i liked this book a whole lot. it reminded me of the good old days when Lin Carter's Ballantyne Fantasy series first came out: opening all those books for the first time, that felt a lot like opening this one. It's a Borderland fantasy: bit of James Branch Cabell, bit of William Morris, that kind of thing. i was so disappointed to discover a whole lot of people didn't like it at all. it's a very literate book though: the text of magic is John Milton, augmented by the Commentary (romantic poets, for one). and the Absence consists of lacunae in the text, which is, if you think about it, just perfect. a book about art and beauty and time, with a whole lot of interesting characters and so much to say. ( )

The story itself didn't really impress me, but I liked the concept of a story centered around a family: the crumbling manor home, the extended family of siblings, cousins, parents and grandparents, the landscape so familiar from childhood being consumed by a moving menace of chaotic magic. That aspect really inspired me. ( )

NIL