[4] Ian McGillis, for the Montreal Gazette, described it as "a kind of docu-novel that places the reader in the middle of the October Crisis with an immediacy that makes it feel like this morning’s news".

[5] Kirkus Reviews felt that Moore's attempt to "make the characters less than 'faceless'" fell short but praised his portrayal of the "foolhardy, insurgent enterprise"'s "catalytic tension and instantaneity".

[8] However, Moore's biographer, Patricia Craig, described it as "a compact thriller, a perfectly creditable and engrossing reconstruction of a striking sequence of events".

[9] Donald Cameron, reviewing the book in Canadian news magazine Maclean's, said that Brian Moore makes us relive the details of the October crisis "[i]n what must surely be the most brilliant reportage Canada has ever seen...

"[11] An untitled film script, based on his novel and dated July 1972, is held in Moore's archives at The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, at the University of Texas at Austin.