As a new author, I had no idea how I would be received. I knew I'd written a story that expressed something that was deeply within me, and I felt I'd written it well. But how would the wide world find it? I've been humbled by the response. It's enormously encouraging to hear that others have enjoyed reading The Seaborne, been moved, even changed by it, and want to stay immersed in the world of the Island. Here are a few extracts from their reviews. AGR


The story is deeply and carefully imagined. John brilliantly tries to explain modern technology by cutting blades into a slice of turnip to demonstrate how a propellor works and compares the unimaginable number of people living in modern London to the number of leaves on the heather plants on a moor. The countryside is well described, the details and situations realistic, John’s struggles with language and culture compelling… Readers will eagerly anticipate the next books in the trilogy.
BlueInk review (starred)

It's 3am and I have been kept up by this book – a compelling read! Beautifully crafted, evocative and a gently gripping storyline that grows as you read. The main character develops into a man whom I felt I really got to know, and made me question how I would manage myself, if something like this happened to me.
Jane Duncan-Rogers, author of Gifted by Grief

This gripped me from the first chapter. The story is compelling and captivating. A story of loss and discovery, of isolation and belonging. I loved the elemental quality, the spirituality, the unfolding love between Dhion and Shinane, the wisdom and sacrifice of the wise woman and the constant presence of the wild and rugged landscape. The characters are strong and believable. A deep and thought-provoking book, the story lingers.
Josie Smith, author of Tamboura

This beautifully written myth speaks to our deep inner wisdom, and calls us to return to the ancient ways of knowing that don’t look to externals for answers.
Amazon customer *****

Multiple worlds proliferate in fiction these days and the time-shift fantasy is virtually a genre of its own, but it is notoriously difficult to create an internally consistent and convincing alternative universe, something that I think Rivett has achieved magnificently. The world that he describes is like and unlike our own, harsh and materially impoverished, but infused with a deep sense of spirituality.
R Danckwerts on Amazon *****

This beautifully crafted story transports the reader into the mystical medieval world of Celtic spirituality. The author’s love and intimate knowledge of the Scottish landscape infuses the text. He makes apparent the importance of the hills and mountains, water, the sun and the moon to the everyday lives of his characters as one reads how individually or collectively the community fear, honour, and actively engage in the energies and consciousness of the natural world that shape both the boundaries, and the thresholds of their wild, western-isles existence. Biblical parallels and symbolism abound in this tale, which give it its power to move, to enthral, and potentially challenge and change the inner world of its reader. Buy this book! But be forewarned: choose carefully a time to read it lest you find yourself compulsively absorbed, reading it into the early hours of the morning, utterly incapable of putting it down.
P.D.Newton on Amazon *****

More reviews, and some of the above in fuller form, are available on the web – for instance, on GoodReads, The Pantolwen Press, or Ffolio. Thank you to everyone who has written a review, long or short. It makes such a difference to know my writing has landed with you.