This early, two-chapter extract from the novel King Of The City appeared in the rather eccentrically numbered magazine, The Edge, in 1999. Despite the first part-title, ‘The Crack’ is in fact (or rather went on to become) ‘The Twist’, Chapter Six of the book itself which was published in May 2000. ‘The Sniff’ is Chapter Seven (whilst an entirely different ‘Crack’ became Chapter Four).
King Of The City was marketed (perhaps unwisely) as a sequel to Mother London (1988), although it shares little in common with its predecessor, other than taking up where that novel left off in the greed-driven ’80s, describing the consequences of unchecked capitalism during the remaining years of the twentieth century. In that regard, it might best be described more as a thematic sequel.
First appearance: The Edge No. 2
London: October 1999 magazine;
edited by Graham Evans;
price: $2·95;
60 pages;
I.S.S.N.: 0955-2316;
cover artist: Ian McMillan;
design: John Coulthart.
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