Despite the shortened length, Wiliams does not skimp on any of the details to try and fit the story into a single volume. It never feels rushed or incomplete. At first, I thought it was going to be a bit uninteresting because of the contemporary setting and sense of normalcy that the story begins with. But before long, this turned into another wonderful tale. And in fact the juxtaposition is necessary for the character development.

Some of the basics used in this story come from existing fairy tales. But the incorporation of those ideas is never done lazily. A great deal of thought is put into how the fairy tales can contribute towards and build the world that is being presented. It is not simply a conglomeration of previous ideas used to build a larger story. Rather, those previous ideas are used as a basis for expanding upon and developing a new world.

All in all, I was quite pleased with the book and I think it is an excellent example of Tad Williams' work.

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