Some Quotes
(Ah, would they were all true!)
Children's Books
"One of the real masters of children's literature."
Philip Pullman
"Peter Dickinson is a national treasure."
The Guardian
"A funny, fascinating, and at times almost breathtaking web of adventure."
Punch on The Weathermonger
"His imaginative control is absolute. Scores very high marks for sheer story-telling, narrative which is packed full of suspense and pace."
Times Literary Supplement on Heartsease
"Wholly enjoyable - fascinating, sophisticated and funny."
The Times on The Dancing Bear
"Magnificent. Peter Dickinson is the past-master story-teller of our day."
Times Literary Supplement on The Blue Hawk
"A haunting novel that resonates with ancient and primitive mysteries."
The New York Times Book Review on Healer
"An outstanding novel, gripping and thought-provoking."
The Guardian on Eva
"The power, versatility and sheer professionalism . . . are such as few writers, past or present, can hope to match. A great and eloquent story . . . relentlessly readable."
The Junior Bookshelf on A Bone from a Dry Sea
"It is a remarkable work. Not only is there a thrilling sweep of ideas and images; Dickinson has also created a completely believable and compelling culture and history from a period which has left virtually no traces."
The Daily Telegraph on The Kin
"A thrilling fantasy of alchemy, music, and a fiery family destiny by one of Britain's great storytellers."
Philip Pullman on The Tears of the Salamander
"A masterpiece . . . gripping, moving, life-enhancing, the work of a major writer at his very best."
Books for Keeps on The Gift Boat
Adult Novels
"He is the true original, a superb writer who revitalises the traditions of the mystery genre . . . incapable of writing a trite or inelegant sentence . . . a master."
P.D.James
"The Tolkien of the crime novel."
H.R.F.Keating
"He sets new standards in the mystery field that will be hard to live up to."
Ruth Rendell
"He has an eye and a mind and a voice like no other."
Donald E. Westlake
"Brilliantly imaginative first detective story . . .wonderfully convincing."
The Observer on Skin Deep
"Mr Dickinson is the most original crime novelist to appear for a long, long time."
The Guardian on A Pride of Heroes
"Read this book carefully. It's a jewel."
The New York Times Review on The Old English Peep Show
"Brilliantly original, as always."
Times Literary Supplement on Sleep and his Brother
"It's marvellous. A good story."
Rex Stout on The Poison Oracle
"Wry, witty, irresistible."
The Financial Times on King and Joker
"...a literary magician controlling an apparently inexhaustible supply of effects . . . Craftsmanship such as this makes for compulsive reading."
Penelope Lively on The Last Houseparty
"It flies just about as high as the detective story can go."
H.R.F.Keating on Hindsight
"Peter Dickinson's technique is dazzling, and he writes as though there were witchdoctors present at his christening."
The Guardian on Tefuga
"Dickinson tops all his prizewinners with this stunning psychological thriller."
Publishers Weekly on Perfect Gallows
"...a fresh triumph . . . a simultaneous insight into kids and their minders, and emerging nations, and the concept of freedom - all done with consummate story-telling skill."
Peter Lovesey on Play Dead
Other Reviews
The Ropemaker
Publishers Weekly
"Like his stellar novels Shadow of a Hero and Bone from a Dry Sea, Dickinson's latest offering moves from the mythic to the particular and back again, making clear the ways in which an individual's extraordinary experience could metamorphose into an entire culture's legend. Readers who are willing and able to fall into step with its majestic pace will be rewarded by a thought-provoking trek through a fairy tale world that is as breathtakingly fresh as it is archetypal.... A challenging magical adventure for the thinking reader."
Booklist
"Dickinson works his own wonders in a thoroughly compelling tale that delves into the nature of both magic and time.... Dickinson's world is vividly realized, his play with time and magic is totally credible, and his characterizations are fully developed--particularly that of Tilja, whose coming-of-age is beautifully portrayed."
Horn Book
"...the craft with which Dickinson constructs his conclusion fully matches the promise of his ambitious framework."
School Library Journal
"Fascinating questions about time are posed, and there is much for young people to think about here. As much as anything, this book is about the power of story and the influence it can have on ordinary people's lives."
— Bruce Anne Shook
Mendenhall Middle School
Greensboro, NC
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