|
|
Sam Millar: Author of three best-selling novels: Dark Souls, The Redemption Factory, and
The Darkness of Bones. Author of the best-selling memoir On The Brinks, recently acquired by Warner Brothers. Winner of the prestigious Aisling Award for Art and Culture, 2003/4 Winner of the Martin Healy Short Story Award Winner of the Brian Moore Award for Short Stories Winner of the Cork Literary Review Writer?s Competition Work performed by the BBC; published in over thirty literary journals throughout the world, including the USA, Australia, Europe and Africa. Writer of best-selling anthologies, including Breaking the Skin ? 21st Century Irish Writing Volume 1: Short Stories, deservedly proclaimed as the seminal anthology of the present era. Here is the website of my present publisher, Brandon. They have published The Redemption Factory and The Darkness of Bones: www.brandonbooks.com The publisher of Dark Souls and On The Brinks is: www.deworde.com |
|
On The Brinks Number one on the bestsellers from Nov 03-Feb 04. Praise for the award-winning number one best-selling book: Interviewed by over 40 radio and TV stations in the south of Ireland, plus given at least a half-page coverage in every major and local newspaper; book-signings throughout Ireland. Covered by every major newspaper and TV in the USA. Film right bought by Warner Brothers. Praise for the best-selling number one, On The Brinks, made by critics north and south of Ireland as well as USA. “…many twists and turns…perfect for a film…” Irish Times “An extraordinary life…a terrific book – absolutely.” Pat Kenny, TODAY WITH PAT KENNY, RTE “A remarkable life by any standards…a fascinating read…” Mark Cagney, TV3 “His memoir, On The Brinks, has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster…cool narration of a life on the edge…he has a distinctive style and a compelling story. With the right marketing, his book will become a bestseller.” Books Ireland “Millar takes the reader into the centre of one of the biggest robberies in US history. An extraordinary book…a gripping story of his life in prison to best-selling author…readers of On The Brinks will be on the edge of their seats waiting for another from Millar…” Books, Belfast Telegraph “On the Brinks is compelling and powerfully written with a style that makes it hard to put down…it is Millar's ability to give a detached view of the brutalities and mistakes of his own life that makes On the Brinks read more like a work of fiction than the memoir it actually is.” Irish Emigrant, Book Review “…harrowing…” Democrat and Chronicle, New York “Meet the new generation of Irish writers…” The Guardian “His brilliant memoir, On The Brinks, is a tale of surreal childhood in Belfast, of years of horror and torture and brutality in Long Kesh…The title of the book is testament to the author’s blackest humour which courses through the dark red memories of prison torture…” Irish Examiner “Sheer brilliance. One hell of a writer. A stunning piece of work. I simply couldn’t put it down.” Gaye Shortland, author, Rough Rides in Dry Places “On The Brinks is beautifully written…very moving particularly as its language and sense of poetic survival is such a contrast to the horror of the mind-destroying reality…” Roger Derham, author, The Simurgh and the Nightingale “On The Brinks is an epic tale…his amazing life story…Millar is a great story teller who takes us right into the darkest recesses of his mind…gripping as he gives readers a rare insight into the US system of justice…an extraordinary journey…I have read many accounts of the H-Block/Blanket Protest, but Millar’s intensely personal account of the routine deprivation, brutality and isolation is by far the best I have read to date.” Sean Mag Uidhir, editor, North Belfast News “His masterpiece…” Andersonstown News “Fascinating…” Faith O’Grady, Lilliput Press “Hollywood couldn’t have done it better.” Irish Voice, New York “Pat Kenny on RTE Radio 1 was positively revelling in the presence of Belfast writer Sam Millar and his memoir On The Brinks. It wasn’t too hard to hear why…we remain unused to hearing such conviviality from Kenny, or indeed most other RTE presenters…Kenny might even be kicking himself that he hadn’t saved this for his Late Late Show…” Harry Browne, RadioReview, Irish Times “Millar who is wrongly imprisoned for being part of an ‘illegal organisation’ is sent to the notorious fortress boasted by Thatcher as the ‘H-Blocks’. In On The Brinks we encounter some of the most inhuman acts of this century, as we follow the plight of the prisoners, their hardship and their horrific human endurance. Even though Millar describes these times in a brutal, honest and disturbing way, he also exerts humour which takes your mind off the brutality for a moment and creates a perfect juxtaposition. On The Brinks deals with human suffering and endurance which is so horrific it makes it hard to believe that it actually happened. It is Millar’s ability to relieve his suffering in such a brutality honest way that gives the book its real strength. Emma Horgan, The Voice “By any standards Sam Millar has led a remarkable life. This memoir