Arm of the Sphinx

Like its predecessor, it is a brilliant piece of work … these two books are genius. I just love them. The story, characters and imagination shine, and even without the quality of the prose it would be a good tale. But the prose just makes me constantly jealous. Not just the wordplay, but the cleverness of the sentiment and observation behind it … If these books don’t gain some major recognition, I will despair

Arm of the Sphinx is an entertaining and easily devoured read … Bancroft’s prose is beautiful - at times breathtaking … In his deadpan humour and sparkling creativity, Bancroft’s writing reminds me of Terry Pratchett - breaking ground and defying tropes with an entirely different kind of world

An extraordinary debut that is well worthy of the hype. A beautifully written, highly engaging page-turning masterpiece

A terrific, free-ranging fantasy that ranges from Kafkaesque horror to heist thriller, all tied together by themes of agency and ascension. What begins as a disconnected series of curious vignettes turns into an exciting and cunningly constructed epic. Senlin is that rare fantasy protagonist that succeeds solely through intelligence and hard work, making his progress (such as it is) all the more impressive. This book is bonkers, entertaining, clever and - quite possibly - unique

Senlin Ascends crosses the everyday strangeness and lyrical prose of Borges and Gogol with all the action and adventure of high fantasy. I loved it, and grabbed the next one as soon as I turned the last page