Paul Kincaid

Dan Hartland in Foundation 139

… this combination of precision and humility … makes The Unstable Realities of Cristopher Priest such an invaluable book — and gives it such acute empathy with the purposes of Priest’s fictions. … This is an erudite book that is quite obviously the product of years of reflection on the works at hand, and this process of marination lends it a rewarding depth and breadth. … His book is more readable than any critical study has a right to be, and yet this smoothness of composition at no point sacrifices clarity or complexity of meaning. … [Kincaid arrives] at a collection of compelling and competing visions of Priest’s work which is, in its fragmented and layered nature, as complete a telling of this unusual body of work as the corpus allows.

John Howard in Wormwood 36

Kincaid’s thorough and engrossing study of the bulk of Christopher Priest’s literary output of over fifty years, from the mid-1960s to the publication of the collection Episodes in 2019 … offers lucid readings that illuminate and provoke; the sleights and misdirecting of the magician are opened out, while leaving the stories alive (and lively) for many further returns.

Nick Hubble at Prospective Cultures

Showcasing Priest’s fiction in the manner of a ground-breaking, paradigm-setting exhibition is what Kincaid’s book does so successfully. Key to this success is his adoption of an innovative structure designed to unlock the ambivalences and ambiguities of Priest’s writing … Kincaid is an excellent guide to Priest’s work.

Jay Vickers in Fortean Times

Kincaid demonstrates clearly that there are multiple ways of interpreting Christopher Priest’s work: “All are valid, none are complete.” His analysis is excellent … this book will probably remain the authoritative study of this significant British writer’s work.