Illuminations: Stories
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alan Moore
- ISBN：1526643162
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Summary
In his first-ever short story collection， which spans forty years of work， Alan Moore presents a series of wildly different and equally unforgettable characters who discover--and in some cases even make and unmake--the various uncharted parts of existence。
In "A Hypothetical Lizard，" two concubines in a brothel of fantastical specialists fall in love with tragic ramifications。 In "Not Even Legend，" a paranormal study group is infiltrated by one of the otherworldly beings they seek to investigate。 In "Illuminations，" a nostalgic older man decides to visit a seaside resort from his youth and finds the past all too close at hand。 And in the monumental novella "What We Can Know About Thunderman，" which charts the surreal and Kafkaesque history of the comics industry's major players over the last seventy-five years， Moore reveals the dark， beating heart of the superhero business。
From ghosts and otherworldly creatures to theoretical Boltzmann brains fashioning the universe at the big bang， Illuminations is exactly that--a series of bright， startling tales from a contemporary legend that reveal the full power of imagination and magic。
In "A Hypothetical Lizard，" two concubines in a brothel of fantastical specialists fall in love with tragic ramifications。 In "Not Even Legend，" a paranormal study group is infiltrated by one of the otherworldly beings they seek to investigate。 In "Illuminations，" a nostalgic older man decides to visit a seaside resort from his youth and finds the past all too close at hand。 And in the monumental novella "What We Can Know About Thunderman，" which charts the surreal and Kafkaesque history of the comics industry's major players over the last seventy-five years， Moore reveals the dark， beating heart of the superhero business。
From ghosts and otherworldly creatures to theoretical Boltzmann brains fashioning the universe at the big bang， Illuminations is exactly that--a series of bright， startling tales from a contemporary legend that reveal the full power of imagination and magic。
Reviews
John Pistelli
，
Please read my complete review here。 A sample:Well， this is a strange book。 Billed as a collection of "stories，" Illuminations is， rather， as Neil Gaiman concedes on his back cover blurb， "a sort of camouflage， or frame" for What We Can Know About Thunderman—which， at 240 pages of a 450-page book， is not a story or even a novella but a full-length novel。 Gaiman describes it as "a scabrous， monstrous， often hilarious unmasking and reinvention of the people who made the comics， and the lives destr Please read my complete review here。 A sample:Well， this is a strange book。 Billed as a collection of "stories，" Illuminations is， rather， as Neil Gaiman concedes on his back cover blurb， "a sort of camouflage， or frame" for What We Can Know About Thunderman—which， at 240 pages of a 450-page book， is not a story or even a novella but a full-length novel。 Gaiman describes it as "a scabrous， monstrous， often hilarious unmasking and reinvention of the people who made the comics， and the lives destroyed by the four-color funnies。"With that in mind， I will be focusing in what follows on Thunderman。 As for the rest of the book， it opens with "Hypothetical Lizard。" Formerly "A Hypothetical Lizard"—note the article—this is Moore's first published piece of long-form fictional prose， initially printed in 1988 as part of an anthology set in a fantasy world shared among a number of speculative-fiction writers。 Ahead of its time in its sociopolitical concerns， it narrates the slow sexual doom of two prostitutes—one of them transgender， one with a severed corpus callusum—in a fantastical brothel catering to magicians。 I read it once before and confess I didn't reread it in Illuminations; perhaps illustrating Moore's limits， Anthony Johnston's mid-2000s comics adaptation， which I prefer to the story proper， mutes its ornate verbosity and clarifies its central conflict。 The rest of the stories in Illuminations， written more recently， appear mostly to be fantastical inventions—there is a rationalist twist on the ghost story， a time paradox tale about a paranormal society， a Beat poem with fictive annotations à la Pale Fire， and more—and I'm sure I'll pay them all the attention they deserve someday; but today， with controversy raging over Moore's bitter farewell to comic books and his claim that the superhero genre is inherently a fascist one， I would like to examine What We Can Know About Thunderman in detail。Superhero fandoms of both the political right and the political left now enjoy a rare moment of unity in summarily rejecting Moore's fascism thesis， while observers point out that Moore has been claiming this for years—since， in fact， his earliest works in the genre， Miracleman and Watchmen。 