divides comfortably between the North [of Ireland] and New York. Millar’s vivid recollection of privations withstood during the blanket protest offers grim testimony to the limits of human endurance. Like others around him Millar would not be broken, even when political conviction was reduced to dogged resistance against a repressive prison regime. He then emigrated to New York, worked in illicit casinos. The American chapters unveil a gambling underworld run by New York’s Irish gangs. The empire wasn’t built to last but Millar eyed a much bigger prize…teaming up with an associate to rob $7.2 million from the hitherto impregnable Brinks Security operation in Rochester. It was a daring and bloodless heist… No one can dispute Sam Millar is an incredible survivor. Most certainly, a life less ordinary. All forms of biography take significant episodes in a life and join the dots in between. The dots in this memoir make compulsive reading…” Irish Independent, Book Reviews “A remarkable life…reads like a movie script…an amazing story…riveting.” Marty Whelan, Open House, RTE “…fascinating…” Andy Court, Producer Dateline NBC, New York “Naked…for years on end in a freezing cell…beatings…whatever…Millar went through it all.” Pulitzer Prize winning author, William Sherman writing in Esquire Magazine. “His extraordinary life…” Irish America Magazine |
|
Dark Souls Author of the critically acclaimed Dark Souls, which focused on child abuse and its consequences. “The title is not the only thing dark about Sam Millar's novel, the darkness of violence, the darkness of abused children and the darkness of betrayal mark this as a particularly affecting book. Dark Souls is sombre tale of damaged childhoods that lead inexorably to a tainted and violent adolescence. Dark though it may be, in both title and theme, Sam Millar's novel is a compelling and forceful examination of twisted childhood.” Pauline Ferrie, editor The Irish Emigrant Awarded book of the week. “Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood springs to mind as a possible ancestor to Dark Souls with its run-down neighbourhoods, wrecks of cars and a general sense of ugliness, fanaticism and brutality. Their town is a grim place. The murders, accidental deaths and mutilations that comprise the story are set against the grimmest of grim backdrops and it is Millar’s ability to tell a story that is its real strength. His upcoming memoir, On The Brinks, looks compelling.” Michael S. Begnal, author of The Lakes of Coma “I have to say right off that I am quite impressed with Millar’s familiarity of things dark and unspoken. And I am vaguely uneasy about that; rather, I am quite uneasy -- there is no vaguely about it. I am a little terrified of what he might be carrying in him, to know so much about his subject. As for his writing, his artistry, his choice of words, all combine to make this a solid story. I hesitate to use words like wonderful or beautiful, and only because the subject at hand is so much the antithesis of all that. Excellent writing, descriptions and characterizations flow throughout. The artist in the story is quite chilling, actually, as is his entire story.” Kim Martin, American best-selling author of Snapshots “This is a very sad, very strong story from a powerful writer…” Anne-Marie Duquette, best-selling American author of over twenty books, and Star Trek writer for Paramount Studios. |
|
The Redemption Factory
Straight in as number one on the bestsellers “If you love your novels dark and brooding, The Redemption Factory is for you. Pulling no punches, this is a brutal and chilling tale of revenge, and crime fiction at its best, written from an original slant. Essential reading….” Daily Ireland “A gripping read, it draws you in and keeps you captivated. A definite for the bestsellers, once again.” Belfast Beat “A hair-raiser for holiday reading…” Books Ireland “Another dark and extremely eerie book from the best-selling author. The Redemption Factory will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand. His words will mesmerize you…” UTV “Having worked in an abattoir himself, Millar’s descriptive prowess comes to the fore as he brings the smells, sounds and the demonic activity of the abattoir vividly to life. With The Redemption Factory, he has further enhanced his growing reputation as an original and terrific novelist. The Redemption Factory is one not to be missed…” Andersonstown News “Millar is the balls of gruesome, dark writing. For proof, just check out his latest best-selling tome, The Redemption Factory. Powerful and original…not one for the squeamish…” Alternative Ulster “While most writers sit in their study and make it up, Sam Millar has lived it and every sentence in his new novel, The Redemption Factory, evokes a searing truth about men, their dark past, and the code by which they live. Great title, great read. Disturbingly brutal. I enjoyed it immensely.” Cyrus Nowrasteh, award-winning writer/director, Warner Brothers “He writes well, with a certain raw energy, and he is not afraid to take risks with his fiction. The result is novel that can be as shocking as it is original.” Irish