The best book about the experience of soldiering I've read since Robert Graves's First World War classic Goodbye To All That. Campbell is a fantastic writer . . . Rain is a heartbreaking, brutally truthful first novel written with love and respect for the guys in the frontline

No better on-the-ground description of Britain's war in Afghanistan will ever be written. Rain is what Chickenhawk or, more recently, Matterhorn was to Vietnam. It's unputdownable, except for when the reader needs to draw breath or battle a lump in the throat

Incredibly powerful. The best thing I've read on the war in Afghanistan . . . Some books have to be read - this is one

Riveting. The evocation of life in a warzone is captivatingly real . . . As well as the extraordinary detail there's a heartrending emotional depth . . . The result is eye opening and harrowing. A really powerful debut

A wonderfully achieved, enthralling and moving novel of war. Its authenticity is as telling as it is terrifying

Rain is not merely good, it's remarkable. Powerful, at times unbearably harrowing, it captures both the fear and exhilaration of men pushed to breaking point

One of the most powerful and emotional works ever written about British soldiers in battle. Troubling, funny, upsetting, exhilarating and deeply moving. You will never forget it

A powerful and moving story of war with all the authenticity of a memoir

Thrilling, gut-wrenching and profoundly moving, this book, like all the very best novels of war, has the utterly compelling grip of authenticity

An extraordinary book: authentic, beautifully written and very moving

Simply superb. It could become the defining account of British soldiers in Afghanistan

One of the best novels about the Afghanistan war. Brutally honest, it could have been a memoir. Read Rain

Gripping . . . the ending is genuinely shocking

A raw novel about the war in Afghanistan . . . the book smells completely authentic

A must-read debut

This is without doubt the best and most readable account of a modern combat soldier's life that I have read. The unique relationship between officer and soldier is brilliantly explored, as is the impact of war on loved ones left behind. Then there's the raw fear, the shock of the real thing, the loss of comrades and the sense of absolute mutual commitment that carries the day. I cannot commend it too much. A modern classic

This debut novel from Jesse Armstrong…is every bit as funny and cringe-inducing as the sitcoms he made his name writing.

one of the year’s funniest books.

brilliantly funny… the dialogue and the characters are fantastic.

Zusak's novel is a highwire act of inventiveness and emotional suppleness

A triumph of control ...one of the most unusual and compelling of recent Australian novels

...the much talked about The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak...should soon have the UK under its spell.

...this is a novel to touch even the coldest of hearts - definitely 2007's first must-read book.

A compelling tale from the start...definitely 2007's first must-read book.

A moving story from the German perspective of everyday civilian hardship and surivival under the Third Reich. It celebrates the power of words and love, in the face of unutterable suffering

Death turns out to be a tender narrator in Zusak's 'The Book Thief' [...] This novel movingly depicts the Himmel Street community, and its orphaned book thief, Liesel Meminger

Your emotions by the end of this novel are shot to pieces, but it's well worth it.

Although already a bestselling children's book, THE BOOK THIEF's insightful and poignant tone and appealing characters...are amply equipped to capture adults, too.