"[Paul Pickering conjures] up an Africa that combines the traditional elements--malaria, crocodiles, waterfalls--with modem accessories such as Kalashnikov rifles. Some of the descriptions are superb. Pickering captures the sights, sounds and smells of Africa with loving care. The banks of the great river have an unkempt beauty that tugs at the heart-strings. And to import the music of Bach and Beethoven into such an exotic tropical setting was a masterstroke. The pianist clinging to his art in the midst of unimaginable dangers becomes a powerful parable of human endeavour....Pickering takes on some of the biggest themes of all--love, war, art--with a boldness that puts most novelists to shame. The Africa he has drawn leaps four-square from the page, at once beautiful and terrifying." --Max Davidson, "The Mail on Sunday" (London)
'The Leopard's Wife can be highly recommended. Pickering takes on some of the biggest themes of all - love, war, art - with a boldness that puts most novelists to shame. The Africa he has drawn leaps four-square from the page, at once beautiful and terrifying' Mail on Sunday 11/7
"For armchair travelers, there's plenty of mind-tingling talk plus action when Paul Pickering's dithery hero in "Perfect English" sets the world to rights in the chaos of current Nicaragua." --David Hughes, "The Mail on Sunday "(UK)
""The Leopard's Wife" is full of surprises. In his atmospheric and evocative new novel, Paul Pickering weaves Congolese politics, suspense and classical music into an exotic tapestry." --Eugene Drucker, author of "The Savior"
"An unusual book. Blackly humorous, it is a character study as well as an espionage novel. Highly literate, brooding and sad, "The Blue Gate of Babylon" is much more than a spy story. It is superior literature." --Newgate Callendar, "The New York Times Book Review"