There’s a lot of strange beings with strange names and stranger powers in this exciting read….Monolulu, Commotion, Venables, Ironfoot to name some. Much of this novel takes place in another London, a fantastic and terrifyingly different city with locations like Kensington, Soho, Notting Hill. This is a Britain in change mode as immigrants from the former colonies arrive, sparking clashes with white locals. Moore weaves deftly just the right formula of historical and social context into his tale.
Its 1958, a time of Rock & Roll, of protest, riot and change while London is full of danger. If you have not read Allan Moore’s The Great When before, do so to get the full measure of this novel. His body of work is huge, especially the second instalment of his Long London series where Moore builds on the fantastical world he introduced in he Great When, the same cast of extraordinary characters return a decade later to a London that’s in muchbetter shape than it was immediately after World War II, when huge tracks of the city were bombed and the economy was in shambles. While Britain has mostly recovered, its far- flung colonies are coming apart at the seams.
History and magic form a madcap melody in this riotous sequel to The Great When. Dennis Knuckleyard wants to leave The Great When, his past. For nine years, he’s avoided thinking about the magical shadow version of London, managing to palm-off what should have been his last souvenir of that adventure- a key he secretly brought back last time. Dennis’s circumstances are somewhat improved in that he’s no longer under the thumb of his former employer and landlady, Coffin Ada Benson, a chain-smoking source of neverceasing vitriol. Pursuing an occupation as a freelance writer of primarily fictional pornographic letters to a Men’s magazine which suits him down to a tee despite being awkward and unsure of himself, although he is prone to getting his own way, while his love life is sporadic. But at least he’s found relief from his mind-warping adventures in the Other London, which he hopes to keep that way.
Of-course, The Great When has other plans, not only for Dennis, but also for the young lass he really loves, former prostitute, red-haired Grace Shilling, now a dancer at a club. Moore’s prose is as wild and unrestrained as the tale he tells, the story flowing like an elaborately vivid dream. But while Dennis may believe he is done with The Great When, it is certainly not done with him. The unsuspecting Rube now has the key and possesses its magical properties, bringing forth mythic, occult beings into Dennis’s London, sparking riots in the capital. Worse still, Dennis hears Grace has returned to The Great When to investigate strange happenings in both cities. Desperate to keep Grace safe and returnLondon to normal, Dennis follows her back into Long London. But once it has him, The Great When will not let him get away again so easily
Electrifying, absurd, magical and true, I HEAR A NEW WORLD is a literary masterpiece. A side note: the text used in this book is set in Bembo, which was used in 1495, being the original type, the forerunner model that became the standard European type for the following two centuries.
The author is a master at world-building and rollicking prose, most famous for his influential work in comics including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. As a comics writer he is noted for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. His works include challenging subject matter and adult themes, bringing a wide range of influences to his work, from literary authors like William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair, as well as, New Wave Science Fiction writers like Michael Moorcock; horror writers like Clive Barker; to the cinematic film makers like Nicholas Roeg. He was influenced by the greats, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
Alan Moore is a legend that has contributed to this reviewer’s imagination andreceptiveness.
Alan Moore’s I HEAR A NEW WORLD is published by Bloomsbury Publishing.