Writer Zack Budryk virally Tweets， for example，Every couple years Alan Moore， a man whose best-known work is about how superheroes are fascist， pops his head up to confirm that's something he believes， and people conclude he went crazy in his old age Like saying Romeo and Juliet warns against immoderate eros or Fight Club censures masculinity， this clever argument only persuades if the best way to read a work of literature is to discard its dominant affect as so much tinsel and regard only its overt rhetorical self-justification as its sole legitimate meaning。 But as I hope I have shown exhaustively in my past writings on Moore， his greatest graphic novels in and out of the superhero genre can hardly get their narratives started without Moore's investiture of generative man-gods， fascist perverts， and misogynist murderers with visionary authority， no matter what bien-pensant self-congratulation he blathers to the credulous readers of Guardian。 In the course of pursuing an only superficial anti-fascist polemic， Moore's superheroes are more fascist than anything you'd have found in the same period in the average Marvel or DC Comic。This ambiguity need not trouble us， either。 Only pop-culture fandoms insist that their objects of aesthetic interest must possess political and ethical rectitude。 High culture in modernity understands its role differently—as a repository for all that enlightenment represses。 But Moore， from the depths of the English working class， has always aimed his ambition at the attainment of high culture。 His punishment for this desire， should he achieve it， will be to leave behind， down in the Marvel Bullpen， the merely conflicted liberalisms of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the much more exalted slopes of Parnassus， where figures as troubling （and as obsessed with heroism） as Blake， Nietzsche， and Yeats will tell him what Walter Benjamin long ago told us all: "There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism。"Is this knowledge， however， included in What We Can Know About Thunderman？ Insufficiently， as I will show。 Read more。。。 。。。more
Scott West
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I manage the Leisure Reading Collection in our academic library。 Here is a review submitted for this book:Incredible journey through short stories that walk the edge of satire and socio-economical politics in society while putting the reader's mind on the edge of the seat with twists and turns in plots。 One story deals with the observer nearly silently watching lovers as they deal with their place in a relationship。 One deals with the haunting of items。 One deals with journeys of the beatniks。 I I manage the Leisure Reading Collection in our academic library。 Here is a review submitted for this book:Incredible journey through short stories that walk the edge of satire and socio-economical politics in society while putting the reader's mind on the edge of the seat with twists and turns in plots。 One story deals with the observer nearly silently watching lovers as they deal with their place in a relationship。 One deals with the haunting of items。 One deals with journeys of the beatniks。 It's a wonderful ride with each story setting the scene for another adventure into twists and turns。 Anyone familiar with Watchmen or any of his other works will most likely be drawn in and delighted by dark dives into the souls of each character presented。 Submitted by Tanya Ellenburg-Kimmet 。。。more
Rusha
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3。5 stars。 Conceptually lush but the execution is a bit wobbly。 Although Moore’s imagination is insanely fertile — there’s hints of Gaiman and even Borges here — almost every story in this collection is overwritten。 Moore’s fondness for endlessly calling back， for shoehorning in quips and zingers that do not advance the story in any way， disrupted the flow of the narrative for me。 That said， the Thunderman novella is a knockout — a spot on commentary about the way capitalism has corrupted publis 3。5 stars。 Conceptually lush but the execution is a bit wobbly。 Although Moore’s imagination is insanely fertile — there’s hints of Gaiman and even Borges here — almost every story in this collection is overwritten。 Moore’s fondness for endlessly calling back， for shoehorning in quips and zingers that do not advance the story in any way， disrupted the flow of the narrative for me。 That said， the Thunderman novella is a knockout — a spot on commentary about the way capitalism has corrupted publishing， smoothing culture into soulless， meaningless simulacra。This was an enjoyable collection; I just wish that Moore had been more willing to kill his darlings and had submitted to more rigorous editing。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA for an advanced copy of this collection of short stories and one novella by the incomparable Alan Moore。As I long time comic book reader I would like to brag that I first read Alan Moore in Swamp Thing， being an American I had no idea that Britain even had comic books at the time， however I would be lying。 