There are car chases, fight scenes, a glamorous party and a final shoot-out that is surely a homage to the climax of The Man With the Golden Gun . . . [Cole] is a master of action, and the scenes on the sinister airship as it makes its way over the Atlantic are particularly tense.

Delightfully nasty, bonkers piratical fun. I laughed out loud on the Tube!'

Think The Mighty Boosh for 8-year-olds with a dash of Lemony Snicket thrown in. Although Mabbitt has a voice all of his own.

Anarchic, adventurous and extremely funny, this is a fantastic debut at the younger end of middle-grade.

You ask any class "Who's heard of Alice in Wonderland" and up goes a forest of hands. Uncle is on the same level and should be more widely read and enjoyed

Would make a great gift for literary eccentrics of any age

I think Uncle stuck with me because of its combination of excess, gadgetry and eccentricity - all of which are modes of being I have attempted to emulate in my adult life. I blame J.P. Martin

If there was ever a children's series generating fanatical, "cult" adoration, this is it. And deservedly so

To portray divorce with humour and sympathy takes great skill and Jacquline Wilson demonstrates she has this in abundance with this delightful book. . . . A wonderful, moving, yet funny book - a special read

Honest, angry, sometimes sad and always very readable . . . Adults could learn something here about the emotional turmoil suffered by a child with divided loyalties

Dido is compelling and beautifully written

What a fantastic job Adel Geras has done bringing these characters to life

Full of suspense and the characters were written so well that you were really pulled into their lives

The book comes billed as "a passionate tale of love, betrayal and revenge" - and it is indeed, an excellent, intelligent read which will stretch minds just as it will stretch vocabularies. It is vivid in the world it creates, intriguing as it takes you there and satisfying when it leaves you

Adele Geras gave us brilliant evocations of the ancient world with Troy and Ithaka. With Dido she again takes a classical setting and story and breathes freshness, and above all an up-to-date connection, into the people and the places whilst skilfully remaining faithful to her sources