Bloomsbury
The second 'Long London' novel kicks of 10 years after the first with our hapless protagonist 'Dennis Knuckleyard' now a purveyor of improbable pornographic escapades, and free - he hopes - of any and all obligations towards that terrifying other place, 'The Great When', that other London hidden beyond, behind and within the one he inhabits, except, well, there is that key that 'Slenderhorse' gave him but he's palmed that off on some sucker at a party and unless she asks for it back he's now free of all that scary bollocks. Unfortunately, his best laid plans fall apart entirely when someone Dennis cares deeply about is drawn in in his stead and so he's soon pulled back into the middle of everything strange and weird and terrifying, and guess who wants her key back.
The stakes are a lot higher this time round but our, and indeed Dennis', familiarity with the vagaries of 'The Great When' means the strange feels a lot more commonplace. The various oddballs Moore populates his / our London with are as fun as before but pop producer Joe MeekJoe Meek, as eccentric as he was, is always going to be a poor substitute for Austin Osman Spare whose absence leaves a bit of a gap at the heart of the story.
It is though an enthusiastic romp through the streets, both physical and meta, of the capital and it's great fun but I'm hoping volume three has a personality at it's centre that can fill the AOS shaped hole.
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