Swamp Thing even though it had a movie was too close to Man-Thing over at Marvel， and neither had any appeal。 I am sure it was in V My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA for an advanced copy of this collection of short stories and one novella by the incomparable Alan Moore。As I long time comic book reader I would like to brag that I first read Alan Moore in Swamp Thing， being an American I had no idea that Britain even had comic books at the time， however I would be lying。 Swamp Thing even though it had a movie was too close to Man-Thing over at Marvel， and neither had any appeal。 I am sure it was in Vigilante， more famous now for his appearance in the DC show Peacemaker， that I read him， and I don't think I was impressed。 Too much talking， not enough shooting。 However Watchman made me take notice， and annoyed me when the art was delaying the final issues。 The story， the art， the words， the panels。 Somehow I thought everything would change， and Alan Moore would be at the forefront of it。 I was wrong， and Alan Moore was forced away from comics due to greed from corporate， and pride from the author。 This is why I was excited to read this new collection Illuminations， a collection of short stories from one of my favorite writers。This book contains nine stories from short about to novella length encompassing about 40 years of writing， but most it seems from this century。 The earliest and oddest is Hypothetical Lizard， about a brothel for people of magic and two friends who work for it。 This story still has that craziness in the writing that Moore has learned to control over the years， the sheer I can't believe what is coming out of my pen， oh look out I have a lot more。 The longest is a piece on comics， their creators and history What We Can Know About The Thunderman， which covers a lot of different themes， and is based on real creators and real events。 Plus the usual collection of ghosts， aliens， Twilight Zone- seeming stories all written with that Alan Moore uniqueness。The writing is always excellent， words that you don't expect to fit suddenly appearing in dialogue that sounds so apt and perfect it is a wonder that no one ever thought about it before。 Bits of magic and magik， a hint of the supernatural， and the sadness of being all too human。 Some stories seem too short， but that is probably the selfish reader in me。 A few the story about Jesus， and the simple story of a cryptid club， with a strange observer hit me and made me think about alot of things other than the story， And that is a good thing。 The long story about comics， might be a little too inside baseball for some people， a lot of history and lore is mentioned in it， about real people and real events， but still even a little Wikipedia should clear that up。 A strong collection of stories， that flit and flirt with a lot of different themes and ideas。 A standout collection from a person who always put the most effort into writing stories that made a reader think， sometimes learn， sometimes to feel even a certain amount of disgust。 Moore wrote one of the greatest stories about Superman ever， and to think that corporate avarice keeps us from enjoying his works in comic form are sad。 However we can still enjoy his short stories， and his novel Jerusalem is one of the best novels I have ever read。 For fans of his comic work， and for fans of great writing and great ideas。 。。。more
Brittanica Bold
，
Question for you: what was the first graphic novel or comic book you read？ Mine， fortunately or unfortunately depending on the way you look at it， was Watchmen。 I remember sitting in my high school boyfriend’s bedroom， perusing his bookshelf， when something about that bloody smiley face just called to me。 Jumping from that to V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen， it was established: I was a complete and total Moore Whore。That’s why I completely freaked out when I got my newes Question for you: what was the first graphic novel or comic book you read？ Mine， fortunately or unfortunately depending on the way you look at it， was Watchmen。 I remember sitting in my high school boyfriend’s bedroom， perusing his bookshelf， when something about that bloody smiley face just called to me。 Jumping from that to V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen， it was established: I was a complete and total Moore Whore。That’s why I completely freaked out when I got my newest ARC from the man， the mystical， the legend！ *My review below is based on the first 7 books in this collection Hypothetical Lizard （46 pages） – 4 starsAlan Moore has a way of weaving medical horrors grounded in Sci-Fi into everyday life in a way that is disturbing and completely unforgettable。In Hypothetical Lizard， we meet our FMC， Som-Som， who is a Whore of Sorcerers at the House Without Clocks， which is basically a brothel dealing with exceptional requests。 