Basically a stand-alone adventure, moving pieces into place for what appear to be the more sweeping events of the next couple of books in the OMW series. Scalzi is a great creator of worlds and a fast-paced writer, but a few too many of the characters in this one were blunt military commanders with a fondness for cursing and colorful analogies. The apparent move away from strictly military stories and characters in the next book will be a welcome one.