'Rip-roaring...a rollicking yarn with razor-sharp dialogue, introducing a hilarious protagonist'

'Will fill the gaping hole stoved in the timbers of the sea-saga genre by the sad death of Patrick O'Brian...Jerrold swashes his buckles and splices his mainbraces to good effect'

'At last, the nautical Flashman! Martin Jerrold looks set to become one of the great British anti-heroes, boozing and lusting his way through Regency England'

'This is a great book, exciting and utterly unique. Edwin Thomas's portrayal of the 18th Century is spot on, from his depiction of the smugglers' underworld to life aboard a small British navy man-of-war. And while other writers have achieved the same, Thomas has created in Lt. Martin Jerrold someone whom the reader of nautical fiction has never seen before - a character we love despite ourselves, and despite his many faults, faults to which he himself happy admits. Jerrold is no dashing and fearless naval hero, he revels in and celebrates his own shortcomings and ineptitude and he takes us happily along on that wild and hilarious ride. For the lover of naval fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, this book has it all. I eagerly await the next.'

Sacred Country is a book that we give to our friends and are glad to have read…it makes us look forward to Ms. Tremain’s other books with hungry pleasure

A remarkable book about Perec's own early life whose formality is quite hauntingly at odds with its terrible subject

Perec has a political edge and his books can shift your mental furniture. This is a fine example of a very brave idea that he made work quite brilliantly. as horrifying as Orwell but as ludicrous as Monty Python. What two bizarre flavours to mix into the same dish and not nauseate the reader! It's brilliant. It is a very influential book and it's always in the background of my writing. It's a very fine role model because it says you can make anything work as long as you navigate the pitfalls.

I re-read the "Dance" every five years or so and always find something new – the world has changed but the characters are evergreen. Everybody has a Widmerpool in their life.

He has wit, style, and panache, in a world where those qualities are in permanently short supply

[A] comic masterpiece

Comic, satisfying, thought-provoking, addictive

It's his supreme skill in mastering a lengthily interwoven chronicle, the evolution of such a range and variety of pin-point characters, the wit and the cultural ambition that give the novel a unique place in English Literature.

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