Som-Som was brought to the brothel and sold by her mother before having undergone a procedure where the connection between the two hemispheres of her brain were severed。 A mask was placed over half her face， and a thick glove was installed on her hand。 All of this acted to destroy the connections between her ability to intake things and output others in response （her thoughts and actions do not matchup）。 Essentially， she can see and hear， but any response is a non sequitur。 This makes her perfect to be the Whore of Sorcerers， who apparently can’t be trusted to keep their mouths’ quiet during the act…While this background is given， the story really focuses on Som-Som’s transexual friend Rawra Chin and her abusive partner Foral Yatt。 We watch Rawra go from this courageous individual who leaves the House Without Clocks seeking （and finding） success， only to come back for love and be reminded of why no one can be trusted， especially with a smile like his。 Side note: I just read Moore’s Fashion Beast and I definitely got the feeling these were written around the same time in his career。 If you enjoyed the overall feel of that one， you’ll love this one！ Not Even Legend （15 pages） – 3 starsThis short was obviously more current than the last， given there was the reference to COVID， but also because of Moore’s more modern style of writing。 While this story still had his elements of sci-fi and general what-the-fuck-is-going-on -ness， it was definitely less chaotic and intellectual than his normal writing style。 I loved the ideas of what was happening in this story （different alien lifeforms and whatnot）， but I’m not sure I loved it as a Moore story。 I also felt this should have been much longer。 I would read more of this though， as I feel it has potential （uuugggghhhhh and now I just feel pretentious saying that about Alan Fucking Moore！ Who SAYS that！？！？） Location， Location， Location （35 pages） - 5 starsJesus is inheriting the family business and it’s fantastic！ I loved this one the most given it was quick， it was cerebral， and it brought that beautiful sexual undertone that Moore has to the surface， complete with a cinnamon-roll Jez。 This one had me feeling all kinds of things （I should mention that my sexual awakening came from the hands of Alan Moore in the form of Black Dossier， because， you know， I’m not a big enough nerd as it is…）。 I loved the ending， where， if I’m interpreting correctly， she was led into the Garden of Eden hungry。 I do not know why this spelled out the perfect set up for reverse harem Jesus-Devil-Angie scenario， but now I， someone who does not like sharing， need this devil’s threeway in my life！！！ Cold Reading （17 pages） – 5 starsAn “opportunistic” medium gets more than he bargained for in this ghastly tale！This was witty， character-driven， and a sure start to a horror novel that I would push everything in my life away to read。 Moore’s ability to take common， reality-based fears and turn them into something disconcerting is one of my favorite talents of his。 For real though， what’s scarier than something that could happen？ Ghosts， aliens， and unknowns？ Something about these subjects gets me a little more on the edge of my seat than the definite non-realities of zombies， vampires， etc。 And， boy， does he craft them well。Also， his ability to develop a character and his/her traits within minutes of reading is so good and probably the reason I refuse to like stories with characters reminiscent of cardboard。 I’ve been spoiled as a Moore Whore， thus I have standards… The Improbably Complex High-Energy State （37 pages） – 5 starsI found this story to be peak Moore: full of scientific processes that tickle your cerebral cortex while normalizing sex。The best way to describe this one is the evolution of a being， starting from nothing and eventually falling into the normal pitfalls of arrogance， judgment， and yearning for omnipotence。 Definitely not lite reading， but definitely interesting。 Illuminations （17 pages） – 2 starsThe titular short left a lot to be desired for me。 I can’t even fully articulate what the hell this was about， other than a man having a mid-life crisis and never coming back from it。 This draaaagged hardcore for me。 What We Can Know About Thunderman （241 pages） – 4 starsThis story， which takes up a majority of the total page count， shows an interesting set of interconnected lives belonging to persons in the comic industry。 I liked the shifting of timelines and perspectives in this。 It definitely had a very Pulp Fiction feel to me， which is always a plus。 It had death， murder， pornography， Americana， and pop culture。 This definitely also had Moore’s feelings towards movies never being able to live up to the comic books they try to recreate expressed， which was cool to see。 Overall， I feel I would have enjoyed this better if I had any idea who these people were supposed to represent or knew more about the comic book industry itself， but it was still a fun， easy read。 Final （Average） Rating: 4 stars！Thank you to NetGalley， Bloomsbury Publishing， and Alan Moore for this book in exchange for my honest review！ 。。。more
