The Exalted Company of Roadside Martyrs is an exhilarating and challenging
examination of official and unofficial authority and what happens when they
collide. Characters and settings crackle with the reality of their precise
portrayal. These stories are about flawed people in positions of authority
and equally-flawed characters who challenge that authority. Concerned
respectively with church and state, they show the ways institutions (and
their ministers) deal with and try to control the beliefs of the people.
Warren Cariou explores the tension between perception and what might be
called 'intellectual reason.' He is humorous while always being thoughtful,
and his descriptive power is exceptional. He is one of the very best young
writers of our time.-Alistair MacLeod