The Great When

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.

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

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 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!

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.