It features a world with minimal laws and technology where feuding gangs compete for control of the city of Bohane.

Barry describes it as a "demented malevolent" world inspired by what "homicidal teenage hipsters" might sound like in 40 years.

"[2] The geography of the fictional Bohane is based on Porto, Portugal where Barry was holidaying when he got the idea for the novel.

[4] Writing for The Guardian, Scarlett Thomas said City of Bohane shows Barry is a "writer of great promise.

Thomas called the novel's plot and Barry's invented vernacular "a wonderful blend of past, present and imagined future.

"[1] A review published in Metro called City of Bohane an "exuberant, spine-tinglingly atmospheric creation".

[2] The novel has a variety of influences and is "a highly entertaining place to lose yourself in," writes the Metro reviewer.

[6] "Kevin Barry's Ireland of 2053 is a place you may not want to be alive in, but you'll certainly relish reading about," remarked the judging panel.