The blurb on the back of this book says that it’s a standalone story in the same universe as Fenn’s first book, Principles of Angels, which I haven’t read. That claim is probably a bit of a stretch because I feel like I’ve been dealt plot spoilers on the first book now.

This novel begins as a straight fantasy in a village in a land that draws heavily on Middle-Ages Celtic culture. As world-building, it’s fine and detailed, but not my cup of tea, and it felt slow and drawn out. Fortunately the trope gets subverted about halfway through the book as it pivots—quite suddenly—to a science fiction adventure.

The reliance on Celtic legend, not something I’m very familiar with, left me confused at times, and it might have led to my feeling that the climax had an element of deus ex machina. A bit of earlier application of Chekhov’s Gun might have prevented that.

Apparently there are five books in the series. Will I hunt down the others? Probably not.