Mark Mayes, shortlisted for the Bridport prize, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, & author of forthcoming novel ‘The Gift Maker’

There are images and scenes in this novel that will probably stay with me always, much as if I had dreamt them … The writing is starkly poetic, haunting, skilfully fractured. Jo Ely certainly knows how to manifest a sense of the uncanny …

Real and vivid … the cinematic effect is remarkable … a wild emotional ride through a maze of plot twists and jaw dropping landscapes. A truly enjoyable read.

Jo Ely’s superb debut novel combines the vision of Russell Hoban and Ursula Le Guin with her own unique talents as a powerful and poetic storyteller.

Ely’s fictional voice resonates with raw emotion, and her writing is as tactile as the damp walls and the crack in the ceiling of Antek’s cell. The simplest description can be imbued with a complexity of feeling and meaning. Her characters seem rendered with great tenderness, a tenderness that can only inspire in the reader empathy and affection.

There is a poetic compression to this artfully simple prose with each sentence infused with the perceptions and psychology of the character.

Powerful poetic prose… a deftness of touch and a beautiful way with words… superb.

A very accomplished prose stylist… Very talented.

Strong sensory opening… Adeptly establishes character and mood with lyrical strokes… nuanced and satisfying… Small revelations in a singular moment.

A very distinct voice … at times no less than stunning … wonderful, poetic prose … The subject matter is a stroke of genius. Fascinating.

An intelligent, creative, imaginative, original writer.