A last-chance winter road trip for a Scottish band spirals into wild chaos - seagull massacres, bomb tests, and darkly funny rock'n'roll madness on the edge. A raw, darkly funny novel by one of Scotland's finest authors - newly reissued!

ANNIVERSARY EDITION with an INTRODUCTION BY VAL MCDERMID

'A drug-fuelled, counterclockwise state-of-the-nation rock 'n' roll tour, captures where we were at better than any modern novel I've read' Irvine Welsh

'A powerful and moving commentary on the country and its defining myths' Ian Rankin

'One of the most vital books about modern Scotland - our landscape, culture, identity, myths and lies - of the twenty-first century. And despite the dinge, debauchery and danger, it's still a joy to tour with the band' Callum McSorley

'Packed with seedy, sticky bars, sullen punters and morose reflections in deteriorating weather, there is an atmospheric beauty to The Ossians' Independent on Sunday

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Connor is twenty-four, brilliant, broken, and out of control. He's the swaggering frontman of The Ossians, a Scottish indie band on the brink of signing a major record deal.

Desperate to make their mark, they head off on a two-week winter tour across the cities and hinterlands of Scotland - a last-ditch attempt to find fame, purpose, and themselves.

But the tour soon spirals into a surreal, chaotic odyssey. From seedy bars and snowbound towns to a final, defining Glasgow gig, the band hurtles through a whirlwind of seagull massacres, botched drug deals, a mysterious stalker, radioactive beaches, bomb-testing ranges, epileptic fits, riotous Russian submariners, deadly storms, epiphanies, regular beatings and random shootings.

Raw, darkly funny and wild with energy, The Ossians is a gloriously anarchic story of rock'n'roll obsession, national identity and self-destruction, and what it means to belong - in a band, in a country, in a life unravelling at speed.

___

'The authentic ring of a man who's been there' Guardian

'Johnstone is good at describing the excitement, boredom, sniping and bonhomie of a touring band at the transit-van end of the career arc' The Times

'A blast' Scotland on Sunday

'So exhilaratingly authentic, you can hear the chords and smell the vomit' Christopher Brookmyre

'A gripping, compelling road trip around modern Scotland' Niall Griffiths

'This is This Is Spinal Tap for Scotland's lost generation. Johnstone has taken a small story of a small band lost in a small country and created an epic' Ewan Morrison

'Entertains in the uncharted corners of an unseen Scotland' List

Praise for Doug Johnstone

'Tense, funny and deeply moving' Mark Billingham

'Nobody portrays modern Edinburgh better than Doug Johnstone... speaks volumes about the power of story' Val McDermid

'An engrossing and beautifully written tale that bears all the Doug Johnstone hallmarks in its warmth and darkly comic undertones' Herald Scotland

'Wonderful characters: flawed, funny and brave' Sunday Times

'Gripping and blackly humorous' Observer

'A must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists' Publishers Weekly

'This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief... more, please' Guardian

'Some of the most unique characters in crime fiction' Daily Express

'Underlines just how accomplished Johnstone has become' Daily Mail

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• Literature & FictionLiterary Fiction

• Publication Date: April 9, 2026
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 362 Pages
• File Size: 21 KB