Fiction

The Black Locomotive

The Black Locomotive

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-09 08:51:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Rian Hughes
  • ISBN：1529074460
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Chris ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The SSR， what's not to like。 The SSR， what's not to like。 。。。more

Zoe Vicarage ，

This was a refreshing novel to dive into that really captured my imagination。 The way Hughes uses not just written prose but design elements to tell the story is simply superb。 That the novel was set in London and focussed on the recently opened Crossrail route was something that had me captivated even more。

Jazza1971 ，

A beautiful book and a great read。 It will live long in the memory。

Stuart Jordan ，

Abandoned。 Slow， too slow。

Jenny Bristle ，

A graphic novel， graphic in both words and illustrations， that better than most shows what it is like to encounter truly alien minds。 Fascinating。

Kimberly Hanrahan-havern ，

Will there be a sequel？？？？

Alex Sarll ，

The team working on the secret Crossrail spur to Buckingham Palace run into something which doesn't make any sense。 Soon， London is without power and descending into anarchy， and only an old trainspotters' urban myth can save the day。。。 It's a pitch which could equally suggest a right old load of self-published bollocks， but the key thing is that this is by Rian Hughes， best known as an artist and then a designer， who has made of the book both a beautiful object， and one whose style reinforces i The team working on the secret Crossrail spur to Buckingham Palace run into something which doesn't make any sense。 Soon， London is without power and descending into anarchy， and only an old trainspotters' urban myth can save the day。。。 It's a pitch which could equally suggest a right old load of self-published bollocks， but the key thing is that this is by Rian Hughes， best known as an artist and then a designer， who has made of the book both a beautiful object， and one whose style reinforces its substance at every turn， right down to each point of view character having their own carefully selected typeface and to some extent their own genre。 The artist in residence， for instance， obsessed with concrete， determined to be "the idealised compliant automaton" envisaged by the designers of his run-down tower block: he's pure Ballard。 But between the book design's complicity in the unfolding narrative， and the big dumb object become far more sinister for turning up so close to home， instead of safely out in space， the obvious reference point for the overarching effect is House Of Leaves - at least， until things twist again， and we end up closer to a genre classic I won't name for fear of spoiling the surprise。 And Hughes can write， the various styles jostling and interlocking， so that the lonely leader of the engineering team flashes back to a boyhood dream of joining "those other greats of English literature - Shakespeare， Milton， Patrick Moore and Richard Allen" even as the artist spirals into visions of urban trees emaciated because the streetlights won't let them sleep。 It's not flawless， by any means: for a book so defined by particularity， interspersed with sample sheets， it's unfortunate that Hughes appears to have conflated two Box Hills which are a hundred miles apart。 The operation of the blackout is wildly inconsistent， and there's one absolutely beautiful rush of prose when a character touches the mind of London which doesn't really make sense in context given London is at that point shut down。 All the same， it is remarkable。 I'm only sorry that it can never be the most outlandishly fantastical tale told about Crossrail， which remains the one where it's going to be a wonderful addition to London's transport network any day now。 。。。more

Chris Greensmith ，

"Its way past time I retired。 The scrap-dealer in the sky will call for me soon。 Will you step up to the plate？" "Its way past time I retired。 The scrap-dealer in the sky will call for me soon。 Will you step up to the plate？" 。。。more

