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Fifteen-year-old Wulliam is dreading taking up his family's mantle of Riverkeep, tending the river and fishing corpses from its treacherous waters. But then everything changes. One night his father is possessed by a dark spirit, and Wull hears that a cure lurks deep within the great sea-beast known as the mormorach. He realizes he must go on an epic journey downriver to find it - or lose Pappa forever. 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 * It's exciting; it's thrilling; it's emotional - it's a roller-coaster of a book which draws the reader right in and doesn't want to let you go * ParentsinTouch.co.uk * Outstanding . . . Wulliam's world is richly furnished with lush language and wonderful words, despite him being a man of so few * Scotsman * An utterly compelling and masterful young adult fantasy, Riverkeep swallows the reader whole from the first page, immersing them in its atmospheric, watery, ghostly world and keeping them gripped to the end. Highly recommended for any fan of Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman or Ursula Le Guin * Booktrust * An astonishing blend of the literary, the comedic, and the emotionally resonant . . . Marks the beginning of a remarkable career * WHSmith Blog * Riverkeep is a stunning book and a must-read for fans of Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman. It's dark and immersive with a rich mix of wonderfully complicated - and occasionally hilarious - characters in a dreamy, violent world. It'll sweep you up like a strange and dangerous river and you'll never want it to let you go -- Moira Fowley-Doyle, author of The Accident Season Intense . . . As darkly comical as it is terrifying and violent. Stewart shows a dab hand at crafting memorable characters and thoroughly frightening opponents for them to face. A rich debut: Huck Finn meets Moby-Dick * Kirkus * Filled with wild adventure and hilarious dialogue, this vivid, engrossing fantasy will delight readers * Publishers Weekly * Remarkable . . . A rich and vivid fantasy world with a full cast of memorable characters and fantastical beasts * Scottish Librarian * A stunning debut * Sunday Independent (Ireland) * Exquisite . . . Martin Stewart's descriptions of Wull's world gripped in winter are brutal and beautiful, his monsters are terrifyingly plausible -- Rick Yancey * New York Times *

Riverkeep