Faith
A huge widescreen premise…The perfect mix of space battles and politics.
Charlie Jane Anders, io9.com.
Sophisticated, inventive and beautifully written, Faith is a cut above the rest. John Love has made an excellent debut.
Allen Steele, author of Oceanspace and The Coyote Chronicles
The beautiful, brutal bastard of Iain M Banks and Peter Watts – absolutely brilliant.
Sean Williams, author of The Resurrected Man and The Green Conjunction
Gripping and original.
David Moles, Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winning author
John Love’s debut novel is tremendous science fiction that blends literary tradition with space opera.
Justin Landon, Staffersmusings.blogspot.com
A psychological journey akin to that of Captain Ahab in Moby Dick.
Justin Landon, Staffersmusings.blogspot.com
I have little doubt that the currents of this novel will ebb and flow in mind for years to come.
Justin Landon, Staffersmusings.blogspot.com
This debut novel delivers the goods…It seems virtually impossible to imagine an SF fan who won’t thoroughly enjoy the tale.
David Pitt, Booklistonline.com
Faith is a science fiction debut of the highest order. It has fascinating, well-rounded characters who will remain with you for a long time.
Stefan Raets, Tor.com
It has gorgeous, understated prose. It is chock-full of tension, making it a compulsive page turner.
Stefan Raets, Tor.com
Faith is a novel I maybe would have expected from the mind of Iain M. Banks and if that isn’t a compliment for an SF debut, I don’t know what is.
Stefan Raets, Tor.com
When the Hugo nominations come around for 2012, I’ll more than likely be listing John Love’s but, Faith, in the novel category…it’s extremely original, in all sorts of ways.
Peadar O Guilin, peadarog.livejournal.com.
FAITH is the story of choice and fate, about obsession, and the existence of God, but it’s also exciting and thrilling. There are space battles and explosions, but this isn’t Star Wars. It’s much more powerful… Highly recommended.
James Powell, thedebutreview.com
Special and different…A totally enthralling story…Leaves you with that sense of wonder about space, what it can hold, and our place in it.
The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review, booktionary. blogspot.com
Whoever found John Love for Nightshade Books should get a bonus for finding the next great Science Fiction star. Love is going to eventually belong in the same breath as some of our greatest Sci-Fi writers.
The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and
Book Review, booktionary.blogspot.com
Remember Peter Watts’ Blindsight? Blend it with Moby Dick, and then imagine it was written by Gene Wolfe. Now ramp up the tension and suspense to eleven.
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
It’s hard to believe Faith is a debut novel. It reads so smooth and subtle that as the pages fly by under your fingers, all you feel is the copper tang of a nameless fear…..
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
Faith is the space opera that those of us who like that sort of thing have been waiting for…
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
So tense, so sinister and disturbing that it pushes the boundaries between pleasure and pain, as it pulses with the rhythm and metre of an orchestral counterpoint…
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
it’s been about 24 hours since I finished the book, and I feel changed. A little heavier, a little more angular, like I just saw the edge of an iceberg before the fog hid it forever from sight.
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
I feel affected, like I’ve been told only the first few words of something so very destructive that learning the rest of it could destroy a person.
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
….I feel confident John Love’s Faith will be on my best of the year list.
Redhead, littleredreviewer.wordpress.com
This multilayered novel…Guts and glory indeed, but also depths to characters and relentless pacing, make this novel fit right into the top shelf of ship fighting fiction. If you like the ‘how’ of space warfare, good…and if you like some of the ‘why’, even better.
utsandiego.com
Powerful and original…an intense claustrophobia…wonderful macabre humour. A fiercely gripping story…the tension and suspense do not falter.
Fred Cleaver, Denver Post
When I finished this book (or as I neared the end and the ultimate truth of the tale began to take shape) I began to realize that this tale was way more than a simple ship versus ship story.
James Floyd Kelly, wired.com/geekdad
all of the mysteries and questions that have been raised about the Sakhrans, Faith, and the ship’s intentions all come together in one super-fast smack across the face…
James Floyd Kelly, wired.com/geekdad
A simply awesome, very exciting battle between two massive spaceships…it’s tactical, it’s psychological, nothing at all happens the way you’d expect, it becomes very philosophical, and it rarely lets up on the gas the entire time…
Jeff Raymond, fruitlesspursuits.com
A great read because it was so unexpected and unpredictable…This book definitely lived up to the hype.
Jeff Raymond, fruitlesspursuits.com
FAITH is a brilliant freaking book. It shows more imagination, more creativity, more conceptual thinking than any Sci-Fi novel I can think of……
Steve Skojec, blog.steveskojec.com
This is a book that first resists you. Then it grabs you. Then it appals and fascinates you. Then it abandons you. Then it grows on you…
Steve Skojec, blog.steveskojec.com
“I feel that my encounter with FAITH has changed me in ways I never could have anticipated…a genius bit of writing, and an absolute home run for first-timer John Love.
Steve Skojec, blog.steveskojec.com
FAITH begins with the kind of opening sentence that grabs readers by the throat…
Katherine Farmar, strangehorizons.com.
