The Ossians

The gritty, darkly funny cult novel from one of Scotland's finest authors

A last-chance winter road trip for a Scottish band spirals into wild chaos – seagull massacres, bomb tests, and darkly funny rock'n'roll madness on the edge. A raw, darkly funny novel by one of Scotland's finest authors – newly reissued!

ANNIVERSARY EDITION with an INTRODUCTION BY VAL MCDERMID

A last-chance winter road trip for a Scottish band spirals into wild chaos – seagull massacres, bomb tests, and darkly funny rock’n’roll madness on the edge. A raw, darkly funny novel by one of Scotland’s finest authors – newly reissued!

ANNIVERSARY EDITION with an INTRODUCTION BY VAL McDERMID

‘A drug-fuelled, counterclockwise state-of-the-nation rock ’n’ roll tour captures where we were at better than any modern novel I’ve read’ — Irvine Welsh

‘A powerful and moving commentary on the country and its defining myths’ — Ian Rankin

‘One of the most vital books about modern Scotland – our landscape, culture, identity, myths and lies – of the twenty-first century. And despite the dinge, debauchery and danger, it's still a joy to tour with the band’ — Callum McSorley

‘Packed with seedy, sticky bars, sullen punters and morose reflections in deteriorating weather, there is an atmospheric beauty to The Ossians’ — Independent on Sunday

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Connor is twenty-four: brilliant, broken, and out of control. He’s the swaggering frontman of The Ossians, a Scottish indie band on the brink of signing a major record deal.

Desperate to make their mark, they set off on a two-week winter tour across Scotland’s cities and hinterlands — a last-ditch attempt to find fame, purpose, and themselves.

But the tour soon spirals into a surreal, chaotic odyssey. From seedy bars and snowbound towns to a final, defining Glasgow gig, the band hurtles through a whirlwind of seagull massacres, botched drug deals, a mysterious stalker, radioactive beaches, bomb-testing ranges, epileptic fits, riotous Russian submariners, deadly storms, epiphanies, regular beatings and random shootings.

Raw, darkly funny and wild with energy, The Ossians is a gloriously anarchic story of rock’n’roll obsession, national identity and self-destruction — and what it means to belong: in a band, in a country, in a life unravelling at speed.

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‘The authentic ring of a man who’s been there’ — Guardian

‘Johnstone is good at describing the excitement, boredom, sniping and bonhomie of a touring band at the transit-van end of the career arc’ — The Times

‘A blast’ — Scotland on Sunday

‘So exhilaratingly authentic, you can hear the chords and smell the vomit’ — Christopher Brookmyre

‘A gripping, compelling road trip around modern Scotland’ — Niall Griffiths

‘This is This Is Spinal Tap for Scotland’s lost generation. Johnstone has taken a small story of a small band lost in a small country and created an epic’ — Ewan Morrison

‘Entertains in the uncharted corners of an unseen Scotland’ — List

Praise for Doug Johnstone

‘Tense, funny and deeply moving’ — Mark Billingham

‘Nobody portrays modern Edinburgh better than Doug Johnstone … speaks volumes about the power of story’ — Val McDermid

‘An engrossing and beautifully written tale that bears all the Doug Johnstone hallmarks in its warmth and darkly comic undertones’ — Herald Scotland

‘Wonderful characters: flawed, funny and brave’ — Sunday Times

‘Gripping and blackly humorous’ — Observer

‘A must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists’ — Publishers Weekly

‘This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief . more, please’ — Guardian

‘Some of the most unique characters in crime fiction’ — Daily Express

‘Underlines just how accomplished Johnstone has become’ — Daily Mail

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