Oden has done a marvellous job . . . a true triumph.

A magnificent mytho-historical saga, blending the history of 11th century Europe with Norse and Celtic mythology. A dark, grim and unrelentingly bloody tale of the last Orc and his quest for vengeance. Highly recommended.

Set in a vividly-imagined world where history and myth blur, Scott Oden’s gripping and bloody tale of monsters and men carves out a fantastic new legend for this modern age.

Everything that a Grimdark novel should be, sharp witted, dark and dangerous. Highly recommended for anyone who loves action, good characters and, you know, an amazing story. I loved it!

Swirling together Norse mythology with a Tolkien-esque writing style (there are even songs!) . . . if you like your fantasies with a serrated edge, this tale will be right up your alley.

Oden has expertly weaved Norse, Saxon and Celtic mythology . . . if you're a fan of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon saga, or David Gemmell's muscular fantasy, then you would be hard-pressed to find another novel that satisfies on both fronts.

Lovingly crafted . . . this fast-paced thrill ride might have been bleak or unsettling but it's rendered so lovingly . . . a satisfying saga that's as complex as an old tree's roots, and a pleasure to read.

The story is imposing and dark, deftly woven by Oden to mix legend and history . . . characters appear to have stepped out of history to dance across the pages . . . Oden set out to redeem the Orc, taking pieces from Norse and Celtic mythology, from Beowulf to Balor, and he did fabulously. Highly recommended.

Right from the start this book draws you in with its evocative imagery and beautifully-described landscapes . . . in A Gathering of Ravens the line between fantasy and historical fiction is blurred into mythology. If you like your fantasy Tolkien-esque with deep roots, then this novel is for you, and like many legends in truth, it is not exactly a story of justice or redemption, but it is a tale that must play itself out to its very end, a tale you cannot help but get drawn into.

I loved the prose and for me, the action sequences really brought the brutality to life . . . add to this some wonderful twists . . . a kick-ass plot . . . I was a more than happy reader. Top notch.

An amazing work of fantasy with a very real touch of both humanity and the weight of history. Oden has populated his strange world with witches, monsters, Vikings, warriors, cowards and everything in between. Deft and well written.

Oden taps the dark roots of 'the Northern thing'...mixing Norse history and mythology with fantasy and a relentless narrative drive . . . will appeal to the Grimdark crowd as well as fans of Robert E. Howard and Poul Anderson.

Masterful storytelling . . . superb writing . . . magical and lively . . . a must-read for historical fantasy lovers.

Narrated with the precise realism that we have come to expect of Neel Mukherjee’s novels… A State of Freedom resonates with intricate and disturbing echoes… Mukherjee has created an India that is always graspable and always elusive

In Mukherjee’s hands familiar fare is elevated by his empathy for the poor and the journalistic efforts he undertakes to understand them… his best work yet… This bleak and entirely justified vision of modern India is what binds together Mukherjee’s stories and indeed his oeuvre

A compelling read set in contemporary India that explores the attempts of five characters, each in different circumstances, to exchange the life they are leading for something better

A brilliant novel, deeply compassionate and painterly, reminding me of Howard Hodgkin’s paintings. Mukherjee brings to life the colours and sounds of a place where modern life is constantly crashing against tradition

Bleak and beautifully written

Mukherjee’s characters are so well drawn and their plights so affecting that we stop quibbling over how to categorise the book and simply lose ourselves in masterful storytelling… Random bouts of cruelty… unfold in electrifying prose

Very powerful, very well written

A thing of wonder… does what a great novel should do… one of the most wonderful novels I’ve read for ages and ages… such wonderful high calibre writing’

Brilliant… I couldn’t put it down…everything about it rang true… so gripping, so thrilling

A splendidly rich and affirmative novel

An especially searing account of state oppression and Communist terror… everything is held together by Mukherjee’s wonderfully inventive prose style

An exceptional portrait of modern India – and one of the best novels this year

Mukherjee confronts us with the deranged performances of both master and slave… A State of Freedom’s artfully handled piecing together of story fragments is held in tension by a counterforce of textual disintegration

This novel paints a vivid picture of modern India, its beauty and its benightedness, examining the relationship between identity and migration. Mukherjee is pitch-perfect in his descriptions of Indian life and unsparing in chronicling the poverty, deprivation and superstition that blights the nation. The book’s themes are important and the writing powerful, in places shocking

Harsh and vibrant… Mukherjee’s deep knowledge of India and the West, allied to his never-failing curiosity about the ties that both bind us and separate us, makes him an outstanding chronicler of Bengali life, seen from within and without… In an age when so many fiction writers flimflam around in a cloud of unknowing, Mukherjee has an eagle’s eye for the truth

It’s a brave and frequently devastating novel whose themes of displacement and dehumanisation are all too timely

The last book that made my heart race? That’d be Neel Mukherjee’s A State of Freedom: completely propulsive and horrifying and astonishing

A powerful novel about alienation and the illusion of freedom.

Stories of displacement, alienation and inequality add up to dynamic, life-affirming symphony – albeit one punctuated with discordant and unsettling notes.

Mukherjee confronts head-on the appalling deprivation and the caste stigma that bedevil so many lives, and the result is as powerful as it is disturbing.

Mesmerising complexity and the sharpness mixed with compassion and empathy. All the stories are beautifully written… Long after I finished it I realized the characters were still with me, vivid, compelling, haunting

[Segal's] descriptions are spare and unerring; everyday family interactions are observed warmly and yet with precision

Evans' writing is like water; her sentences ebb and flow and change course, mirroring the Thames as it wends its way in and around the characters' lives

A masterpiece of modern living

An amazing book full of wisdom and empathy

An immersive look into friendship, parenthood, sex, and grief - as well as the fragility of love. It is told with such detail, you're left wanting more

Beautifully written and observed

Evans is extraordinarily good on the minutiae of grief, family, and the fragility of love

a lyrical portrait of modern London