Vigorous and intense, energetic and absorbing

The book is vivid with historical details, the characters intense with drama and feeling... A story to lose yourself in, an intense and satisfying read

Richly and densely textured, serious, intelligent, passionately written, and with more than a hint of gothic, the story pushes the reader to examine its central point: who are the savages?

Well told, and well paced, with an easy narrative flow. The story offers strong personalities and a complicated, interesting plot...I felt secure in the accuracy of her picture of the time and place... Clare Clark's story and her history ring absolutely and very sadly true

Intricately plotted and thick with intrigue, Savage Lands gives us an insight into an overlooked era

Clare Clark writes with the eyes of a historian and the soul of a novelist.

This densely textured story forces readers to ask: who are the savages?

As Clare Clark's third novel so lushly illustrates, Louisiana has never been the safest place to live... this eye-opening account of Louisiana's early history conjures up a nicely gothic landscape

Szalay is certainly a writer to look out for... The writer [he] most puts me in mind of is a young Julian Barnes

Szalay is immensely talented... [he] gets everything right: the atmosphere, the suspense, the inner lives of his characters. Absolutely superb

Intriguing first novel... The narrative voice floes with wit and vigour...his debut ties author and reader in engaging knots that echo the tangled webs connecting the gossipers and photographers and their privileged fodder

It's uncommonly well written, with a bountiful supply of manic energy... Would Paul Auster kill to write a book as playful, fast-paced and unashamedly populist as this? Doubtful, but somewhere there's a "Paul Auster" who might

Sparky debut

Benedictus takes us on a trail of the contentious highs and lows of the rich and famous in a mixture of dark humour and sharp dialogue. For Benedictus, and his valiant debut novel, more of the same please

The story of the ultimate celeb after-party, it's a knowing wink at publishing and celebrity culture - a high-concept first novel sitting just the right side of salacious

The Afterparty avoids smugness partly because it has more affection that vitriol for the culture that it mocks... It's very funny, but sad, too... Well-drawn characters, smart dialogue and a canny plot