Lynsey Walker ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A high 4 star， just pushing， but not quite making， a 5。WHAT ON EARTH！！！ WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON！？？！？！ THIS BOOK！ THIS BOOK IS MADDNESS！ MADDNESS I TELL YOU！I LOVEDITMy word that was something completely different。 And by different， I mean to any book I have ever seen， let alone read。 I’m not really sure where to start with this review as my brain is still recovering from the wringing out it has just received but I shall endeavour to try。This book is a must read for anyone that likes Sci-Fi， tr A high 4 star， just pushing， but not quite making， a 5。WHAT ON EARTH！！！ WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON！？？！？！ THIS BOOK！ THIS BOOK IS MADDNESS！ MADDNESS I TELL YOU！I LOVEDITMy word that was something completely different。 And by different， I mean to any book I have ever seen， let alone read。 I’m not really sure where to start with this review as my brain is still recovering from the wringing out it has just received but I shall endeavour to try。This book is a must read for anyone that likes Sci-Fi， trains， London and architecture。 Or just enjoys a good mind twisting read。 I won’t go on about the different types of fonts and design used as it seems every other reviewer has done this better than I could， but I will say as someone who is forced to work in the construction industry， I did enjoy the CAD drawings and in-depth discussions on architectural detail。 Mr Hughes is a man who knows his architectural stuff。I went into this story expecting it to be basically a retelling of Quatermass and the Pit; but apart from the general likeness of a big fuck off spacecraft being found under London whilst extending a transport tunnel it is very， very， different。 This is a story about London， about the otherworldly origins of London， of technology and of what happens when technology fails。The parts in the book where London goes bonkers after the electricity has given out made me feel sick as that could oh so easily happen。 It was far to real for my liking and as a Londoner it turned my stomach。Bravo for that though。The sections where the spacecraft was telling its story actually hurt my mind， time travel interdimensional stuff is not something I understand， and this was a deep dive into the idea。 But my god to have thought up this part of the story is astonishing， and I did not see this coming at all。 I just expected a neat little story about aliens landing on earth and chilling out。 This was a lot more subtle and fabulously done。 Appreciate the nod to the sun God Ra here to。Speaking of things， I didn’t see coming…The end。The end。WHERE LONDON FUCKING TAKES OFF AND ORBITS THE EARTH！I must have stared at the page for about 5 minutes taking that little nugget it。 My god that blindsided me but my god it was great。 But where do we go from here？ And what will happen to the rest of England now there is a big London shaped hole in it？ I feel we need a sequel。I didn’t particularly like or relate to any of the characters， but they were all real， the kind of people that actually populate London here and now。 I did however nearly shed a tear when the Black Locomotive met it’s end in the bowels of London。 The section with the train speeding to save London was epic and my heart was actually racing along with the engine。Fabulous writing。A fabulous imagination。Truly， there is nothing else out there quite like this for you to read。 。。。more

Ari Stillman ，

To thoroughly enjoy this book requires an appreciation for both geometric shapes and the industrial minutiae of train operations。 Without these， the book drones on – and even then， the purpose of such attention to detail never fully materializes。。。 adding character without a point where it matters。 Unfortunately， the architectural illustrations， which I found intriguing at first， don't complement the writing much either。 Several major plot points are glossed over， as the reader is left to believ To thoroughly enjoy this book requires an appreciation for both geometric shapes and the industrial minutiae of train operations。 Without these， the book drones on – and even then， the purpose of such attention to detail never fully materializes。。。 adding character without a point where it matters。 Unfortunately， the architectural illustrations， which I found intriguing at first， don't complement the writing much either。 Several major plot points are glossed over， as the reader is left to believe certain characters are willing to take existential risks without due motivation。 Almost in the Vonnegut style of Cat's Cradle， the science fiction elements are peppered throughout but don't fully come to bear on the story until the end。 This is a book that I was glad to be done reading。 。。。more

Evan Hammerman ，

Usually the sophomore effect isn’t as good as the first one。 And that’s true here。 But I only say that because “XX” was so truly amazingly mindblowing and unique， that only something even more incredible could top it。 This book strives for and achieves a Brutalist aesthetic， which I appreciated。 I can’t discuss anything about the plot。 It’s best to go into this book totally cold。 Definitely read this book。 And let me know what you think。 And read “XX” also。

