Silentrequiem writes:
I love epistolary stories, and I love political intrigue, and I love masks. This book was all three wrapped into one delicious package. Reeves-McMillan has created a fascinating society with Bonvidaeo where all the citizenry wear masks and take on the persona of the character – and are legally their mask. Bass, by virtue of being the brother-in-law of Calaria’s Undersecretary to the Foreign Minister, is assigned to be envoy to Bonvidaeo. Not only is he thrown into a confusing new culture but he soon stumbles into the middle of a serial murderer’s killings and political machinations to disrupt the current political order. This was a fascinating story, and I only wish that there had be[en more?]. Reeves-McMillan nicely captured the different voices of the characters, and did a great job telling the store through Bonvidaeo’s journal entries. I loved the twist ending. Part of it I was expecting; the other parts, not at all. 4/5
Thanks, silentrequiem. My pleasure.
Mike Reeves-McMillan lives in Auckland, New Zealand, the setting of his Auckland Allies contemporary urban fantasy series; and also in his head, where the weather is more reliable, and there are a lot more wizards. He also writes the Gryphon Clerks series (steampunk/magepunk), the Hand of the Trickster series (sword-and-sorcery heist capers), and short stories which have appeared in venues such as Compelling Science Fiction and Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores.
