The kidnap of a rebellious heiress leads Inspector Nightjar into a steampunk underworld of brain love, greed and revolution. Can the Raven Method uncover the big Truth? What powers Thousand Tower City? Why are books telling unfamiliar stories? How cosy is anarchy?

Steve Aylett, author of LINT (chosen by Stewart Lee on R4''s A Good Read) and Slaughtermatic, returns in this fizzing caper about “the good sin of thinking for yourself”.

"In the whole of language there is nothing like Steve Aylett, and The Book Lovers is his most relentless assault yet on our prissy synapses. Every sentence is a nifty seizure that will slug his reader through the printed page into a better and less reasonable world, a fugue-state heaven of excruciating beauty that spends dazzling insight as though it were chocolate money. Utterly astonishing, and possibly some manner of police procedural. Read this now before it happens." — Alan Moore, author of Watchmen

"Every sentence is a wonderland, every phrase a treat. No one writes like Steve Aylett. I am so glad that he is back. With each book it is as if he changes the possibilities of our imagination and populates your mind with new shapes and forms." — Robin Ince, comedian, author, broadcaster and co-host of the award-winning Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox.

“Aylett is the greatest absurdist of our age and worthy of comparison with William Burroughs – elegant, witty and absolutely his own writer. Lay back and immerse yourself in this wonderful book. Wise – wonderful – hilarious! Entertainment for everyone who believes there is nothing worth reading any more!” — Michael Moorcock

One of ARB’s 2024 Notable Books