For people who saw Evil Hogwarts under Voldemort's sway in "Deathly Hallows" and thought it was far too tame and cuddly. Merciel describes an intelligent and fundamentally decent young man's attempt to preserve some semblance of his soul as he journeys through a sadistic school for evil wizards. It's at its best in the first half, when Merciel revels in describing the Gothic horror of Nidal and its Dusk Hall. The second half, when her protagonist Isiem tries to forge his own path, is a more conventional adventure and so provides less opportunity for Merciel to show off her predilection for setting up environments of baroque evil. ( )

I enjoyed this book, in large part because of two very interesting settings, and a memorable main character that underwent an internal journey as much as in external one.

Raised in the horrific dark land of Nidal, Isiem is a gifted spellcaster uncomfortable with the torture his life is built on. But will he be able to extricate himself from it, before it extricates his various organs?

There are two clear parts to this novel, but they never feel disjointed under Merciel's accomplished hand. She covers a lot of chronology in a way that feels efficient and aerodynamic.

The world of Nidal and the wild west Chelaxian outpost Isiems ends up in are both rendered well, but more impressive is how Merciel conveys Isiem's outsider status in both locations without descending to cliche.

He is an easy character to root for and it gives the book an emotional centre which is satisfying. In some ways, I was reminded of Hobb's Forest Mage trilogy with this novel, which shares many of the same ingredients, but thankfully skips the hundreds of pages of filler and teenage angst.

Inventive in the right ways, but also textbook where it counts - novel construction. I was impressed by this book and will definitely read more of Merciel's work. ( )