Colony

(Paperback)

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Description

The new Papillon A taut, page-turning literary thriller set in a penal colony in French Guiana, from a young English writer of huge promise. From the author of the tightly-coiled existential thriller The Execution comes Colony, a novel set in French Guiana as the age of Empire draws to a close, the ropes relax and anarchy beckons...An escape by convicts from the penal colony lie at the novel's heart, and the book is bound to invite comparison with Henri Charriere's classic, Papillon.

Reviews

Praise for 'The Execution': 'Unnervingly cool prose!an entertainingly urbane thriller [whose] suspense lies not in the whodunit, but in watching a perfect life unravel.' Daily Telegraph 'An impressive and sure-footed debut!Wilcken's tight, energetic prose keeps the pages turning.' Daily Mail 'Wilcken, who lives in Paris, has chosen the extremely French subject of murder and adultery!The tone, which in its fatalism could be called existential, could also, in its acceptance of the way the world and emotions work, be called wise. Through this tone and elegant patterning, "The Execution" transcends genre.' Observer 'Taut, menacing, full of sinister beguilements. And unsettlingly shrewd.' Will Eaves, author of "The Oversight" 'Brilliant!A diabolical thriller that echoes the best suspense of Patricia Highsmith with a cheeky nod to Dostoyevsky, "The Execution" is a remarkably accomplished debut heralding the arrival of a noteworthy talent.' Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Hugo Wilcken is in his thirties and British-Australian. He lives in Paris, where he has worked as a writer since 1990. His first book, The Exectution, was published to critical acclaim in 2001.