'A life-and-death story of evolution, shipwrecks and dominion over the earth ... Boyle's devotees will find everything they expect in the way of manic plotlines, flamboyant obsessions and cool comeuppances outlandlishly delivered'

Barbara Kingsolver, New York Times Book Review

'An often brilliant and always thoroughly entertaining satirical eco-thriller which poses questions at the heart of the ecological debate ... Boyle is one of America's best contemporary writers and this novel doesn't disappoint'

Daily Mail

'Part historical eco-thriller and part meditation on the law of unintended consequences. [...] An absorbing novel, full of plausible and involving human drama'

Daily Telegraph

'Boyle's sprawling eco-saga pitches animal rights activists against biologists and watches the fur fly ... Boyle writes with a conversational ease and fluidity that is enviable, and often breathtaking'

Financial Times