Review: A unique and mesmerizing book.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2013
Byker Books, having already produced one of the best catalogs of 2013, scores again with 18 Days by Allen Miles.  18 Days is part of their stellar Best of British line.  It chronicles the descent of its lead character, Davy Sheridan, into a whirpool of grief and self-destruction.  Perhaps descent is too light a word.  More like he’s dropped from heaven, smashes through the earth and cartwheels straight into hell.  Then tries to dig through the floor.  The magic of the story is in its telling: rather than advance point-by-point, 18 Days evolves through a series of variations, circling back on itself and a little further forward each time, the way a melody is explored by a seasoned jazz musician.  And there a passages of description so vivid I was compelled to re-read them as soon as I'd finished.  I won't give away the ending.  You'll have to read the book to find out if Sheridan survives.  And read it you should.(Hats off, as well, to Kenny Crow for his brilliant artwork on the cover).