Ronronia Adramelek ，

Como bonito， el libro es precioso。 Distintos tipos de letra para cada personaje， montones de diagramas。 Diseño gráfico a montón， máquinas de tren a vapor， una historia que engancha。。。 pero inacabada。 Es original， y mezcla la pasión por conocer el mundo tanto del ingeniero como del artista。 Pero final， lo que se dice final。。。 final no tiene， que es una jugada que me joroba infinito porque es algo tramposa， porque si no vas a cerrar una novela con un buen final， te puedes soltar el pelo lo que qui Como bonito， el libro es precioso。 Distintos tipos de letra para cada personaje， montones de diagramas。 Diseño gráfico a montón， máquinas de tren a vapor， una historia que engancha。。。 pero inacabada。 Es original， y mezcla la pasión por conocer el mundo tanto del ingeniero como del artista。 Pero final， lo que se dice final。。。 final no tiene， que es una jugada que me joroba infinito porque es algo tramposa， porque si no vas a cerrar una novela con un buen final， te puedes soltar el pelo lo que quieras por medio， abrir todos los melones que te apetezca， soltar todos los osos polares de Lost， sin obligación de luego darles coherencia。Vamos， que está acabando y te quedas ahí pensando ¿y ahora como arreglas esto， galán？ Y en lugar de un final te atiza dos páginas en blanco y unas cuantas más de análisis numérico del texto， que si tantas palabras， tantas frases， tantos personajes， tantas vocales y tanta po。。。， y más gráficos， que no sea por gráficos， pero final。。。 eso para qué。 。。。more

Arin ，

I really enjoyed a lot about this， but it felt short/rushed for all of the ideas and plots that were introduced in the story。

By Book and Bone （Sally） ，

Currently a dnf。Still hoping to finish it。 It just wasn't what I expected/wanted right now Currently a dnf。Still hoping to finish it。 It just wasn't what I expected/wanted right now 。。。more

adam unwin ，

A well written story， and the design of the book is impeccable， yet the story loses interest once it goes through and the ending felt rushed。 Enjoyed it all the same

Alice Cruickshank ，

Just beautiful， a mysterious， architectural poem。 Complete with diagrams of everything。

Matt Hunt ，

Loads of great ideas， well executed but so bits feel really overdone and other bits left half finished。 Enjoyable enough

Peter Doherty ，

This got five stars because it is simply superb。 After reading so many post apocalyptic novels this year， Rian Hughes encapsulates everything that personally excites me; steam engines， secret societies， crashed spaceships - oh and did I mention steam engines？ It also describes in wonderful detail the architecture of cities - here it is outer and inner London。 Great plot， wonderful pacing， marvellous characters， and a Black Locomotive。 Sci fi at its absolute best。

Dan Hart ，

Rian's second novel is much shorter than the first， coming in at a little over 1/3 the page count of XX。 It's a lot less intimidating！TBL is an urban fantasy， in a similar vein to Mieville's Kraken， with a touch of Boy's Own adventure。 It's a solid mystery with a mostly satisfying ending。 It does feel like there needs to be a sequel， which I will eagerly await。Rian's design shines through， as you'd expect， with artifacts he's created to be in-context remnants （including a 7" single via a QR Code Rian's second novel is much shorter than the first， coming in at a little over 1/3 the page count of XX。 It's a lot less intimidating！TBL is an urban fantasy， in a similar vein to Mieville's Kraken， with a touch of Boy's Own adventure。 It's a solid mystery with a mostly satisfying ending。 It does feel like there needs to be a sequel， which I will eagerly await。Rian's design shines through， as you'd expect， with artifacts he's created to be in-context remnants （including a 7" single via a QR Code！） and each chapter's PoV character having their own font。 。。。more

Aaron Lafond ，

🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

Tony Stacey ，

Not a sum of its partsReally slow at the beginning， but like the eponymous Black Locomotive it certainly picked up a head of steam in the last quarter。 The Rutherford asides and Box Hill sections were tiresome， as were the endless diagrams

