I kind of liked this book, even though it was a bit confusing.

So. The plot is…difficult to describe. Essentially there are gods and realms. Then this guy shows up to the Border Keeper (like a really strong god) and asked for help. They have to traverse different realms and ask permission and weird shit happens.

And then it gets even stranger. And I’m not sure how to describe it without ruining it, but it just gets super strange.

Also so many interesting women! Mainly the Border Keeper herself, but lots of supporting women. It felt like a story about women, even though the vehicle for that story was the male protagonist Vasethe.

What is also good about it is it’s atmosphere. It’s a bit like This is How You Lose the Time War, in that it’s very descriptive and reads like a feeling. The sense of the world comes about slowly but you’re just kind of a thrown into it, to sink or swim.

But the problem I had with it was that it just made these leaps in plot without enough context. There are several revelations that happen and I just didn’t see them coming. So whereas normally I’d be pleased because I could make all the connections, these felt more unearned. And I just had to shrug and say, okay, well fine.

The end while interesting, likewise felt a bit rushed and unearned. Too much was left out of the telling to really leave me with any great feeling. It was just all a rush, with lots of ends being wrapped up but in a way that felt clunky.

Regardless, it’s still an interesting read. It does interesting things and I liked the two main characters. The adventure was strange and fascinating. I just wish it had all just been stitched together with more care for the reader.