No idea how to rate this. On the one hand: didn’t care for the plot or for the protagonist (a fop, thrown into adventure, somehow always escaping and then showing some sort of magic genius to get himself out of tight spots, starting from the destruction of his home town, and up to a full on naval war and having to deal with complicated court intrigue). On the other hand, well done and there is definitely depth to the worldbuilding. I’m told the second part is clever and might be worth it, but I’m not sure I can tolerate the protagonist soon again.
This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.
