there is much in this novel to entice us to take our sleeping bag to the nearest bookshop doorstep and queue early for Book 3

In a way, we wish Adams had started writing these thirty years ago so there would be a rich vein of stories for the new fan to discover. As it is, we must be content with two very well written and funny books. At least there’s a third on the way, though it’s a shame we have to wait for it.

Several writers are now mining a very British style of urban magic, some more convincingly than others. For me, The Rain-Soaked Bride confirms Guy Adams position as the market leader... a thoroughly entertaining sequel, and well worth adding to any urban fantasy collection.

This is a great example of why you should stick with a series for at least two books. The first book always has to spend time setting everything up but the second book can really show you what an author is capable of (although it can go the other way, too, of course). I thoroughly enjoyed The Rain-Soaked Bride and hope there are many more books to come in this series.

A fantastic blend of worldbuilding, excellent storytelling and complex characters.

Swift’s first novel, with its brilliant near-future vision of an ecologically and socially devastated world and characters who resonate with life and passion, marks her as an author to watch.

A glittering first novel: a kind of flooded Gormenghast treated with the alienated polish of DeLillo's Cosmopolis. The result is a gripping novel, readable, beautiful, politically engaged and wholly accomplished. Swift is a ridiculously talented writer.

Harkaway has crafted an engaging story that examines the nature of heroes and the tropes of old-school pulp fiction, mixing sharp characterisation with an energetic portrait of a society heading for apocalypse … Often hilarious but with an undercurrent of dark violence, this is an impressive novel that conceals provocative questions inside an old-school tale of ripping adventure.

original, rewarding … unexpectedly tender

An effortless surety of touch

Brilliant, full of energy and imagination.

Harkaway uses the story of a disappointed man and a disenfranchised boy to examine matters of real import. His great gift as a novelist … is to merge the pace, wit and clarity of the best "popular" literature with the ambition, complexity and irony of the so-called "literary" novel. Tigerman is in some ways all about the stripes: the distinctive becomes camouflage.

There’s so much here: a bit of a spy novel, a lot of a classic thriller, a fat dollop of comic mayhem, plenty of literary depth, a chunk of eco-commentary and a bloody good read to boot. You can’t ask for much more in a book.

Full of fine descriptive passages and memorable figures

Expertly crafted … Harkaway’s most touching and emotionally engaging book yet.

As entertaining and imaginative as you’d hope … Harkaway’s words jump off the page … clever and confidently written … The end of the story seems to come too soon and that’s usually the mark of a great novel. Nick Harkaway takes the reader on a wild adventure and, though you know it’s all fiction, there’s a little part of you that wishes that Tigerman was actually real.

Captivating

Stealthy … Sneaky … Gripping … It is, in short, awesome. Read it immediately.

Tigerman manages ... that elusive combination of intelligent, beautiful writing with a story that is imaginative, fast-paced and really good fun. There's plenty to make you think as well as plenty to make you laugh … Harkaway writes with such dexterity and delight … That balance of proper storytelling with literary complexity is, for me, what makes a book really special and Tigerman does this with aplomb - it's a joy to read.

Tigerman is a brilliant and unique novel which deserves to be read again and again ... dazzling display of creativity.

I was dazzled … Characterisation is as ever top notch … this is a marvel … everyone will appreciate the sheer grace and artistry of it.

Tigerman is a truly engaging and original book; for all the nail-biting tension, humour, superheroic deeds and a brilliant twist there is also a deep and honest heart to it ... This is easily one of the best books I've read this year.

With intelligent, witty writing you cannot help but warm to the unlikely and slightly hapless hero in Lester Ferris.

A virtuoso piece of entertainment which hurtles satisfyingly towards its conclusion after delivering a startling, didn’t-see-that-coming sucker-punch of a twist.

Funny, moving and thought-provoking

The key to Harkaway’s writing is the incredibly textured depth and imaginative characterisation. It is one of those books whose character are so rich that by the climax, you feel like they’ve penetrated your reality and you want to keep them close, even after the book is over.

Original and exciting, full of humanity and comedy, Tigerman by Nick Harkaway is a beautiful piece of work

Original, exciting, full of humanity and comedy, Tigerman by Nick Harkaway is a beautiful piece of work.

One of America's literary giants

A quiet sense of emotional tragedy, sharp observational humour and writing so economically precise you long to read every sentence twice

Perfects the intimate, easy style that makes reading her such a pleasure

The worlds she creates are so absorbing and believable; she taps into our innate curiosity about people just like ourselves

What she does, in the course of this novel, is show that the simplest family stories often have complex roots and unlikely outcomes. This is a book full of surprises, and Tyler is adept at the great revelation that both startles and throws what has come before into a whole new light

A warm, wise and funny book

A believable and wise read

The texture of everyday experience transmuted into art

[A] wonderful book

When it comes to painting a loving, funny and yet never simplistic portrait of American family life, Anne Tyler is, and always has been, the great mistress

There is no limit to the superlatives that Tyler inspires

With A Spool of Blue Thread, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist is on typically fine form

Sincerely and carefully told

This is a book that explores moral and psychological ambiguities with extraordinary subtlety

Deftly written with skilful characterisation... A master of conversation

A Spool of Blue Thread does an exquisite job

This is a novel to cherish

Wonderful new novel

A truly delightful read

Ms. Tyler has a knack for turning sitcom situations into something far deeper and more moving

A moving, well-crafted reflection on life and death and the relationships that sustain us through both

How can it be so wonderful!... Tyler remains among the best chroniclers of family life

Astonishingly adept

Tyler describes so accurately the frailties, turmoil and love of family life

No one does family sagas quite like Anne Tyler

Mundane yet magical, thus pure Tyler

Anne Tyler paints a large-scale portrait on a small-scale canvas and does it beautifully

In many ways this novel is a culmination of all those that have gone before it; it combines a multitude of themes and never fails to exact humour alongside the more sombre task of delving into topical issues such as sexuality, relationships and ageing

Absolutely wonderful, a work of genius

It's so rich in detail and reality, so simple, but so compelling. I wept

Is as good as anything she has ever written

Another insightful study of family life. It may be familiar territory for the writer, but she commands it absolutely

One to read on a family holiday

Her gift for producing what seems less like fiction than actuality works wonders

Heartwarming

Highly reccommended

May be her best yet, though, to be honest, this is what I always tend to say after reading the latest Anne Tyler.

Superbly accomplished, perceptive and funny, tugged forward by suspended revelations to its hurricane climax

[Tyler] writes so sparingly and yet her books are dense with the complexities of human emotions

Pure pleasure

[Tyler] has the rapier wit of a true satirist

Anne Tyler is a magician: what she does seems so simple and et it weaves a compelling spell

Utterly absorbing, heartbreaking and endearing

Tyler explores the simmering resentment that often underpins familial relationships, as well as the elusive nature of the American Dream

A book that is shot through with random misfortune, but which takes infinite pleasure in the detail of everyday family life.

Rivalries flare between siblings and secrets unravel, as Tyler shines a brilliant light on our fundamental relationships and the span of life.

Since the characters are actual, flawed human beings, it makes the story unbelievably relatable.

One of the greatest storytellers alive, whose characters arrive on the page like human beings, things happen to them, they react to these things, and then life continues

A stunning novel about three generations of a family that perfectly captures the fights, petty irritations and deep connections between them

A rich and perceptive examination of uneven family relationships