The Great When
by Alan Moore
You know, it’s never a good idea to raise expectations TOO much. Alan Moore is great. I’m a fan of his. I think Watchmen is amazing. I think From Hell is amazing. I like him so much that I read the entirety of his book Jerusalem. It was unlike anything I’d ever read before and I still think about it many years later. I know he’s great, but why on earth would you start the author bio on the backflap with “Alan Moore is an English writer widely regarded as the best and most influential writer in the history of comics”? Why start THERE? My wife is the smart bookish one and she assures me NO ONE talks about Alan Moore in literary circles. He’s on NOBOBY’S radar except comic book nerds. I think he’s incredibly influential and has given us some of the most complex and thought-provoking stories ever written and even I have to roll my eyes a little at that description.
Anyway, back on topic.
Being a fan of Moore’s I was happy to finally be able to dig into his new book The Great When. It’s a fantasy/mystery book taking place right after WWII in London, involving a young man Dennis who stumbles upon a hidden magical realm, like an alternate parallel universe. It’s a universe filled with its own wonders and dangers and we find out just how much it’s influenced the history and life of modern London. Dennis finds out that people from both sides of the door are onto him and want to exploit this discovery for their own purpose. It’s a cool story that takes a while to build up but quickly picks up the pace and grows once the rules are laid out. The Great When is filled with complex and mysterious characters and their motivations make them interesting and compelling. Pay attention, and you might even be able to sort out who the bad guys are before they reveal themselves.
This is a very fun read, and although it’s a little more magical than I would have normally liked (the access to the magical world is confusing and the way the writing changes when we’re in the magical world is off-putting and jarring), I still found the story fun and the characters engaging. It kind of all fizzles out at the end, but that’s only, and I found this out later, that it’s the first of a two-parter which is just about to be released. I’m definitely on board for that one!
