Courttia Newland is the author of eight books including his much-lauded debut, The Scholar. His most recent novel, A River Called Time, was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. He coedited The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain, and his short stories have featured in various anthologies and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. As a screenwriter, he has written episodes of Steve McQueen’s 2020 BBC series Small Axe. @courttianewland

There is something televisual in the way Newland pitches his new novel: lots of visual description, busy with incident and plotty twists and turns . . . readable and absorbing . . . no one can doubt the sheer energy and verve of Newland's vision

If you want to know the story of Britain, it's really important to read Newland. There's a reason why the Oscar-winning McQueen is working with him

A River Called Time is an incredible read. Perfectly plotted and layered with complex ideas, a heartbreaking love triangle and an astonishing ending. It's not just a book of speculative fiction, but a starting point to learning about a kemetic spiritual system masterfully woven into the narrative. If you're a fan of Philip K. Dick and Ballard, you'll love stepping into the world Courttia has created

Gloriously enthralling. An immersive, ambitious reimagining of the city from a formidable British voice. Newland's magnum opus

Courttia's writing is rich with passion and humanity. He manages to convey great depth without ever losing his lightness of touch. A rare feat only reserved for the few

Praise for A River Called Time: A real gem of a book . . . There are so many brilliant parallels drawn between the world we live in as well as gentle prods towards the reality we could create. Written in Courttia's evocative style, I was constantly thrown by the clever twists and turns. I had my hands on my face throughout the end of the book as shock after shock was delivered . . . an excellent, beautiful read that will make you think while taking your breath away

A masterful reimagining of the African diaspora's influence on England and on the world. It's a grand tale and still an intimate portrait of loss and love. What glory and influence would Africa enjoy if colonialism had never occurred? Courttia Newland reshapes our vision of the past, present and future by taking this one question seriously. The result is something truly special. No other way to put it, this book is true Black magic

A master storyteller returns with this piece of astonishing speculative fiction, interrogating social inequality, the complexities of truth and the very essence of what it is to be human, all in Newland's precise and powerful prose

A vast and wildly ambitious piece of speculative fiction that asks what the world would look like if slavery and colonialism never existed

Courttia Newland's alternative, decolonised vision of London is a staggering feat of imagination. There's so much to love here: an everyman hero who discovers he has abilities that are anything but ordinary, parallel cities across a multiverse, African cosmology belief systems, a keep-them-guessing ending . . . An amazing achievement