Paul
，
Moore has a great reputation， and has been writing for a long time。 So， this will likely sell well， and be highly rated。 There are a lot of good stories here， along with a nice variety of kinds of stories and topics。 Thanks very much for the free ARC for review！！
Jennifer
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Wonderful captivating stories that keep your imagination engaged through every one of them。
TC Wildstar
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Incredible journey through short stories that walk the edge of satire and socio-economical politics in society while putting the reader's mind on the edge of the seat with twists and turns in plots。 One story deals with the observer nearly silently watching lovers as they deal with their place in a relationship。 One deals with the haunting of items。 One deals with journeys of the beatniks。 It's a wonderful ride with each story setting the scene for another adventure into twists and turns。 Anyone Incredible journey through short stories that walk the edge of satire and socio-economical politics in society while putting the reader's mind on the edge of the seat with twists and turns in plots。 One story deals with the observer nearly silently watching lovers as they deal with their place in a relationship。 One deals with the haunting of items。 One deals with journeys of the beatniks。 It's a wonderful ride with each story setting the scene for another adventure into twists and turns。 Anyone familiar with Watchmen or any of his other works will most likely be drawn in and delighted by dark dives into the souls of each character presented。 。。。more
Matthew Hockey
，
Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury for giving me an extract in exchange for a fair review。 As its an extract I can't in good faith give it a full rating at the moment but I have pre-ordered the hardback so will get to it the moment it arrives。 The first story 'Cold Reading' was well-written on a nuts-and-bolts prose level， with the sentences flowing together smoothly。 This being Alan Moore the POV character is so well-realised I felt I knew everything there was to know about them just from a few br Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury for giving me an extract in exchange for a fair review。 As its an extract I can't in good faith give it a full rating at the moment but I have pre-ordered the hardback so will get to it the moment it arrives。 The first story 'Cold Reading' was well-written on a nuts-and-bolts prose level， with the sentences flowing together smoothly。 This being Alan Moore the POV character is so well-realised I felt I knew everything there was to know about them just from a few brilliantly chosen words and phrases。 The only thing that let it down was the generic horror/ghost story it was attached to。 I feel that I have seen this exact story in every ghostly/paranormal story anthology I've ever read。 I knew exactly where it was going almost from the outset。 Well written but uninspired。 However the next story 'The Improbably Complex High-Energy State'。 Now we're talking！ Imagine if you will that Philip K。 Dick's mad rambling about Stanislaw Lem being a pseudonym for a group of other writers was in fact true。。。 now imagine the Soviet council in charge of Lem's output allowed Kurt Vonnegut a turn at the wheel。 This is the story he would have produced。 Funny， obscene and downright odd。 I loved it。 Can't wait for the full thing。 。。。more
Emile Swindol
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In Illuminations， the ever fantastic Alan Moore presents us with a tantalizing tapestry of stories providing a window into his extraordinary mind yet leaving us in this outing to create page-turning images for ourselves as his flowing prose unfolds。 From an unsuspecting solicitor experiencing Armageddon to contrasting memories of a childhood so fondly remembered with a present so devoid of that which made earlier years so joyous， we are presented with myriad twists and turns from a man who exper In Illuminations， the ever fantastic Alan Moore presents us with a tantalizing tapestry of stories providing a window into his extraordinary mind yet leaving us in this outing to create page-turning images for ourselves as his flowing prose unfolds。 From an unsuspecting solicitor experiencing Armageddon to contrasting memories of a childhood so fondly remembered with a present so devoid of that which made earlier years so joyous， we are presented with myriad twists and turns from a man who expertly delivers exactly as a fan would expect while remaining perfectly accessible to those new to his work。 A thoroughly enjoyable and varied read from one of the worlds great storytellers。 。。。more
Kim Lockhart
