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'The equivalent of London's brand-new Elizabeth line . . . vast, shiny and very, very deep' - The Times, 'Best Summer Reads'
'Utterly unique . . . A masterpiece' - The Daily Mail
'Stunning . . . Brilliantly original' - The GuardianLondon is built from concrete, steel and the creative urge.
Old technology gives way to the new. Progress is inevitable - but is it more fragile than its inhabitants realise?
A strange anomaly is uncovered in the new top-secret Crossrail extension being built under Buckingham Palace. It is an archeological puzzle, one that may transform our understanding of history - and the origins of London itself.
And if our modern world falls, we may have to turn to the technology of the past in order to save our future.
About the author
Rian Hughes is an award-winning graphic designer illustrator, comic artist, writer and typographer who has worked extensively for the British and American advertising, music and comic book industries.
He has written and drawn comics for 2000AD and Batman: Black and White, and designed logos for James Bond, The X-Men, Superman, Hedkandi and The Avengers.
His illustrations have appeared in magazines in the UK, UK and Japan, and a retrospective monograph collecting his work, Art, Commercial, was published in 2001.
His books include I Am A Number, Cult-ure: Ideas Can Be Dangerous, Logo a Gogo and Lifestyle Illustration of the ’50s. His comic strips have been collected in Yesterday’s Tomorrows and Tales from Beyond Science, and his burlesque portraits in Soho Dives, Soho Divas.
Summary
'The equivalent of London’s brand-new Elizabeth line . . . vast, shiny and very, very deep' - The Times, ‘Best Summer Reads’
‘Utterly unique . . . A masterpiece’ - The Daily Mail
‘Stunning . . . Brilliantly original’ - The Guardian
London is built from concrete, steel and the creative urge.
Old technology gives way to the new. Progress is inevitable - but is it more fragile than its inhabitants realise?
A strange anomaly is uncovered in the new top-secret Crossrail extension being built under Buckingham Palace. It is an archeological puzzle, one that may transform our understanding of history - and the origins of London itself.
And if our modern world falls, we may have to turn to the technology of the past in order to save our future.
Foreword
A brilliantly original novel of literary SF from the acclaimed author of XX, The Black Locomotive weaves steam trains, the history and architecture of London, and a mysterious alien artefact below the city into a work of stunning inventiveness and originality.
Additional text
Hughes is an undeniably unique wordsmith . . . [The Black Locomotive] manages to communicate an excited and passionate vision while holding fast to a nostalgic affinity that warms the bones of any would-be industrial revolutionary.