FAITH succeeds both as a purely visceral, exciting story and as a meditation on the place of humanity in the universe…There is a kind of passionate wonder on display here that makes FAITH exhilirating to read, a novel that demands and rewards the reader’s attention form the first sentence to the last.
Katherine Farmar, strangehorizons.com.
A superb slice of traditional science fiction, reminiscent of the early (and very best) Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asimov.
Books Monthly, booksmonthly.co.uk
I found echoes of Asimo’s original Foundation trilogy, which is all to the good, and John’s characters are strong enough to carry off this most enjoyable piece of space opera.
Books Monthly, booksmonthly.co.uk
It is safe to say that Faith is the most bizarre and unexpected debut novel in American fiction in recent years
FB Fantasy
one hundred percent original and memorable.
FB Fantasy
The novel stands out from any genre limits…breathtaking.
FB Fantasy
Wow. Uh, wow. That was my reaction upon finishing this stellar debut…FAITH, to be clear, is one of the most literary space operas I’ve ever read.
Zach Jernigan, Goodreads.com
It can be favourably compared to anything from Delany or Tiptree Jr…It just reads as masterful.
Zach Jernigan, Goodreads.com
Evensong
“Reading John Love is an unique experience…Evensong is a book obsessed with obsession…particularly noteworthy ending…
A huge reveal and …a hell of an exciting climax, followed by a gut wrenching afterword…This is a book that I could read three more times and still find more to analyse. I enjoyed it greatly.”
Nathan, Fantasy Review Barn.
“A dark, bizarre, gripping and ultimately satisfying novel…I was extremely impressed…this is a book you need to stick with for the payoff at the end…
It’s at times both complex and simplistic, offensive and tender. It’s a novel that’s likely to generate some intense discussion and extreme opinion. I…ended up, if not loving it, at least fiercely admiring it.”
Stefan Raet, far Beyond Reality
“The heavy emotional impact that this book had on me is something I just can’t ignore…The longer you read the novel, the more rewarding the experience gets…At some point you’ll definitely get the feel of many pieces neatly snapping into place, and suddenly it all makes sense…..
The novel had a huge impact on me emotionally. The revelations came at me like an explosion at the end…I was left with a numbness, a melancholy that even now I find hard to explain, mixed with shock and disbelief, like Did I just read that?!”
Mogsy, Bibliosanctum.
“A boundary pushing, smartly written future thriller…a challenging and subtle thriller with a slow burn, Evensong will pull you out of your comfort zone…
Satisfyingly subtle plot complexities; incredibly powerful final reveal; discussion triggering characters…
Evensong ends with an exquisite conclusion that isn’t read, or experienced, but physically and emotionally recovered from. Broken characters, intensely uncomfortable moments, a writing style that projects isolated claustrophobia in wide open spaces, and secrets and final hints that tease at you through a fog thet refuses to burn off.”
Andrea Johnson, SF Signal.
“A different kind of SF…an unexpectedly unique story with some very unusual relationships, and an emotional ending that completely took me by surprise…
You know when you start reading a book and you realise very quickly that this book is something different and special? Well, Evensong is one of those books…
Not many books make me cry at the end, but this was one of them. Love bludgeons the reader with some unexpected and raw emotions that make this this novel rise above the general SF fare. This was a remarkable reading experience, and I can’t wait to see what Love does next.”
Tammy, Books Bones and Buffy.
“Awe, astonishment, amazement…has flown through my mind while reading John Love’s second novel, Evensong…Evensong with its multitude of themes and metaphorical tricks is a novel of surprises. Crafty in its repetitiveness and cunning in its art of deception. It is a container whose contents have touched me in the most unexpected ways. It is impossible to foresee the ending which ultimately bursts with the final explosion of meaning…the journey to a mind-blowing revelation.”
Malgorzata Mika, The Future Fire.
“I really like John Love’s writing and this, his second novel, did not disappoint. This book kept me engrossed over the long Christmas weekend, to many family grumblings.”
Marie Davis, The Nameless Zine.
“I loved this book especially its near future world and tormented characters. And what an interesting, brave and heart-shattering ending!”
Tudor Ciocarlie, Goodreads.
“A remarkable work of near-future post-cyberpunk speculative fiction posing as an espionage thriller of the highest order worthy of comparison with the likes of John Le Carre and Graham Greene. A fast-paced trek to some of the darkest corners of the near future, with vividly rendered prose and superb world-building of a kind I have rarely seen…With his superb literary talents, John Love should be recognised for writing one of the most notable novels published this year, irrespective of genre.”
John, Goodreads.
“Features all the action and political intrigue you’d expect but also asks deeper questions regarding identity, gender and morality.”
John, Goodreads.
“Evensong is dangerously good. Imagine a novel co-written by William Gibson and Richard K Morgan, and then imagine it being even better than that sounds.”
Zachary Jernigan, author of No Return
A love letter to classic political thrillers…An appropriate fusion for our era of shifting alliances and future uncertainty, in which only the most daring ideas will save us.”
Walter Greatshell, author of Enormity and Terminal Island