Glow
On sale
8th May 2014
Price: £16.99
With GLOW, Ned Beauman has reinvented the international conspiracy thriller for a new generation.
A hostage exchange outside a police station in Pakistan.
A botched defection in an airport hotel in New Jersey.
A test of loyalty at an abandoned resort in the Burmese jungle.
A boy and a girl locking eyes at a rave in a South London laundrette . . .
For the first time, Britain’s most exciting young novelist turns his attention to the present day, as a conspiracy with global repercussions converges on one small flat above a dentist’s office in Camberwell.
‘Beauman’s writing is dazzlingly inventive.’ The Times
‘I love Ned Beauman’s novels.’ Philip Hensher
‘A singular and almost recklessly gifted, young writer.’ Time
‘Seriously intelligent and seriously funny at the same time.’ Daily Telegraph
‘Gobsmackingly clever’ Vanity Fair
‘Undoubtedly a writer of prodigious talent.’ Financial Times
‘A promising voice for the future of the written word and a force to be acknowledged in the here and now.’ Dazed & Confused
A hostage exchange outside a police station in Pakistan.
A botched defection in an airport hotel in New Jersey.
A test of loyalty at an abandoned resort in the Burmese jungle.
A boy and a girl locking eyes at a rave in a South London laundrette . . .
For the first time, Britain’s most exciting young novelist turns his attention to the present day, as a conspiracy with global repercussions converges on one small flat above a dentist’s office in Camberwell.
‘Beauman’s writing is dazzlingly inventive.’ The Times
‘I love Ned Beauman’s novels.’ Philip Hensher
‘A singular and almost recklessly gifted, young writer.’ Time
‘Seriously intelligent and seriously funny at the same time.’ Daily Telegraph
‘Gobsmackingly clever’ Vanity Fair
‘Undoubtedly a writer of prodigious talent.’ Financial Times
‘A promising voice for the future of the written word and a force to be acknowledged in the here and now.’ Dazed & Confused
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Reviews
Beauman's writing is dazzlingly inventive.
I love Ned Beauman's novels.
A singular and almost recklessly gifted, young writer.
Seriously intelligent and seriously funny at the same time.
Gobsmackingly clever
Undoubtedly a writer of prodigious talent
A promising voice for the future of the written word and a force to be acknowledged in the here and now.
Complex themes are introduced not least tangents into neuroscience and Burmese history, but we are rarely disorientated for long. The twists when they come are unexpected and satisfying.
A thoroughly enjoyable, playful read . . . The narrative hooks immediately, as does the language, which is often delightfully inventive. There are also surprisingly tender scenes that add depth and humour.
. . . Beauman has created a truly modern thriller that is as addictive as it is inventive.
Glow is an inventive, supercharged conspiracy thriller set in contemporary London with occasional forays to Burma and Iceland . . . Beauman is an admirably lean storyteller and the acrobatic plot flips time zones and swaps points of view with the frantic, fierce pace of a computer game. His hypnotic, dystopian portrait of an edgy, youthful London of pills, parties and pirate radio makes you long to be 20 and in the swim again. He's capable of startlingly economical lyricism - a fox's tail is a 'bic flame' - and is able to capture observational detail with such skill that it can take your breath away. Glow is a fast-paced, slickly plotted conspiracy thriller written by a talented and energetic young writer.
Unhinged, over-whelming and brilliant ... Beauman has taste: his antennae are acutely tuned to the stylish and resonant.
Exciting , engaging and most importantly, really fun to read... effortless while also feeling sculpted with wonderful precision
Sexy and urgent
Refreshingly hip
Glow is elevated to another level altogether by its brilliantly inventive narrative style... I can't recommend Glow enough.
Beauman's writing is extremely readable ... also interspersed with fantastic imagery and metaphor that made me laugh out loud at times.... Wholeheartedly recommend!
A good novel needs to immediately lure you in, taking away any excuse to seek entertainment elsewhere. On this point Ned Beauman certainly rises to the occasion...I can say, unequivocally, that Glow may mess with your head, but it is also addictively good.
Beauman writes with panache.
...an inventive supercharged conspiracy thriller... Beauman is an admirably lean storyteller... He is capable of startlingly economical lyricism and is able to capture observational detail with breathtaking skill
Stuff so good is restores your faith in fiction... Glow is also a thrillingly literary book: every page offers sentences that are a pure pleasure to read, rhythmic and witty, full of resonant variation. This is the real deal: no turgid lyricism here... Beauman is predictably excellent at managing the sinousities of his convoluted plot. But the real pleasure of Glow is to be found, as with all Beaumans' work, in watching his lucid, informed intelligence at work on the page. Beauman is a prodigy; he can do everything a novelist needs to be able to do .. and he does it all with such style that it looks effortless... It is the work of a writer who is already, at 29, something of a master. What more can you ask for than that?
It is worth taking a moment to celebrate Beauman's great originality and skill... he is playful, arresting, unnerving, opulent, rude and - above all - deliciously, startlingly, exuberantly fresh.
It's exciting to witness someone mythologizing London with such brains and humour, shards of reality strung into something both synthetic and magical.
As breathlessly engrossing as any whodunnit.
Beauman's writing is brilliantly funny and memorable. He doesn't just have an eye for detail but also chooses just the right words to give his observations a surreal twist.
Describing a Ned Beauman novel is like describing a rainbow, or the smell of a garden after a rainstorm. Yes, it's just light refracting and wet earth, but these prosy facts can never convey how beautiful, how utterly evocative they are . . . A Ned Beauman novel is a bit like a conversation with the most intellectually curious person you'll ever meet, but not the kind you'd slowly edge away from at parties . . . Just be warned: one Ned Beauman novel will lead inexorably down a rabbit hole of immediately gobbling up his other two. Tell your friends you'll be offline for a while.