Author:Kingsley Amis

Like all good coaching inns, The Green Man is said to boast a resident ghost: Dr Thomas Underhill, a notorious seventeenth-century practitioner of black arts and sexual deviancy. However, the landlord, Maurice Allington, is the sole witness to the renaissance of the malevolent Underhill. Led by an anxious desire to vindicate his sanity, Allington strives to uncover the key to Underhill's satanic powers. All while the skeletons in Allington's own cupboard rattle to get out.
A marvellous ghost story, shimmering with panic
—— Irish TimesA splendid chiller [and] extremely funny book... Indeed, the success of this novel depends very much on the balance that Amis maintains between laughter and fear
—— New York TimesContains all the best and familiar Amis qualities - including superb sexual comedy.
—— Sunday TimesIn a different dimension to the tepid vapidities that pass as novels these days. Sentence for sentence, almost word for word, Wallace could out-write any of his peers
—— Scotland on SundayRich and substantial and alive . . . Wallace's finest work as a novelist
—— TimeA transfixing and hyper-literate descent into relentless, inescapable despair . . . achingly funny, nothing short of sublime
—— Publishers WeeklyThe Pale King contains what's sure to be some of the finest fiction of the year . . . he was the closest thing we had to a recording angel
—— GQSometimes as a critic the most important part of your job is to say: here, this is it, we've found it, someone's doing it. That someone was Wallace. He was the real thing
—— Evening StandardThe Pale King gave me a pleasure and excitement that I can describe only as biological. That is to say, the book produced in me that very rare, warm, head-to-toe tingling that comes with admission to a paradise of language and intelligence
—— Joseph O' Neill , The TimesRemarkable
—— Jonathan Derbyshire , New StatesmanEveryone who cares about literature should buy it
—— The AgeTyler writes with a generosity of spirit and an emotional truthfulness that makes you forget the bare mechanics of plot
—— David Robinson , WeekTyler uses simple, elegant prose to manifest her particular brands of realism and humour
—— Freya McClelland , IndependentTyler distilled
—— LadyHer novels assert, with acuity, compassion and inventive humour, the uniqueness and value of each human life... a carefully observed study of grief and its trajectory
—— Pamela Norris , Literary ReviewDeeply rewarding novel about grief and hope, infused with gentle humour
—— Sunday TimesAcutely, tenderly observed. Tyler is excellent on the ways we endlessly misread even those closest to us
—— Stephanie Cross , Daily MailRicher and more alive than the best work almost any other writer is producing
—— Cressida Connolly , Daily TelegraphDeeply rewarding
—— Lucy Atkins , Sunday TimesAll Hail Anne Tyler
—— Sunday TimesShe's a master storyteller and inventor of character
—— Vanessa Berridge , Daily ExpressA funny, gently moving and insightful book
—— Liam Heylin , Irish ExaminerWhat could be mawkish and cloying is gentle and touching, not least because she is a very funny writer
—— Michael Prodger , Financial TimesIn Tyler’s small slices of life there is poetry and wisdom
—— Elaine Showalter , GuardianThe ending teeters on the brink of sentimentality but such is her psychological insight, the truth of her writing, that if she says unlikely happy endings are possible, I believe her
—— Jake Kerridge , Sunday ExpressThis meticulous, gently humorous novel is concerned with the effects of grief, the stop-start nature of moving on and the role of friendships, however imperfect, in facing catastrophe. [Tyler] remains as gimlet-eyed as ever in portraying ordinary lives that have become unmoored
—— MetroThis novel's great achievement is to capture the tensions and subtleties of a married life cut short… I read [it] virtually in one sitting, but that's a fairly common experience with Anne Tyler books… I didn't want it to end. Which is also a fairly common Tyler thing
—— Viv Groskop , Independent on SundayThe Beginner’s Goodbye is a very funny book…every incident is at once recognizably true to life and yet somehow utterly off-kilter
—— Edmund Gordon , Times Literary SupplementEngaging, heartfelt and brutal.
—— welovethisbook.comQuite simply a masterpiece…at least as assured and vibrant in its characterization as Trainspotting, Skagboys is even more on the money politically… this novel more than any other , (including its brilliant predecessor) stands as our spiritual and moral history.
—— The ScotsmanThere is enough of what Welsh does well — needle-sharp dialogue, vivid characters and a certainty of place — to make Skagboys his best work in many years…an essential read.
—— Timothy Mo , Irish ExaminerWelsh always spins his yarns with grisly élan.
—— Extra TimeI ended up charmed beyond measure, if that is the right word for a novel whose odd moments of poignance are regularly booted into touch by death, disillusionment and dereliction.
—— D J Taylor , SpectatorEvery bit as impressive as Trainspotting
—— Daily TelegraphVisceral, tragic and comic, with Welsh’s schlock-shock appeal
—— Arifa Akbar , iIf you enjoyed Trainspotting, you will adore this prequel... I think that Welsh has achieved the impossible and produced a prequel that betters the main text
—— NudgeFilthy, furious and very funny, this is Welsh back on blistering top form
—— Mail on SundayThe strength of Cline's first novel, other than its geeky referencing of 1980s pop culture, is the characterisation of the Candide-like Wade and his redemptive quest in both VR and the real world.
—— GuardianIf you grew up with an Atari or maybe had a Commodore 64 back in the day, you are going to really enjoy this one. Cline really captures the feeling of those good old days in Ready Player One.
—— WIRED.COMCline [crafts] a fresh and imaginative world from our old toy box ... Cline strikes the nerves of nerd culture as expertly as Andy played that skeleton organ in The Goonies.
—— Entertainment Weekly






