Review Detail

The book starts off with Gen, the book's protagonist, locked in a prison, berating himself for his stupidity in allowing himself to get, well locked up. Pretty straightforward. The king's magus comes to Gen with a proposal: steal something for me, and you get your freedom.

You, as the reader, will likely find your attention drifting at some point, especially as it gets a bit slow in the middle, yet, I have rarely found a book with a plot so well crafted. It's very character-driven, and that's what makes the book so appealing. Despite the fact that the story is told in Gen's voice, he does not tell you EVERYTHING, leaving quite a bit of surprises and twists and turns saved for the end.

Gen. I'm not quite sure how any character could possibly be so brilliant, yet so flawed. Turner does an amazing job of fleshing Gen out and giving him real personality. I've rarely met a character so extraordinarily clever, and while that could just simply annoy me, in this case, because Gen is nowhere near perfect, it makes him amazing and endearing. Each character is unique and has their own personalities that make them remarkable, but Turner does a great job of making sure none of them cling to stereotypes (which is, granted, easier in a book in which the author creates her own setting), and instead, makes them complicated and appealing.

The writing style is nothing extraordinary, not that it's bad. This book is driven by plot and character and I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite books of all time.