The Scholar

Vividly rendered...Strong characterisation and richly authentic dialogue * TIME OUT *
A glimpse into an urban nightmare where violence is casual, drugs are the norm...a freshness in the details and in the dialogue - frighteningly believable. * THE INDEPENDENT *
Real tension and suspense... an abosorbing debut from a writer who clearly has important things to say. * OBSERVER *
A powerfully written debut novel. * WALES ON SUNDAY *
Feisty and real * MAIL ON SUNDAY *
Convincing ... Newland shows every promise of being able to reflect Britain from a distinctive and unsentimental perspective * THE TIMES *
An entertaining and pertinent read * PRIDE *
An exciting, sustained and truthful novel, fine writing and firing dialogue. Courttia Newland knows his people very well * Diran Adebayo, author of SOME KIND OF BLACK *
Newland has conjured up a world apart from the one which most Londoners know - a world in which differences are settled with bullets, where flick-knives flash and where people casually threaten "I'm gonna carve you up" * EVENING STANDARD *
The rising star of Brit-lit and chronicler of inner city life ... Newland has acquired a buzz ... his novels cover a section of British society that was not only unrepresented but oddly invisible. The comparison with [Irvine] Welsh is apt for two reasons. First there is a clear parallel in creating new literary language and second, with luck, Newland will open up the world of fiction to a whole new audience * GUARDIAN *
Britain's brightest black writer * EVENING STANDARD *
If you thought novels about life on desolate council estates have had their day, you obviously haven't heard of Courttia Newland. One of the most in-demand young writers around, his colourful tales about the seedier side of urban Britain have earned him plaudits everywhere. So much so that he's already toured with the likes of Irvine Welsh * TOUCH *
As a literary culture we are chronically short of this sort of fiction. Voices like Newland's provide a vital counterpoint to the likes of Bridget Jones * FINANCIAL TIMES *