I was a bit skeptical of this premise from a white British author so only picked this up because people I respect had recommended it. So far (a day in to the story) it's very well executed and has me totally reeled in.

CWs: 1) while the setting is a very interesting alternate history, I had somehow gone in expecting more of a utopian thriving Cahokia. In fact there's plenty of racism in the world of the book, skillfully handled by the author, so at times very uncomfortable to read. 2) some pretty vivid explorations of one character's post-war PTSD.

There's a character who keeps getting pigeonholed as an ethnicity he doesn't neatly identify with, and people keep projecting their own prejudices onto him, which I find very relatable indeed. The moment the book fully won me over was the first instance of a powerful person projecting positive things onto him as a result, and inappropriately favouring him as a result. I felt his discomfort in my bones.