Behind the corners of our world, there is magic. As the Lord of Ysthar, Raphael is responsible for it.
An honest man, his lies are legion. An infamous recluse, his social circle includes Scheherezade, Shakespeare, and the Crown Prince of Faerie. He is a great mage to his enemies, a movie star to strangers, and a hundred mostly boring pseudonymous half-lives to history. He is dutifully trying to prevent the end of the world when his long-lost twin brother Kasian gate-crashes his life.
Raphael is prepared to sacrifice his soul, his reputation, and his crown to save his beloved Ysthar. Saving himself is another matter entirely.
I'm rating the shooping experience because I haven't finished the book yet. Buying and downloading was easy and fast. The website is easy to use. I'm a big fan of Goddard’s writing in general, and I'm looking forward to finishing this one.
What a slow, strange, and lovely book!! It was fascinating reading this book after the Hands of the Emperor, which was published later, and seeing some of the similarities between the Lord Emperor and Raphael - their magic, their music, not looking people in the eyes, their worry and commitment to duty, their deep and crushing loneliness. I’m honestly not sure I followed half of the plot of this book, and I look forward to rereading it at some point, but wow! What an emotional journey!! His friends!! The worldbuilding that comes in pieces and so you get the satisfaction of trying to piece it all together!