Riverkeep

A cracking, startlingly original story . . . It would be an extraordinary book by any author - but it is Martin Stewart's first * Spectator *
Relentlessly brilliant . . . Stylish, precise, limitlessly evocative of landscape, atmosphere, guilt and terror . . . That he has packed enough detail, talent and skill in there for three books can hardly be a criticism. His characters lived for me by the end * Guardian *
Extraordinary . . . Stunningly original * Evening Standard *
A completely absorbing fantasy debut from a highly skilled writer * The Bookseller *
A brilliant fantasy read * Sunday Express *
Riverkeep is utterly engrossing. There are elements of Game of Thrones in the grittily realised violence; there is Gormenghast in the grotesque comedy; and it has the strange magic of Earthsea. The prose is by turns dense, sensuous, and funny, but never less than gripping. A superb debut novel -- Anthony McGowan, award-winning author of The Knife that Killed Me and Henry Tumour
Stewart's opening is both dramatic and touching, as fifteen-year-old Wull, reluctantly destined to succeed his father as the 'riverkeep', watches his own father disappear beneath the water when a freakish monster grabs him and takes him below. The writing is both visceral and highly visual. It's a remarkably assured debut . . . written by someone utterly confident in the reality of the world he has created and in the appeal of his characters * Herald Scotland *
One of my favourite debuts of the year so far * The Bookseller *
A truly extraordinary, rich and vivid debut. Martin has built a world and concocted a story you can get lost in - this is one of the most engrossing books I've read this year, and I loved every second of it. One for fans of Pratchett and Gaiman -- Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike
Stewart is being touted as the new star of fantasy fiction, and the subject of heady comparisons with his heroes Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman * Herald Scotland *