You could be forgiven for thinking that when looking at the cover. This may rank as one of the worst covers I've ever seen. If the book were a gay romance novel, it'd be the perfect cover, of course, but it's not.

I am absolutely stunned that this is the author's first novel. It's too good to be a first novel. I just liked everything about this book. The characters are very believable and well-written, the dialogue has a great feel. The world the story is set in is interesting, and it really feels like a world, not just a story setting. Rather, you get the sense that the story of the novel is just one small part of a larger place.

The book alternates between two characters in first person, which is unusual, but works quite well. One of the characters spends most of the book in varying degress of insanity, and this comes across very intensely in the sections written from his perspective.

There is a sequel, but this novel stands alone reasonably well. I'm always excited when I find a new author who's really great, not just good, and Sarah Monette is great. I'm eagerly awaiting future work.