Joshua Hoffert ，

This will be one of the novels that since finishing， I will randomly see something that reminds me of this story and think back about how great it is。 While this started out rooted in a familiar reality with some strangeness mixed in， once the chains are broken， this story literally takes off to blow your mind。 It's also a really introspective look at humans， our creativity， and how we've seemingly overengineered our planet。 At least that's what I got out of it。 This will be one of the novels that since finishing， I will randomly see something that reminds me of this story and think back about how great it is。 While this started out rooted in a familiar reality with some strangeness mixed in， once the chains are broken， this story literally takes off to blow your mind。 It's also a really introspective look at humans， our creativity， and how we've seemingly overengineered our planet。 At least that's what I got out of it。 。。。more

Mark Redman ，

The Black Locomotive is a visual feast for the eyes。 It is a magnificent genre mind-bending sci-fi story。 What captured my attention was the quirky characters and personalities within the story。 Interspersed throughout the book with design logos and artwork that elevates the background to the plot and overall story。 Leaving me feeling mesmerised by the experience。 The story feels like a homage to London， as it is centred around the building of the Crossrail tunnel extension。 As the discovery of The Black Locomotive is a visual feast for the eyes。 It is a magnificent genre mind-bending sci-fi story。 What captured my attention was the quirky characters and personalities within the story。 Interspersed throughout the book with design logos and artwork that elevates the background to the plot and overall story。 Leaving me feeling mesmerised by the experience。 The story feels like a homage to London， as it is centred around the building of the Crossrail tunnel extension。 As the discovery of a strange anomaly is uncovered under Buckingham Palace that has consequences for the city of London。 At first， the story feels like an archaeological puzzle， one that transforms our understanding of history - and the origins of London itself。 Interwoven throughout the story is the discovery of a Black Steam Locomotive。 As for the story and plot， It feels like a very linear story。 It unfolds in a very straightforward logical fashion。 This fused with the artwork was a visual experience， I enjoyed both the discovery of the Anomaly and the Black Locomotive storylines and how they came together towards the end。 I can't help but feel completely blown away by this book。 Both the story and artwork captured my attention。 Dare I say there could even be a sequel。 。。。more

Claudia ，

Rian Hughes' books are indeed unique; they do not resemble anything else I can think of。 This one makes no exception， although I think I should have read it later; it's too similar in concept as XX， and that's why it didn't blow me away like the first one did。 The plot is different， and here London seems to be the main character; it feels like an ode to the great city， its history and people。 The mix between old， current and future technologies makes a wonderful melange into the context of the s Rian Hughes' books are indeed unique; they do not resemble anything else I can think of。 This one makes no exception， although I think I should have read it later; it's too similar in concept as XX， and that's why it didn't blow me away like the first one did。 The plot is different， and here London seems to be the main character; it feels like an ode to the great city， its history and people。 The mix between old， current and future technologies makes a wonderful melange into the context of the story。 However， the ending left me with a lot of questions， which I don't think will be answered soon。 Like XX， its essence does not reside only in the story - different fonts for different characters， various designs， blueprints， old magazines are scattered throghout the pages as companions of the narrative。 If you did not read XX， this one will be mindblowing。 If you did， better let some time pass before starting it， to enjoy it to the fullest。 。。。more

Missy （myweereads） ，

“We designed them - but did our environment also design us？”Once again Rian Hughes brings us a novel which is not quite like something I have read before。The Black Locomotive is set in a world underneath the London that is well known to us。 Through the vision of architecture， design， ad technology this story merges the past and present in a unique story that begins with the discovery of a strange anomaly。 It is found underneath a secret Crossrail extension being built underneath Buckingham Palac “We designed them - but did our environment also design us？”Once again Rian Hughes brings us a novel which is not quite like something I have read before。The Black Locomotive is set in a world underneath the London that is well known to us。 Through the vision of architecture， design， ad technology this story merges the past and present in a unique story that begins with the discovery of a strange anomaly。 It is found underneath a secret Crossrail extension being built underneath Buckingham Palace。 The more its investigate the more it becomes clear that before London came to be there was something else here and what does this mean for our future？Right there I was intrigued as to how this story was going to unfold。 There are distinctive characters who we are introduced to that play vital roles in answering these questions and some unexpected mysteries are solved along the way。What makes this book stand out is the design work。 Instantly its beautiful to look at from its all black aesthetic and intricately detailed graphics amongst the pages。 Whats more is that the author chose to assign specific fonts to each character making it easier to tell who was who which can sometimes become confusing if the novel has many characters。 Not just that we are given another QR code which links to a specific song which is important to a particular aspect of the story。All in all I enjoyed this novel a lot。 It is a feast for fans of Sci-Fi， trains and design。 Much like the authors previous novel XX， A Novel Graphic， The Black Locomotive is unique in design with its story and appearance。 。。。more

