Reviews
A stunning novel about making the most of life - and love - while you still can. Darkly comic, his work is laced with compassion and optimism'
Sunday Post
It has been a long time coming – more than thirty years – but was well worth the wait. The continuing misadventures of Morris Magellan are every bit as bleakly comic as in The Sound of My Voice. The phrase 'laughter in the dark' has never felt more fitting
Ian Rankin
a new, buoyant, standalone novel... taking in themes of Scottish independence and love in later life
The Bookseller
I loved The Sound of My Voice, and this darkly entertaining novel is a worthy sequel
James Robertson
A life-affirming novel
Books from Scotland
A funny, provocative, and compelling read highlighting a life lived with regrets while attempting to make the most of the present
LoveReading, Book of the Month
This follow-up to Ron Butlin’s award-winning 1987 novel The Sound of My Voice is rich in comedy while offering some melancholy truths
The Scotsman
Every bit as masterful as its celebrated 1987 predecessor... an almost painfully insightful and honest depiction of a man struggling with drink, his past and ultimately himself... But it isn’t devoid of optimism or humour either, and Morris’s awareness of his own ridiculousness mines laughter from a desperate situation
The Herald
an enjoyable and memorable novel following the adventures and - mainly - misadventures of Morris Magellan
Undiscovered Scotland
A funny, provocative, and compelling read highlighting a life lived with regrets while attempting to make the most of the present
LoveReading
This follow-up to Butlin's excellent 1987 novel, The Sound of My Voice, has been a long time coming but it's been worth the wait
Scottish Field
One of the most engaging and diversely talented writers of his generation
British Council
About the Book
From the author of the award winning The Sound of My Voice
After being sacked from his day job as a business executive, Morris Magellan has cashed it all in – the house, the car, family life – to be free at last to pursue his true passion: music. He returns to his childhood home to escape city life, face his demons and compose his masterpiece. Very soon, things start to go wrong. Not only does his past catch up with him, but the future becomes more threatening by the day. Bad habits return with a vengeance. Then he meets Jess. Written with humour and compassion, this compelling novel, set in the Borders, sixties London and present-day Edinburgh, touches on music, love in later life and, most of all, how to make the most of one’s time before it is too late.You may also like…
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E-Book | Pub: 02 Jun 2022£6.99
Winner of the Shamus Award for the Best First P.I. Novel The Goldenacre – a masterpiece by the painter and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh – has been given to the people of Scotland. The beautiful canvas, the last work by the artistic...
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E-Book | Pub: 06 Jun 2024£6.99
Tommo has just moved to a prestigious boarding school. A product of the middle class, and with new-found independence thrust upon him, he finds himself invited into fading crumbling country houses. It’s the early nineties and the elite he is now...
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Paperback | Pub: 07 Sep 2023£8.99
Morris Magellan wakes one morning to find himself stuck in a corporate job and living the suburban dream with a wife and two children, except this dream feels like a nightmare. Out of his depth and starting to drift from reality, we meet Morris at...
