Review extract: 'New Swell' by Byron Loker

Tracy Bartlett, Cape Times

"I always enjoy reading début offerings, particularly by local writers, so it was with much anticipation that I sat down to read New Swell, Byron Loker's début book ... It's a short story compilation of autobiographical snippets from Loker's life as a young surfer struggling to establish himself as a writer and it's very good ... New Swell chronicles the most memorable of the author's youthful escapades, from carefree testosterone-driven trips to the renowned surf breaks of Jeffrey's Bay to more poignant tales of interludes with African refugees searching for a better life in South Africa ... if the response to his début offering is anything to go by, I should keep a close eye on this talented young man - he's likely to go very far."

New Swell by Byron Loker