Katherine ，

RTCGifted by Black Crow for review

Paige ，

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Rian Hughe's books are hard to describe using words。 They're beautiful， weird， unsettling， GORGEOUS and unlike anything I have ever come across。 You have to get hard copies of Hughe's work because reading it is an experience and you need to really see the design to understand that。 This is a book about architecture， technology， and what feels like a healthy dose of believable conspiracy theory。 Trust me it works so well， I stayed u I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Rian Hughe's books are hard to describe using words。 They're beautiful， weird， unsettling， GORGEOUS and unlike anything I have ever come across。 You have to get hard copies of Hughe's work because reading it is an experience and you need to really see the design to understand that。 This is a book about architecture， technology， and what feels like a healthy dose of believable conspiracy theory。 Trust me it works so well， I stayed up well into the night to finish this book as I just couldn't stop reading。 There was a point in the book where parts just felt like they could be completely real and true and I found myself thinking that I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to actually be a real thing。 It's hard to talk about The Black Locomotive without heading into spoiler territory。 I firmly believe that you should go into this book knowing as little as possible。 Hughes hurtles you through the plot， using differing PoV to give new angles and perspectives。 It never slows down and there's a whole section involving a steam train that really ramps up the pace and gets your blood pumping。 Not only does this book contain some gorgeous imagery and illustrations but Hughes uses different fonts for each character。 Not only do you get a sense of personality through the writing but you get an extra layer through the fonts that Hughes has chosen。 There is nothing in this book that isn't there for a very good reason， and that each marking isn't random。 It makes you appreciate everything just that little bit more。 The plot of The Black Locomotive is less dense than XX （which you should also read）， but it doesn't make it any less incredible。 I still found myself completely pulled in and awestruck by parts of this book。 I wished this book was longer。 It ended just at the moment where I wanted more。 The plot just hits what could be the start of another act and then it's over！ I respect Hughes' decision here because it works but I have a hope that maybe we'll get another book to explore what happens after this one。 I felt like it wasn't quite over。 Secret societies， archaeology and a dose of sci-fi。 That's just part of what you're getting in The Black Locomotive。 Buy it， read it， display it and love it。 That's my recommendation。 。。。more

Alex Jones ，

Like nothing I have ever read before and I’m not just saying that。 This absolutely magnificent mind bending read by Rian Hughes is something to behold both in the physical book and the story itself。Something of an Ode to London and all its history and glory and the wonderful steam trains of yesteryear， this frantic and completely crazy science fiction was a joy。With pages of different styles and quirky characters to the fantastic artwork。 It’s a book I would never have though to read let alone b Like nothing I have ever read before and I’m not just saying that。 This absolutely magnificent mind bending read by Rian Hughes is something to behold both in the physical book and the story itself。Something of an Ode to London and all its history and glory and the wonderful steam trains of yesteryear， this frantic and completely crazy science fiction was a joy。With pages of different styles and quirky characters to the fantastic artwork。 It’s a book I would never have though to read let alone be so blown away by。Truly brilliant， London， it’s architecture and it’s beating heart laid bare。 A graphic novel that tells a modern and up to date tale and an exploration of the world we live in。Superb 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Black Locomotive

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Black Locomotive&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Black Locomotive&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0