. One day, Dennis stumbles upon a peculiar book originating from an alternate London called the Great When. As he finds out, returning this book is crucial—failure to do so could cost him his life. With the help of friends and unlikely allies, Dennis is pulled into a world filled with wonder and unexpected danger.

Interestingly, what captivated me most about the book wasn’t its fantastical elements or the parallel London, but rather its vivid depiction of post-war London. While it has hints of high fantasy, much of the story unfolds in the familiar, war-weary London of the late '40s. Moore masterfully captures the lingering atmosphere of a city still haunted by conflict, weaving these historical details seamlessly into the narrative.
The pacing of the story is uneven as the first half of the book is slow, with the action picking up noticeably only in the latter third of the story. This slower start dampened the sense of urgency and tension that the story seemed to aim for. Dennis and Grace, are well-drawn characters, but many other characters felt flat and underdeveloped. Besides Coffin Ada, most characters seemed one-dimensional and were difficult to keep track of within the narrative. Overall, the language is somewhat dense, and can distract from the story, but I did appreciate the laughs.

The Great When is the first book in a new urban fantasy series and I think it is worth exploring. I am definitely looking forward to book 2. I give this book 3.75 stars and I want to thank #netgalley and Bloomsbury for my advance reader copy.

What if an Alan Moore book, only mid?

That’s unfair. Or, perhaps more accurately, even mid Alan Moore is replete with pleasures. His basic capacity to make the English language dance and perform tricks for him remains. He’s still one of the best to ever do it. All the same, he’s done it a lot, in comics and prose, and this just isn’t one of the more remarkable times he’s done it.

The plot is simple enough—a young boy, charmingly named Dennis Knuckleyard—comes into possession of a book that shouldn’t exist and gets dragged into a secondary world, Long London, which consists of London’s imagination and dreams. Hijinks ensue for about three hundred pages. Well, two hundred, as it takes Moore a rather long time to actually get the plot moving. The book is clearly aiming for a certain breezy readability in exactly the way that Jerusalem and Voice of the Fire were not, and it manages it, telling a straightforward adventure yarn.

It’s just… gosh, another imaginary second city? After Jerusalem and The Show? Sure, yes, it’s London this time and not Northampton, but this is still teetering dangerously on the edge of just becoming a cliche for Moore. And “the same thing he’s been doing for ages in a stripped down, more readable version” is…

I mean, perhaps it’s for somebody. If Jerusalem is simply too intimidating for you and you still want this idea done as a book and not a film, I suppose The Great When is a plausibly compelling option. But for a reasonably dedicated Alan Moore fan, this is a damp squib rehashing former glories.

The great master weaves a tale that takes some brain power to get into. I love the idea of a hidden London existing beyond time.

The opening is wild with convolutions, cool ideas, and characters that make for a slow read when there isn’t a lot to grab onto plot-wise. The vignettes seem disconnected without context and it’s hard to grasp where things are going to go.

With patience, treasures are ahead. When the character Dennis appears it’s easy to lock onto him. Then the plot begins to gel and the pace quickens, turning pages. There are some fabulous characters created—Coffin Ada is memorable. Expect (as you would) lots of intriguing ideas, laugh out loud humor and beautiful descriptions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for an advance reading copy in exchange for a fair review.

The Great When is a story about a young man who ventures into an Alternate London.
I like Alan Moore writing comic books. He’s written some really good and thought provoking stories.
I wish I could say the same for this novel. The premise intrigued me. The world building and creation was interesting. I just had a hard time getting into the stream of consciousness prose that Alternate London used. That threw me out of the story most of the times I read it. It did seem to get somewhat better towards the end of the book, but still was problematic for me.
Some may really enjoy it and that’s fantastic. This one, wasn’t for me.

There are a lot of familiar elements to the portal fantasy being told (down on his luck young, ordinary boy wanders into a secret alternative London) that recalls Neverwhere among others. The joy is that Alan Moore seems to have swallowed an eldritch thesaurus that turns even the familiar London into an absurdly horrific playground. I enjoyed that, though I never fell in love with it.

I was excited to read another alternate London book, but this one was extremely descriptive and convoluted. I had trouble engaging with the text and was turned off by the cleverness that made me feel like I was an outsider when all the cool kids were having inside jokes. The touch of magic was also a turn off. I think this just wasn't my novel. I imagine this book will find its audience - and perhaps cult-like adoration, but it was not for me or at least not for me right now.

This is a neat little romp of alternate universe Londons that can be accessed by a book written in one world and bought to the other, weird old London people and sexual misadventures, and small magics. Definitely worth a read when it comes out this fall.

