M.R. Carey is one of my favorite authors. Every book Carey has written I have truly enjoyed. This first foray into Fantasy is no exception. The plot is a very reliable trope in the hands of a skilled writer, A Mage is threating a village, and the villagers seek help from a rat tag team of misfits, What Carey has done is expanded the misfit tags. 

  The tale starts first in a very episodic nature. In fact, it put me in the mind of Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales, the grim ones, not the cleaned-up versions.  The setting is England during the shaky reign of King Stephen, no relation. This Mage has a plan to move up in the world filled with chaos. He discovers an ancient magical source buried under a newly conquered castle. To harness that power for himself requires things to get rather nasty. 

    That one of the things I loved about the book, It keep surprising me in the direction it took. I can't tell you too much because most of the joy is in the reveals, which are quite interesting. All the sources Carey uses to bring the tale to the reader is simply amazing to me. 

   If you are a fan of M.R, Carey, be sure to put this on your reading radar. IF you have not read any of Carey's works, you need to correct that oversight.