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Alan Moore presents enigmatic， enchanted， and superbly-crafted tales。 The style is surreal and slippery， yet elegant。 These stories strain against invisible resistance， creating incredible atmospheric tension。 The first story in particular， pours out a languorous sensuousness almost too excruciating to bear。 It is impossible， however， to lean into that languid mood， because something dangerous and tightly coiled lies below the surface， waiting。 In addition to an often dangerous undercurrent， ano Alan Moore presents enigmatic， enchanted， and superbly-crafted tales。 The style is surreal and slippery， yet elegant。 These stories strain against invisible resistance， creating incredible atmospheric tension。 The first story in particular， pours out a languorous sensuousness almost too excruciating to bear。 It is impossible， however， to lean into that languid mood， because something dangerous and tightly coiled lies below the surface， waiting。 In addition to an often dangerous undercurrent， another theme is the notion that no one can be trusted。 Some plots are sardonic dissections of pretense， exposés of the subterfuge hiding behind the social contract。 Those include the most genuine humor。 Honestly， stories of the paranormal and supernatural activities are not usually this funny。 The rest lean more towards psychological horror: an autopsy of the failed experiment of human existence。 The tone is not always bleak， but it is always incisive。 Moving to the strange and hypnotic， roughly half the collection is concerned with the unreliable definers of history， the dangers of grudges， and the perils of tightly-held nostalgia。 There is even an absolutely perfect parody of self-important literature， especially outlandishly bad poetry， a thing to treasure and behold in its impenetrable glory。Finally， it is clear that no one but Alan Moore could have proffered such demonstrably vertiginous offerings。 This collection is a mind-reeling triumph。Thank you to Bloomsbury and #NetGalley for providing an uncorrected digital galley for early review。 。。。more
Kevin Halter
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Illumination by Alan Moore is a short story collection that spans multiple years， genres and themes。As with most story collections I found that I liked some of the stories but found others not as enjoyable。 I found Not Even Legend， and What We Can Know About Thunderman to be two of the better stories while Hypothetical Lizard was a little bizarre and long for my tastes。One of the things apparent in the book though is Alan Moore's skill with words and a turn of phrase。 I may not always enjoy what Illumination by Alan Moore is a short story collection that spans multiple years， genres and themes。As with most story collections I found that I liked some of the stories but found others not as enjoyable。 I found Not Even Legend， and What We Can Know About Thunderman to be two of the better stories while Hypothetical Lizard was a little bizarre and long for my tastes。One of the things apparent in the book though is Alan Moore's skill with words and a turn of phrase。 I may not always enjoy what he writes but he writes it really well。If you are familiar with Alan Moore's writing and enjoy it， this book will be a treat， if you've never read his work before or are only familiar with his super hero work this book will be an eye opener。 Thank you to #NetGalley， #BloomsburyPublishing， and Alan Moore for the ARC of #Illuminations。 。。。more
Tony S
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So I have read an early extract of this book and for me Moore does not disappoint。 Having been a fan of Alan Moore and his writing for many years I was intrigued by the idea of a set of short stories。Some stories worked better than others and as usual some are very deep and thought provoking。 I am looking forward to reading the whole book when it is out。
B。
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I received an ARC of this one from the publisher。 The short stories are pretty representative of Moore's approach to storytelling， which makes it a lot of fun to read。 The stories are of varying lengths， and while I enjoyed reading them， as a whole， because I do enjoy Moore's work， coming back to this now， a few days later， I can't think of one story that stands out over the others。 Those who enjoy short stories， and those who have enjoyed Moore's past work will enjoy this one。 I received an ARC of this one from the publisher。 The short stories are pretty representative of Moore's approach to storytelling， which makes it a lot of fun to read。 The stories are of varying lengths， and while I enjoyed reading them， as a whole， because I do enjoy Moore's work， coming back to this now， a few days later， I can't think of one story that stands out over the others。 Those who enjoy short stories， and those who have enjoyed Moore's past work will enjoy this one。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Illuminations: Stories
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Illuminations: Stories&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft