The most satisfying, intelligent and enthralling epic fantasy I’ve read in many a year.

An astonishing book . . . combines extraordinary scope with first class characterization, devastating and visceral battles, a multi-layered plot and a tightly-focused narrative . . . The City is easily the best fantasy novel I’ve read in the last decade.

One of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time . . . utterly compelling fiction, an awesome example of the genre . . . brilliant.

Vast, immersive and accomplished.

A brutally visual world . . . vivid, motivated characters each with a heartbreaking history . . . thrilling and devastating . . . a true epic.

Gemmell's volcanic imagination . . . erupts into pyrotechnics of description and unstoppable lava flows of intrigue, sweeping us along to the white-hot conclusion.

A plethora of well-defined, superbly-executed characters . . . I found myself absolutely hooked . . . there is an ever-growing sense of tension. Even before the final, inevitable, showdown you get the feeling that things are going to get bloody and not everyone is going to make it out of this alive . . .this is engrossing stuff that's expertly executed.

Demands your complete and total attention . . . pulls together at the end in a gripping climax and wonderful multi dimensional characters . . . a new and very powerful voice in the world of fantasy.
Highly Recommended.

A sweeping novel of great power.

Now poignant, now funny... Anne Tyler is brilliant

A vibrant and astonishing and, above all, achingly funny book

My favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world, is Anne Tyler

a mind-bending journey into the strange world of Spivet [...] Magical

The real star of the show is Reif Larsen, a first time American novelist...Some of the sly coming-of-age humour is reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, but it is also very much a modern novel

An endearing and original coming-of-age story

A wilfully original and diverting book, full of carefully penned ephemera.

The tale of map-obsessed outcast TS Spivet is captivating but it's the intricate illustrations - from the temperamental family toaster to the trajectory of his father's whiskey sips - that make this a rewardingly unique read.

Larsen's achievement is to have created a quirky, engaging, painfully vulnerable hero - not to mention a book that's truly lovely to look at, heavily illustrated throughout with examples of T.S.'s prize-winning maps and charts.

Larsen's debut is engaging... plenty of intelligent perceptions, and a generous smattering of Spivet's drawings

The Selected Works of TS Spivet is a joy; a colourful feast of a book... few [books are] as bold as refreshing as Reif Larsen's debut... The account of [Spivet's] adventure is engrossing and full of allusions to classic American literature... There's a lovely hand-crafted quality to the book, and even in paperback form it is a beautiful object

Has an eye, and ear, for music culture that few of even the best rock journalists can match

I’ve seen some reviews bill The Thrill of it All as being a book for anyone who’s dreamt of being a rock star, but I’d say it’s appeal is far wider than that: it’s for anyone who loves music — blues, ska, New Wave, punk and rock especially

Humour and poignancy are woven into the fabric of this warm, well-crafted novel, all the way to its cathartic conclusion

a warm-hearted, funny and moving novel for anyone that’s ever loved a song

Some of the funniest, most tender moments are the exchanges between Robbie, the rebellious son, and his staid but loving father, Jim...less a tale of pop dissolution than of family

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.