* * *

"Perhaps in the very combination of opposites — what either of the two Thomases, of Norwich and Cromarty, might have been willing to call "the Caledonian antisyzygy" — we have a reflection of the contrasts which the Scot shows at every turn... we need not be surprised to find that in their literature the Scots present two aspects which appear contradictory. Oxymoron was ever the bravest figure, and we must not forget that disorderly order is order after all."

 

G. GREGORY SMITH, Scottish Literature: Character and Influence

 

"I was struck by Herdman's wry, philosophical bent, his acute sense of place and perception and anguish at the plight of the human condition .... But despite the pitch darkness and seriousness of his themes, Herdman is an appealing writer, with a clipped, laconic and lugubrious wit, capable of swiftly etching a scene .... goodness knows why John Herdman is not much better known than he is."

 

Alan Taylor, The Sunday Herald

 

"Herdman's writing is a feat of great wit and invention."

 

Scotland on Sunday

 

"It is a tribute to Herdman's writing that he evokes so many writers without ever seeming to imitate them .. the quality of Herdman's fantastic imaginings commands respect."

 

Christopher Whyte

 

"John Herdman skilfully treads a vertiginous edge between satiric comedy and high seriousness."

 

The Scotsman