The Glass Kingdom

‘Takes aim at many aspects of modern life, from the military to reality television to society’s growing dependence on pharmacology…Fans of Irvine Welsh will delight in Flynn’s wordplay.’—Books+Publishing

‘Flynn’s fine ear for voice, rhythm, and pace, on full display here, are a major strength of the novel. His characters are sharply drawn. We come to know and inhabit these men not only through what they say, but how they say it…The characters inhabit a three-dimensional landscape where movement, be it subtle or dramatic, creates its own tension and poetry.’—Australian Book Review

‘A catastrophic, unexpected and strikingly imagined climax. His command of extravagant action and idiom never flags.’—Weekend Australian

‘Flynn’s men, like country towns, want to be known. Flynn’s close attention to voice means he’s always testing the frailties of self-perception and the performance of masculinity. Flynn is already one of our most playfully thoughtful novelists. On the basis of the gathering strengths of his two novels to date, he’s also on track to become one of our most interesting.’—Sydney Morning Herald

‘The funniest tale I’ve read in many a year…The Glass Kingdom is best described, I think, as Alex Garland’s The Beach meets the bush, and will have you marvelling at Flynn’s extraordinary ear for the vernacular and wicked eye for small-town country Australia.’—Readings

‘An unflinching page-turner that’s funny, ugly, shocking and true to life all at once.’—Three Thousand

‘Chris Flynn’s The Glass Kingdom has a whiff of Irvine Welsh’s drug-stream of consciousness and mindless violence, both brilliantly captured…a wild and satisfying ride.’—NZ Listener

‘A fantastic romp through the dark crevasses of Australia…a good read, a wanna-get-back-to-it read, and there isn’t much better than that.’—BooksellersNZ

‘The Glass Kingdom gives readers an insight into a very dysfunctional community and a network of drug dealers scattered across bleak and violent small towns in rural Australia. The blurb states that fans of Irvine Welsh will enjoy the book, and I entirely agree.’—Good Reading

‘A funny, sick book you’ll want to wash off your skin like outback dust, blood and spit.’—Craig Sherborne