My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review. I read it with some trepidation, expecting to be harrowed and depressed again by the horrors of the killing seas, but at the same time cheered by the prospect of somebody trying to break through in fiction the way we just accept the way our governments repel, deny and persecute any survivors.

I found it a very powerfully imagined story, a fairy story for sure, but grippingly told with an interesting and nuanced set of characters. The sights and smells on the boat are viscerally memorable. The grimness of the detention centre is realistic. What is more surprising is that the ostensible villains often speak well. What the people smugglers say about the west is quite true. Even the pursuing colonel has his virtues - he rescues a drowning girl while hunting down the boy and girl whose fairy tale we are following. The kindliness of ordinary folk is uplifting too. The hotel cleaner helps with snacks for the journey. The erstwhile teacher directs the clandestine escape bid.

I hope a lot of people will read this book. It would make a fine film. I will be encouraging my friends to read it once it comes out.