Reviews

The Black Locomotive by Rian Hughes

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zobiwanvicai's review against another edition

4.0

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.

jerrypants's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

3.5

jmahoneymusic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious medium-paced

3.75

gotossmycausticsalad's review

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5.0

So very peculiar. There were points in the plot where my inner cringe cop was saying this is stupid, but it didn't really matter? By that point the novel was pulling me along so breathlessly it was like yes, and so what?
I've seen it called a love letter to London a few times and that is absolutely spot on. This book made me miss it viscerally.

A bit confused at to whether this is a two parter or just an open ended novel. I assumed the former, but other reviews are treating it like the latter.

thescienceofcurls's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

rosekk's review against another edition

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4.0

The use of graphics to enhance the story works well here. Most of them aren't really illustrations - few of them actually represent something in the story. Instead they're more there for the feel, and to add context. Occasionally they're funny, and add a twist of humour on top of the text. I appreciate it.

I enjoyed the story itself as well, although it had its flaws. The characters all felt distinct, and I felt like I never came to properly understand any of them (to varying degrees). I think this was a deliberate part of the style rather than a failing. It seemed as though the characters were supposed to be like people you meet, and might understand sides of, but never know inside out. All the same, this meant I wasn't quite so invested in the characters or what became of them.

The setting(s) were far more intricately characterized. The focus on space seemed intended to meditate on the impact of architecture on people, and the relationship between spaces and minds (and, from there, between different minds which can only know each other through external contact).

The plot was the weakest element of the whole package. It followed a fairly linear path, and ended quite abruptly, and ambiguously. Ambiguous endings can be amazing, but in this instance it felt more as though the book had said all it wanted to say before it had resolved the plot, and so wrapped it all up and ended then and there.

I tried not to compare the book to XX, because that didn't seem like a fair approach. However, I couldn't help it in the end. XX did everything this book did, but better - it had a stronger plot, more engrossing characters, and the graphical elements seemed to be more entwined with the story and events and none of that interfered with it's ability to pose questions about the real world. If I hadn't known their publication order, I would have assumed XX was the second book, with The Black Locomotive as the prototype/proof of concept, and XX as the polished, practiced follow-up. I think XX spoiled me a bit, because I'm fairly sure I would have appreciated the use of graphics in this more if I hadn't seen it done so well in XX.

This was still a good read though!