Powerful, humane, relentlessly unsentimental and unforgettable, Barker's atmospheric novel is a chilling exploration of men damaged by war, which exposes the mindlessness of such conflict. The hypocrisy and cynicism of politicians sending men out to die under the guise of patriotism is brilliantly exploded, and possibly explains the establishment's initially cautious reception. The final part of the trilogy which began with Regeneration (1991) and continued with The Eye in the Door (1993), this 1995 Booker winner which follows Billy Prior, the tough, cynical, amoral and brutalised soldier, back to the trenches, is a major literary achievement. Not only does it shock and move the reader, The Ghost Road revitalises the English novel. Barker's trilogy ranks amongst the finest British fiction of this century.
