The Secrets of a Fire King gives eloquence to an astonishing range of discoveries and leaves the reader entranced

Beautifully focused. Edwards' tales read like the work of a wise traveller who returns home with uncommon souvenirs from other lands.

Impeccable, a treasure. Edwards shows herself to be a fully realised writer. Edwards' brilliance is evident in the way she contstructs a story.

Henry James is as solitary in the history of the novel as Shakespeare is in the history of poetry

[James] is the most intelligent man of his generation

The Turn of the Screw is the most hopelessly evil story that we have ever read in any literature, ancient or modern

We are afraid of something unnamed, of something, perhaps, in ourselves... Henry James...can still make us afraid of the dark

Dark, funny and disturbing

These 10 inventive stories, set mostly in the Florida Everglades, mix satire and sophisticated whimsy

Karen Russell has produced an engaging debut. Her ability to integrate mythology and the supernatural with the very contemporary...is reminiscent of Angela Carter, but unlike Carter's many imitators, Russell never descends into whimsy... In St Lucy's, humans, ghosts and animals are utterly real; and Russell sells the genuine article, a seemingly effortless writer

These are stories that will sneak into the back of your brain and lurk there long after you are finished reading.

Poignant and wonderful story...concentrates, without effort, all Malouf's themes...it needs to be read