Independent “Millar has turned in a top class novel and one that I can see turning up on the silver screen one of these days.” International award winning, Albedo One “Millar’s words will mesmerize you. He is like a poet of darkness…” Village Voice, New York “The Redemption Factory is like a weird gothic dream. The abattoir in the story is fantastic, straight out of Hieronymous Bosch. Indeed, the grotesqueness of many of the characters makes one imagine that Nick Cave is writing a paean to small-town life…the plot elements come together nicely, in their own dark way…” Booklist, USA “This novel creates a bleak vision of contemporary urban Ireland.” Chicago Tribune “Twisty, dark, and fetid as a maze of back alleys, this vivid ramble about the fate of a man caught up in the family drama at a slaughterhouse packs a powerful punch. Millar gives his imagination full and disturbing rein, setting the tone with a literal bloodbath inflicted on Paul Goodman as an endurance test when he applies for a job at Shank's abattoir. Shank's daughter Geordie, one of the most vicious and skilful workers at the slaughterhouse, masterminds Paul's dunking and soon perversely captures his heart, enraging her jealous sister, Violet. Paul is the only physically and mentally hale character in the entire book; Geordie's legs have been crippled since birth, Violet is disfigured from a car accident, Shank himself is psychopathic, and Paul's best friends are the pathetically helpless Lucky and the age-twisted Kennedy, whose dying diabetic wife controls his life with an iron will. Given the misery-ridden cast and setting, the most surreal surprise is the semblance of a happy ending.” Publishers Weekly, USA |
|
The Darkness of Bones
Straight in as a bestseller Reviews so far for The Darkness of Bones: “A colourful history is a public relations dream when it comes to promoting a crime-writer; the darker that history the better it is for selling novels. Millar has this and more, but it is the quality of his writing that he is quickly becoming renown for. Based on the true story surrounding the Kincora sex-abuse scandal, his latest novel, The Darkness of Bones, takes us into the very heart of darkness with a gruesome yet compelling story of murder and revenge…” Irish News “Using place names of Belfast and the city’s identity itself, Millar is undoubtedly leading a literary and popular revival in this part of a crushed and traumatized world and his story will appeal to all. He pulls no punches in the message of this story, but the depth of his characters and the story they tell are equally powerful. The plot crowds, heaves and thickens to its inevitable end, but always keeps the reader guessing. This is a powerful novel in its honesty and originality.” Andersonstown News “The Darkness of Bones is a must-read, and not simply because of Millar’s distinctive style of writing, but also this: because it revisits the evil that prevailed in this society in spite – or because of – the terror of the conflict, and gives a voice and an avenging but healing hand for the innocence of children lost to sexual abuse. His talent for writing a riveting, dark and purging tale of unspeakable horror – namely the Kincora scandal - and fashioning it into a fascinating crime drama is nothing short of genius.” Daily Ireland “Millar writes with such intensity his words can often knock the breath clean from your lungs. His gritty style takes no prisoners, and his stories always ask the question other authors shy away from. Based on the infamous Kincora scandal, this is a gripping story, one you will not easily forget.” Belfast Telegraph “The Darkness of Bones recreates the details of a child sex abuse scandal [Kincora] with shivery vividness.” BookReviews, Irish Times “Millar’s compelling thrillers are driven by a muscular prose and deal with complex and often unsavoury themes, earning him the reputation of being a shocking and original voice in a genre crowded by clichés. Millar’s latest novel, The Darkness of Bones, is his best work yet. This book dissects human nature down to the bone finding that innocence and evil may coexist within us all. Like the best of noir fiction, Millar’s universe is devoid of moral certainties. The villains are victims of another’s crime and each would-be hero harbours a guilty secret. It’s a cold sweat thriller.” Culture Northern Ireland “Millar’s latest thriller, The Darkness of Bones, is an uncompromising dark tale of abuse and murder. It hit you like neat whiskey to the throat. It is not comfort zone reading, but is essential and absolutely compelling…” Northern Ireland Today “With his new book, The Darkness of Bones, Millar has returned with his best work since On The Brinks. A Powerful gem of a story. It will remain with you long after you have put the book down.” BBC, Radio Ulster “Millar’s words leave the reader breathless, suffocating with menace and dread. Your heart will not stop thumping in the world known as The Darkness of Bones.” Northern Woman “His latest chart topper, The Darkness of Bones, based on the true story of the Kincora sex-abuse scandal is a real page-turner.” Go Belfast |
