Anthony McGowan made a hilarious debut with Hellbent, a modern take on Dante which manages to mix existentialist and determinist philosophy with quite surprising amounts of poo

A wisecracking helterskelter . . . Real boys' stuff . . . but watch out for a twist in the novel's devilish tail

A brilliantly nauseating thriller . . . It is a devilishly funny, clever and moving novel

Dante for beginners with a serious moral message

Every writer hates to hear the words "stunning new talent" applied to someone else, but in the case of Anthony McGowan nothing else will do

A picaresque, grotesque and magical novel

'Very enjoyable...Evans writes with tremendous verve and dash. Her ear for dialogue is superb, and she has wit and sharp perception...A consistently readable book filled with likeable characters: a study of loss that has great heart and humour'

'A serious and accomplished first novel, an affecting study of togetherness and separation in a family, a marriage and, most importantly, between the twins'

'An exciting and vibrant read. It's a weird and wonderful fairy-tale about the lives of twins...26a is brilliant and a great read'

'Poetic, complex and lingering'

'Highly coloured, linguistically inventive...Evans has a powerful and often beguiling imagination'

'Sensual and poetic, as well as powerful and uncompromising...A mature, compelling and beautiful first novel'

'The writing is both mature and freshly perceptive, creating not only a warmly funny novel of a Neasden childhood - with its engaging minutiae of flapjacks and icepops, lip gloss and daisy hairclips - but a haunting account of the loss of innocence and mental disintegration.'