“Sumptuously written, with prose that glitters with a dark lustre like a Damien Hirst fly collage. intricately plotted, and a satirical point as sharp and and accurate as the scalpel of a brain surgeon: De Abaitua operates on the smiling face of the present to reveal the grimacing skull of the future.”
– Will Self
“A heady work of imagination and philosophy melded to a surreal science fantasy. It is safe to say that you will read nothing else like it, unless you read another book with his name on the cover.”
– Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
“If you like corporate dystopia books or drug-trip books, you’ll really enjoy The Red Men. I greatly appreciated the philosophical/ethical discourse about those who conquer, those who fight and those who remain quiet.”
– Blogger’s Bookshelf
“With The Red Men, De Abaitua joins the ranks of Philip K Dick, J G Ballard, Rudy Rucker and Lavie Tidhar, writers who see and understand what’s happening to reality before the rest of us do. That he is able to explore all this with warmth, wit and humanity is what makes The Red Men such a vital work of modern SF.”
– Golden Apples of the West
“The Red Men is a brilliant work of social theory, in the same way that (as I have argued before) novels by authors like J G Ballard and Bret Easton Ellis are works of social theory. The Red Men is as informative and thought-provoking, when it comes to working out how society actually works in the 21st century, as anything by Zygmunt Bauman, Ulrich Beck, or Manuel Castells.”
– The Pinocchio Theory
“The initial chirpy tone and thread of black humour running through this book gets steadily darker. It is compelling, clever and terrifyingly plausible. It is also savagely violent. As a sharp and accomplished writer, de Abaitua is completely capable of delivering a nuanced, satirical take on the subject.”
– Brainfluff
“This brilliant book tests the reader with questions relevant to our day-to-day lives.”
– Fiction Uncovered
“Like the famous elephant surrounded by blind men, its shape and texture suggest differing beasts depending on where you grab it. Literary thriller and domestic drama, thought experiment and drug trip, cyberpunk and technopagan, satire and prophecy.”
– Strange Horizons
“Matthew de Abaitua makes Michel Houellebecq seem like Enid Blyton.”
– Matt Thorne
“de Abaitua can write better than any average Booker shortlist could if they all networked their brains and collaborated.”
– Barrysarll
“The Red Men resonates with everything. Everything here on this site, everything I’ve written, everything I’ve done. Everything I’m doing. In fact, ’resonates’ is the wrong word. Shakes. It shook me. Read it.”
– Magical Nihilism
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