“Mountain Blues is rich with characters and setting. Joyce’s fresh voice gently reels you in, hooking you with delicious humour, eccentric characters and insights into what it means to live in the Kootenays.”
~ Garry Ryan, author of the Detective Lane mysteries

“Joyce has written the kind of novel that makes you want to locate his ideal community and move there immediately. And the kind that keeps you reading to see what happens when local solidarity pits itself against government penury and intractability. Poet, author and journalist, Joyce brings a unique toolbox of writing skills to bear in Mountain Blues that makes for crisp, lyrical prose, an engaging narrative, memorable characters, including an emotionally articulate cat, and a lightness of touch that is as surprising as it is delightful in a début novel.”
~ Gary Geddes, author of Medicine Unbundled and The Resumption of Play

“Sean Arthur Joyce captures perfectly the contrast between the stunning landscapes of BC’s West Kootenay region and the struggle to construct and protect a community.”
~ Tom Wayman, author of Helpless Angels and The Shadows We Mistake for Love

“Joyce cannot hide the love he has for his characters. He loves not just their strengths but their flaws, their best intentions, their sweet humanity.”
~ Brian d'Eon, Lunatic Writer Blog

“Readers who identify with this altruistic quest will be rewarded.”
~ Angie Abdou, Canadian Literature

“Sean Arthur Joyce uses a light, deft touch for topics that could be heavily righteous slogging. His characters are 3-D West Kootenay classics and his dialogue is a delight to 'hear' as it is so realistic in its rhythms that it sets each distinct character apart from the next: no easy feat. The humour, gentle and tolerant, reminds us that when we live in a small community, the most sound advice would be: Let your words be gentle in case they come back to bite you.”
~ Caroline Woodward, The Ormsby Review