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Rian Hughes

Goodreads Author

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.rianhughes.com

Genre

Comics & Graphic Novels, Arts & Photography, Science Fiction

Member Since

March 2012

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Rian Hughes is a designer, illustrator, comic book artist, type designer and writer. From his studio, Device, he has produced watches for Swatch, Hawaiian shirts, logo designs for Batman and Spiderman and an iconoclastic revamp of British comic hero Dan Dare. His first novel is 'XX'. He has an extensive collection of Thunderbirds memorabilia, a fridge full of vodka, and a stack of easy listening albums which he plays very quietly. ...more

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Is it true that you had to cut a chunk of XX out? If so, is there any hope of every getting an uncut version? What was your inspiration for XX? And what did your writing/planning process look like for a book so complex?

Rian Hughes Hi Scott – I did edit out a sizeable chunk. It was a sub-plot that had the least bearing on the structure of the whole, so was simply the easiest to e…moreHi Scott – I did edit out a sizeable chunk. It was a sub-plot that had the least bearing on the structure of the whole, so was simply the easiest to excise. The excised portion was still in draft form — it would take some work to bring it up to publishable level, so it's unlikely that a new edition will include it. There were also many other shorter philosophical/ideological digressions (a paragraph to a page or two) I removed in the later edits as I thought I may already be testing my readers' patience and wanted to come in under 1000 pages, especially as this was my first novel and a book of this size is a big ask of any reader.

The book was laid out in InDesign, with colour-coded sections and a short description of what happens in each chapter on a second, non-printing layer that was visible on the thumbnail "pages" view, but could be turned off for the final PDF export. This meant I could see the structure and flow of the whole book at once, and rearrange pages/edit visually, which was an enormous help. The key sections were written first, and then the linking sections, and then the sections between the linking sections, and so on. Along the way, some of the linking sections became key sections, and others were dropped. Placeholder character names were changed as their primary role in the narrative became more apparent, and then the whole was printed out as a physical book via Blurb POD so I could more easily gauge it in the final form. This was corrected, polished and tweaked over 14 versions (and probably another 4-5 versions before the first physical printout edition) before it was submitted to Picador's editors, who did a thorough line edit but made no other changes. Around 10-15 copies of the final POD version (in a red and black cover that is similar but not identical to the final yellow and black version) were sent out for advance review purposes and internal publisher and promotions use. These will have minor differences, but are essentially the same.(less)

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Hi. Just under two thirds of my way through XX and I am enjoying it... I have Black Locomotive lined up to read next... Are they connected, Black Locomotive has been mentioned and I am curious... Also, whats next, will there be any more novels? Ta C

Rian Hughes There is no "in universe" connection, other than the ad for the Smokebox Club in XX which was added at the last moment — the release date of XX had be…moreThere is no "in universe" connection, other than the ad for the Smokebox Club in XX which was added at the last moment — the release date of XX had been put back a year, and by that time TBL was already in a late draft so the ad served as a cheeky teaser.(less)

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Rian Hughes’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 7,160 ratings · 1,007 reviews · 84 distinct works • Similar authors

	XX 3.90 avg rating — 1,215 ratings — published 2020 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Black Locomotive 3.60 avg rating — 404 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cult-ure: Ideas Can Be Dangerous 4.19 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lifestyle Illustration of the 60s 4.41 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Yesterday's Tomorrows by Rian Hughes (Goodreads Author), Grant Morrison (Contributor), Tom De Haven (Worked adapted by) 3.32 avg rating — 77 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Custom Lettering of the 40s & 50s 4.32 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Custom Lettering of the 60s & 70s 4.48 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am A Number 3.48 avg rating — 54 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lifestyle Illustration of the 50s 4.44 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rayguns and Rocketships: Vintage Science Fiction Book Cover Art 4.45 avg rating — 29 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Rian Hughes and 3 other people liked Julia Sexton's review of XX: "Just casually finished the best book I’ll read in my lifetime "
Feb 23, 2025 08:56AM · see review
Rian Hughes answered Chris Greensmith's question: Hi. Just under two thirds of my way through XX and I am enjoying it... I have Black Locomotive lined up to read next... Are they connected, Black Locomotive has been mentioned and I am curious... Also, whats next, will there be any more novels? Ta C There is no "in universe" connection, other than the ad for the Smokebox Club in XX which was added at the last moment — the release date of XX had been put back a year, and by that time TBL was already in a late draft so the ad served as a cheeky te See Full Answer
Nov 27, 2023 04:34AM · 1 like · like