On the Java Ridge (English Edition)

Winner, Colin Roderick Award, 2018 Winner, Staunch Book Prize, 2018 On the Java Ridge, skipper Isi Natoli and a group of Australian surf tourists are anchored off the Indonesian island of Dana. In the Canberra office of Cassius Calvert, Minister for Border Integrity, a federal election looms and a hardline new policy on asylum-seekers is being rolled out. Not far from Dana, the Takalar is having engine trouble. Among the passengers on board fleeing from persecution are Roya and her mother, and Roya's unborn sister. The storm now closing in on the Takalar and the Java Ridge will mean catastrophe for them all. Jock Serong's debut novel Quota won the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel. In 2016, his second novel, The Rules of Backyard Cricket was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award. His third novel, On the Java Ridge was published in 2017. Formerly a lawyer, Jock is now a feature writer and was the editor of Great Ocean Quarterly. He lives with his wife and four children in Port Fairy, Victoria. Terrifying, compelling. Australian Book Review Taut and impressive. Age You might want to clear the decks before you start Jock Serongs third thriller, because the odds are you wont be able to put it down. SA Weekend With this book, Serong cements his growing reputation as the thinking persons adventure writer. On the Java Ridge is such a strong piece of writing on so many levels. Andrew Bolt would hate it! Readings Expertly written, vast in scope...A compelling literary political thriller and a must-read commentary on the Australian political environment and its treatment of refugees. Better Read Than Dead This is the mastery of Serongs novel, understanding that fictional dystopias are at their most profound when they take the everyday and tilt it towards the darkness...it is a deeply considered novel that steers us to the logical conclusion of an entrenched system rooted equally in brutality and silence. Monthly The best surf-related fiction I have read in a long, long time, possibly everJock Serongs riveting On the Java Ridge. Swell Net On the Java Ridge cements Serongs place as one of Australias most innovative and ambitious crime writers. NZ Listener The rescue and the scenes that follow it are the real heart of the book, and they are exceptional. Serong invests the chaos and confusion of the wreck and its bloody aftermath with a visceral power that makes for confronting but exhilarating reading. Australian Serong exhibits impressive control, leaping between three vastly different viewpoints and delivering a fevered crescendo as compassion competes with political survival. NZ Listener Devastatingly brilliant...an emotionally grueling mix of high-octane action, life-and-death political maneuvering and, at its heart, an anguishing portrayal of worldwide refugee crises...Beautiful, mournful, infuriating and brimming with tension, On the Java Ridge is utterly incomparable. Shelf Awareness