Although I enjoyed it very much to begin with, I don't felt it really lived up to my expectations. An enjoyable read, but not one I feel I wish to read again. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen.
Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air.
Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, baffled in the sun. I found a couple of very useful links about Roy and her novel - click here for information about the writer and here for a study guide. This is the first in a fantasy trilogy and gets rave reviews on the Amazon site. As I was confined to bed, I was able to read it in huge chunks which made it much easier to follow. It tells the tales of Kings and knights, goodies and baddies, castles and hovels, with a very medieval feel about it.