RaveThe Big Issue (UK)Confident storytelling ... The American writer is having a lot of fun here with her central character ... it is through her central character that she really digs deep into current societal ripples ... a thrilling climax in a novel that’s as much about the world we live in today as the stories we create to reveal who we are.
Jeff VanderMeer
RaveThe Big IssueSet in an unnamed city in the Pacific Northwest, this latest novel loosely falls into the category of ‘eco-thriller’, starting in propulsive, breakneck style and rarely letting up ... VanderMeer is utterly confident and convincing in his storytelling ... The key to all this is Jane’s voice. She is a long way from the standard sympathetic heroine of some fiction, a morally complicated and physically intimidating presence, someone who begins to face up to the truth in the wake of the revelations she uncovers ... The action is delivered in short, punchy prose that builds up its own irresistible rhythm as the book progresses to a climax that deals with the possible end of the world, yet does so with nuance and thought-provoking speculation.
David Abrams
PanThe Independent (UK)When your debut novel is very much in thrall to a particular classic book, and it pales in comparison to that classic, it\'s probably not the best idea to have your central, semi-autobiographical character walking around reading a copy it ... he certainly evokes the antagonism between fobbits and foot soldiers well, and his depiction of the idiosyncrasies of FOB Triumph, their base in one of Saddam Hussein\'s former palaces, is sharp and has the ring of authenticity ... But the author fails to create any focus or forward momentum to his narrative ... And worse, Abrams\'s satirical swipes are tame ... At least the passages on cynical press manipulation are engaging ... In comparison, the rest of the comedy relies on heavy-handed slapstick and fart, piss and crap jokes, none of which made this reviewer laugh once.
Sheila Heti
MixedThe Scotsman...at times has the feel of a knockabout philosophical inquiry into the nature of existence, masquerading as a particularly hip and self-involved fictional (or not) narrative ... Probably the most interesting thing that happens in this rather plotless, formless narrative is a competition between Margaux and another painter to create the ugliest painting imaginable ... At times there is something almost unbearably precious and narcissistic about this book ... But for all that there are flashes of inspired writing here, there is also a lot of solipsistic navel-gazing and self-important artistic condescension ... And yet, for all the rather annoying whining, there is something occasionally magical going on here.
Megan Abbott
RaveIndependent\"... a mesmerising piece of prose combining deep characterisation and insight with a truly nerve-shredding crime plot ... Throughout it all, there is something wonderfully tactile and visceral about Abbott\'s prose; her language sometimes poetic, sometimes brutal, always pitch-perfect. The development of relationships in the book is convincing, and Abbott\'s characters seem to jump from the page fully formed into the reader\'s mind ... As Dare Me progresses, it develops into one of the most deftly plotted noir crime novels I\'ve read in a long time. The requisite twists and turns subtly embedded within her characters\' motivations, rather than springing out of nowhere, are the sign of a truly accomplished plotter ... All in all, this is exemplary writing.\