Stylish, strange, and often utterly incomprehensible. I loved the ambition and the concept here (and the character names, shan't lie; Coffin Ada is perfection). Unfortunately, for me, I think I've just read so many "alternate London" stories that landed better than THE GREAT WHEN, I couldn't summon much enthusiasm. I found myself skim-reading, eyes glazed, and didn't feel much of an urge to read the sequels--which, alas, is pretty damning. But Alan Moore's newest is clever and boiling with brilliant ideas, so I'm interested to see how other reads react--I'm certain it will end up being someone's favourite.

Return to form for the great storyteller. Comparatively shorter than previous novels of his, but amazing nonetheless.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA for an advance copy of this novel about magic, reality, books, real people, fictional friends, and the joy and excitement of learning how big and wonderful the world can be, and the dangerous this knowledge might bring.

A few nights ago, about one-third of the the way through this book, I saw a house that shouldn't have been where it was. I have driven this route twice a day for almost twelve years, boy that's way too long. Anyway its a rural route, one that has more stop signs than stop lights, takes a little longer, but gets one there with less aggravation. There is one strip that is just McMansions, house to big to exist, that all have the same look. Driving home, on a humid day, well before sunset I saw a green Victorian house on a corner that I have never ever seen before. One I have not seen since. Was it the humidity, a day that people were acting weird on, including myself that made me see the house? Did I pass through to another world, where the politics is not as strange as the world I had left? Or was it just Alan Moore, whose writings open up a world of possibilities, magical and otherwise, and I was caught in the eddy of his creativity. I'm happy with all these answers, just as happy as I was with this book. The Great When is the first book in a new quintet about different Londons, esoteric knowledge, different possibilities, and of course great writing and big ideas.

The book begins with two mystics sharing tea in a garden during the Second World War. One of the them is the Great Beast, now older, tired and dying., who discusses the falling V2 rockets with someone who becomes more clearer later. We than move to a street riot well before the war between facists, antifacists, police and a great woman who people don't see, but who has an effect on a poet who goes to Spain to fight in the revolution. And finally we meet Dennis, the main character, who on first appearance is crawling around houses whose owners have fled to bomb shelters during the Blitz, stealing coins from gas meters. Dennis is caught in a bombing, and in the midst of it, sees something that haunts him, something that shouldn't be. After the war Dennis is working as a book scout who has come across a book, that also should not be. A book that belongs not to this world but to another world, with another London, that exists behind a thin wall of reality. Dennis has to return the book or suffer penalties of pain, death or much worse. As Dennis tries to, he finds himself among other mystics, collectors, criminals, both real, imagined and something more. With the fate of both Londons on his thin shoulders.

A big sprawling book full of ideas, characters, jokes, Easter eggs, and more. Being Alan Moore the novel is well written, with a good plot that moves well. However there is a bit of a learning curve. This is not something to start on a hot day at the beach. This takes a little work, a little focus and a lot of oh I think I see where Moore is going. However the book does seem to lock in once Dennis appears. So be patient. There are a lot of familiar aspects, characters, situation, that Moore has drawn on, and is very good at mixing into a story. And once this book gets going it really is hard to pull away from. And while reading things just seem different, in a very good way.

I have been reading Alan Moore since he started in America on Swamp Thing, and have followed his career and works with interest and great enjoyment. Moore's books have a different feel to them, and it is interesting to wonder where this quartet of books might take readers. However I am very glad to be taking this ride. Fans will enjoy it, new readers who are patient will be in for a treat.

The storytelling style wasn't my cup of tea, and the characters didn't resonate with me. Nonetheless, I can see others enjoying it.

Alan Moore (Yes, that Alan Moore) has written a fantastical work of fiction. The Great When is indeed great. Its a book which combines the historical London we know with a magical London which was unknown to most citizens of that city. The book requires a bit of patience at the start while Moore introduces us to the cast of characters. However, once all the seeds have been planted, you won't put down the book. It's wonderfully written and in Dennis Knuckleyard he gives us the most unlikely of heroes. The late, great Christopher Fowler was a genius with his use of London's history. Moore is the one to pick up that mantle with this epic new series. Thank you to Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Publishing, & NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Great When is an epic work from a voice that I have enjoyed both in graphic novel and prose format. Alan Moore has a unique vision of the world that includes an artistic delicacy. This is fantasy and speculative work, but also literary in its detail — I’ll gladly read more from the series.

Really interesting, trippy book. Moore is a genius. I did struggle to get into it at first and the ending wasn't my favorite, but definitely don't regret reading this.