On Blue's waters

This is the first book in 'The Book of the Short Sun', which follows 'The Book of the Long Sun'. I found the first 70 or so pages slow going, as they assumed a knowledge of the characters and setting that were in the previous series. However, it began to be interesting, and then became compelling. The story is told in flashbacks and digressions, with the narrator making retractions and corrections as he goes, which appeals to my love of an unreliable narrator.[return]The planet has gods and goddesses, even sirens, and feudal kingdoms and vampires -- all with a rather science fiction flavor to them. It's a rich and strange place, where I was often confused, but fascinated.