Smart, fun, at times surprisingly moving, and occasionally downright shocking...impossible to put down.

Combining the best elements of a spy thriller, heroic fantasy and Elizabethan mystery, Chadbourn deftly mixes gruesome brutality, a shadowy world of plots and counter-plots and a vivid cast of characters...creates an alternate reality as tangible and authentic as the history we think we know...In a year of outstanding fantasies, The Sword of Albion may just be one of the best so far.

Gets off to a smashing start. The historical detail sets a believable backdrop, and the main character, a spy, could pass for a fantastical James Bond. Chadbourn sets a fast pace, pitting his characters against supernatural threats with a bit of horror thrown in.

While comparisons with Irvine Welsh are perhaps inevitable, Russ Litten has raised the bar in the genre of writing about ordinary people with extraordinary lives...January is never a good time to talk about favourite books of the year but it's hard to think Russ Litten's invigorating debut will be beaten.

A gem. Terse, truthful, and teeming with good old Yorkshire lyricism - Russ Litten effortlessly spins together the disparate lives of his characters, like the sharpest, bittersweet candy floss.'

A novel which offers a real slice of contemporary UK life. Litten might just be this city's Roddy Doyle... upplies both laughs and touching moments in equal measure