I stumbled across the sequel to this book by accident looking for books by John Ford, and it sounded interesting. It took a while to find this one, Uncle Hugo's finally had a used copy the last time I visited.

It's a really interesting novel, mixing science, fantasy, with a lot of Borges-esque weridness. It has a very (dark) fairy tale style, and it occurs in a very strange and not well-defined world. It also has one of the more despicable (at least at first) protaganists I've come across, although the whole theme of the story is his redemption.

I will definitely be seeking out more of Ford's work in the future.