"Jeremy Akerman's Explosion has the pacing of a thriller movie with a depth of research below the surface. Small details such as Maritime shipping regulations and how Blind Pigs operated are deftly covered but not dwelt on. Akerman has an actor's sense of dramatic tension and this drives the narrative of this extraordinary event in Nova Scotia and world history. It is a remarkable tale of the worst-shooting of looters-and the best-heroism amongst neighbourhoods turned into a wasteland-sides of humanity. I live in Halifax, and found myself days later passing familiar spots, thinking, "Did all that really happen here?"Explosion deserves to be up on the shelf next to Hugh MacLennan's Barometer Rising and Jon Tattrie's Black Snow." -- Ronan O'Driscoll, author of Poor Farm