A generous and energising tumble of ideas...he is inventive and penetrating

Like Isaiah Berlin with a thing for sci-fi

We might believe that we are on a voyage towards a future of perfect freedom, but Gray is here to tell us that we are really only going round in circles, repeating ancient heresies, and retelling old myths in modern cant

Gray must be one of the best read of contemporary philosophers, trawling insouciantly through high-, middle- and low-brow literature with the sharp-eyed eclecticism of a magpie of genius

A brain-twisting meditation on freedom...a brief, elliptical inquiry designed to raise more questions than anyone could answer

The House at the Edge of the World is, like its narrator, funny, sharp and also terribly sad

An obviously gifted writer. . . its strength lies in the understanding of human behaviour that underlies the unexpected twists and turns, each one of which moves from romanticism to credibility in a bracing way, so that the book's charm resembles that of a building such as Brighton Pavilion: engagingly fantastic in appearance, but structurally sound

Darkly funny... sharp-as-knives observations brilliantly capture the black undertow of this family story

A slippery tale of perception and manipulation... The text echoes of a thriller, though it is a character study in how much people can alter themselves to meet the wills of others; for marriage, family or the bond of twinship

In haunting prose Fagan creates a credible apocalyptic landscape and articulates the survival instinct and our capacity for love.

It’s littered with that same sparkle: misery and fear and awe and joy all co-exist, and that’s what makes Fagan stand out… Big thumbs up. Beauty and horror, love and death, ice and light – what a package! While eschewing huge plotlines, Fagan still gives us a rattling story, and if this is how the world ends, there’d be much worse ways to go than in the company of Stella and her cohort in the Fells.

The Sunlight Pilgrims is full of the music of life and language … This is a novel that, with its vision of climate crisis and mass migration, couldn’t feel more of the moment.

It’s a wonderfully odd tale, beautifully told.

A writer of…talent, heart and vision.

[A] remarkably accomplished and enjoyable piece of work. Here is a book that draws you into the lives of fascinating, intriguing characters facing truly exceptional circumstances.

Fagan’s writing has a remarkably poetic quality when she describes scenes of tremendous emotional conflict …beautifully moving …Fagan is equally skilful at writing punchy dialogue …The Sunlight Pilgrims is a beautifully written and chilling vision of the future with refreshingly original characters.

A refreshingly unusual tale.

Jenni writes with such great understanding and insight …this book should be required reading for teens and adults alike … I defy anyone not to shed a silent tear or two before the story finishes.

Richly textured

Undoubtedly a political novel. It is also an interrogation of the purposes and efficacy of humour in exposing society's ills

[A] state-of-the-nation address

Jonathan Coe has taken aim at the absurdity of modern life

In Satin Island the narrator, U, takes us on a journey through the modern world of ideas, theories and references. It’s a wonderfully intense experience – as soon as I’d finished I wanted to read it again.

Convincing proof that the best writers of our time are anthropologists.

Favourite novel of 2015.

A darkly funny and disturbing meditation on the intricacies and insubstantiality of our technology-ridden times. McCarthy is one of the most daring, most ambitious and most subtle of what at my age I can all the younger generation of writers.

The novel often reads like a dramatic monologue, a very modern stream of consciousness, akin to Joyce’s Finnegans Wake… McCarthy’s novel is innovative, well crafted and challenging… This novel is breaking new ground, a breath of fresh air, at times a tour de force.

McCarthy has put his finger on something, and he’s nailed it very precisely. It’s how we live now. All the information we process every day. What it’s doing to us.