Hard Revolution - Tapa dura

'[Hard Revolution] is Dickensian in structure... Pelecanos's writing is direct and effective, with much period detail about cars and music, and he has a wonderful way with vernacular. The scenes of mob violence are minutely documented and the waste is appalling but, just as in Dickens, love finally conquers all.' (Toby Clements DAILY TELEGRAPH)

'An Ellroy-esque powderkeg waiting for a spark to set it off, Hard Revolution slowboils its dense storyline , interweaving mulitiple characters heading for a violent showdown, until you either care deeply for or loathe them, ensuring that its denouement leaves you shattered. A fascinating historical saga and crime potboiler combined, Pelecanos' 12th novel is a brutal tour de force.' (JACK magazine)

'In Hard Revolution George Pelecanos breaks new ground with a long, expansive novel which sets the strories of Derek Strange and his family against the momentous events surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King in the summer of 1968.' (WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY)

'It's [Pelecanos'] ability, better than any writer up to and including Nick Hornby, to bring his characters to life through their obsessions, desires and needs, that makes Pelecanos's writing jump off the page. He writes about real people in real situations, and the hard choices they must make every day. And, as in Hard Revolution, when he does it well, it's a tender and beautiful thing.' (WORD Magazine)

'Pelecanos writes clean, tight, cogent prose with a heartfelt urgency.' (THE SCOTSMAN)

'Has George Pelecanos's hour finally arrived? For years, aficionados of tough, richly characterised thrillers have put Pelecanos securely in the No 1 slot. It's not difficult to see why: many writers excel at the well-turned acerbic thriller but few are able to combine tough dialogue and bloodletting with an ambitious picture of a society - and that's what Pelecanos achieves, time and time again.' (Barry Forshaw SUNDAY EXPRESS)

'This is a wonderful powerful novel that deserves to win an oscar.' (TIME OUT)

'Hard Revolution is a wonderfully atmospheric, highly intelligent novel; and no one today - not even Elmore Leonard - writes better dialogue.' (Marcel Berlins THE TIMES)

'...a sophisticated, unflinching novel. 4 stars *' (Nick Hasted UNCUT magazine)

'An epic novel about one man's journey into the fires of revolution, this is a book that also reeks of soul music and ethnic diversity as Pelecanos lovingly creates the lost world in which he grew up. Beneath the paving stones and the mayhem and crime lies a strange poetry that is unique to Pelecanos. Impressive.' (Maxim Jabubowski THE GUARDIAN)