Paul M.M. Cooper

‘Superbly told’ The Times‘Richly imagined’ Sunday Times‘An engrossing, seamlessly written deliberation on the enduring power of art’ Mail on SundayAssyria, in the reign of Ashurbanipal. For Aurya and Sharo, every day is a struggle for survival. One evening, everything changes. Soon, they are on the barge of King Ashurbanipal, bound for the city of Nineveh. Their fates become inextricably bound to that of the king – and the injured lion captured by his men.Twenty-six centuries later, British-Iraqi archaeologist Katya joins a dig in Mosul to protect the ancient ruins of Nineveh from looters. But the real world crashes in to their studious idyll when ISIL storm Mosul – and take Katya, Salim and local girl Lola hostage.‘Dual timeline novels often fail: one strand is more interesting than the other, or the links between the two are contrived. Not here. Both stories are superbly told and share the same preoccupation – the coexistence of cruelty and creative beauty’ The Times, Historical Novel of the Month

'An extraordinary debut … River of Ink is what historical fiction should be: immersive, illuminating and captivating' The Times'Vivid and compelling' Mail on Sunday'A powerful and timely fable about freedom, resistance and the secret might of the weak' Financial Times_____________From his humble village beginnings, Asanka has risen to the prestigious position of court poet in the great island kingdom of Lanka, delighting in a life of ease. But when the ruthless Kalinga Magha violently usurps the throne, Asanka’s world is changed beyond imagination. To his horror, the king tasks him with the translation of an epic poem designed to civilise his subjects and snuff out the fires of rebellion… Asanka has always believed that poetry makes nothing happen, but as lines on the page become cries in the street he learns that true power lies not at the point of a sword, but in the tip of a pen.