I don't tend to read much adult fantasy, so it's a slightly new genre for me. (I've read much more in the way of children's fantasy.) This is a big story, and plainly has a long way to go, with more books in the series to come. Being someone who skims rather too much for his own good, I sometimes lost track of which group was which - not the characters themselves but their tribal backgrounds and so on. Still that was a minor point, and my fault, not the author's.

There's a lot of energy in the book, plenty of surprises: just when it seems it's going one way it twists off into another. The opening is so terrifically done that it draws you into the dark world speedily, and before you know it you're caught up. Occasionally there were passages that seemed to me to be a bit too drawn-out, but the big set pieces are well done. The heroine, Llew, is a great character, full of angst and emotion and guts and determination. She's pretty well matched by Jonas, the man who initially should be killing her because of their backgrounds but who falls, almost unwillingly, in love with her. He's passionate, struggling with his own past, and continually trying to deal with things that aren't going according to plan.

I only had a couple of quibbles about it: my impression from the presence of horses, telegraph, and other 19th century ways of living was that the book takes place at some time in the past, but the characters' language varies quite a bit between modern slang and swear words, and old-fashioned conversation. Maybe I misunderstood the 'time' it takes place in, but for me hearing characters using expletives that have only become common in the last few decades or so was a bit disconcerting.

Secondly, the references - very few - to New Zealand flora and fauna seemed a bit confusing. It plainly doesn't take place in New Zealand geographically and historically (even given that it's a fantasy) so I wasn't sure why bellbirds and totaras, for example, made appearances alongside made up places and trees.

Anyway, it's an achievement for a first time author to make up characters and a world on such a scale. Looking forward to the next episode, in which no doubt Braph continues to cause problems for all and sundry...!