Robert Coover is one of our masters now... He seems to be able to do anything

Journey to the Centre of the Earth is one of the most famous novels ever written. Verne has left us an extraordinary book, which has withstood the test of time better than some of the science described within it. It has brought delight to generations of readers, and will for many more. There is nothing so rare as the chance to take an impossible journey, and to believe it so powerfully that we wonder if we will make it out alive. That's magic. And that's Verne's gift.

The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived

Fantasised a parallel world to ours under the earth's crust. This hypothesis was both popular and subscribed to, even by reputable scientists, in the 19th century. Verne's tale was flagrantly ripped off; (by Edgar Rice Burroughs, among others, with his "Pellucidar" series) but remains the best of its (scientifically) preposterous kind.

Jules Vernes most spectacular visions of the future have remained classic science fantasies

In this debut novel Sue Peebles shows herself to be a deft wordsmith, grounded, subtle, and funny

This sensitive and moving narrative brings vivid, life-sized characters together in a powerful and meaningful manner. Peebles writes with an emotive energy and a lyricism that is open-hearted, focused and soulful. A debut novel worth indulging in if you'd like to introduce into your life a touch more clarity, insight and grace

A book that stayed with me long after I'd turned the final page. Despite their weaknesses and problems I wanted to keep hanging out with Rosie Friel and her family. Sue Peebles has created a very real cast of characters and rendered them with such style and verve, I really didn't want to let them go. She has a great future as a writer

Peebles tells this story with skill, tempering a potentially saccharine plot with a wry authorial gaze

The Death of Lomond Friel is a very fine first novel, full of emotion, laced with wit, and crowded with observations of the surface absurdities and hidden pains of being human. It marks Sue Peebles as an assured and cunning writer

Shot through with a fizzing mix of philosophy and comedy

An unusual, loveable debut...that explores the complexities of family relationships and the weight of memory

An unusual, loveable debut about a father and his daugther on the East Coast of Scotland...superbly written with a small cast of memorable characters

The beautiful debut by Scottish novelist Sue Peebles. This tale of a daughter caring for her father who has suffered a stroke is psychologically true and elegantly portrayed

The best debut I read...sharp, tender, wicked, and beautifully poised prose that reads like the work of an accomplished novelist

As far as literary fiction goes, this is both incredibly literary and amazingly enjoyable… Lyrical, poetic, and always written with the same bittersweet quality which captured my attention right at the start, this is an absolute gem of a book… Clearly, this is about the highest possible recommendation, whether or not you like cricket… When I got to the end, the only issue I had with the book was that I wished it hadn’t finished

There is much to enjoy in Sri Lankan Karunatilaka’s energetic debut novel… The book bristles with grouchy humour, laconic observations on Sri Lanka’s political troubles and the pathos of coming to the end of life. Steering just the right side of sentiment, it is both an elegy to lost ambitions and a paean to madcap dreams

A rollercoaster of a novel

A deliberately rambling account of a dying sportswriter’s attempts to get to the truth of the disappearance of a Sri Lankan bowler... It’s brilliant