Anthony Marchetta (SuperversiveSF) “This is the best novel that Mr. Wright has ever written, young adult or not. If you’re a fan of any type of classic young adult fantasy, from the Narnia books to ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ (which isn’t really a fantasy but often reads like one), you owe it to yourself to get this book.”

Michael G. Romkey (Amazon) “John C. Wright has an effortless command of writing fantasy. Magnificent imagery illuminates his telling of the elven kings of summer and winter and their lords emerging from the earth to do ritual battle. The story flows along in the effortless dream logic of a fairy tale.”

Philip (Amazon) “John C. Wright blends the reality of human experience with the fantastical so seamlessly that I often didn’t even notice and this was partly due to the fact that I was so captivated and engrossed by the tale being told I really didn’t care. One minute Gilberic the protagonist, accompanied by his talking dog, is staying at the YMCA and going about the town looking for work, and the next he is out in he national forest taking fighting lessons from a talking bear. Oh yes, and don’t forget the beautiful girl who is really a talking mermaid, but she has no tail.”

Eric L. Norman (Amazon) “Who else can you turn to for properly eerie elfs, mythical monsters that actually menace and predate in a manner befitting their vile slobbering fangs and soul-less scheming hearts, young men who find themselves answering the call of honor and chivalry and have to deal with the consequences, and worlds stranger and yet more real than our own? Where the lines between good and evil fall not merely into black and white, but slip through the veil of twilight into a realm of shades so rich with nuance and perilous nobility that one can see the sort of twisted creature that will steal a sleeping babe, yet fight an honorable challenge and hold its word sacrosanct. This is the kind of tale the Men of the West might have regaled their sons with, and if the dark tide is turned, may yet again.”

Michelle (Goodreads) “Loved, loved, loved this. The relationship between between Gil and Ruff breaks my heart and make me warm inside at the same time. Looking forward to reading this to grandkidlets in the future. JC Wright is, in my opinion, the greatest current sci-fi writer bar none.”

Alfred Genesson (The Injustice Gamer) “My good friend Brian Niemeier has stated that this novel bears a family resemblance to the work of Mr. Neil Gaiman. That, I find to be an inadequate statement, as the work of Mr. Gaiman indeed does have a cruel and at times vicious world of faerie, yet it is also projected to have kindness and gentleness. Mr. Wright gives faerie no such mercy, but rather exposes its motives and honor to be foreign to our own. Mr. Wright also presents faerie as in service to the Lord of Darkness, ultimately, something Mr. Gaiman would not contemplate. The other matter concerning the world of faerie is that it was subdued in Mr. Wright’s presentation through Christianity, and driven from the sight of men.”