This is every bit as good as his delicious first novel, "The Rook". He has switched the main narration from Myfanwy to a young woman who is part of a delegation of a group seeking an alliance with the Chequy, and another young woman of the Chequy. I adored them both, as well as the little brother. It's incredibly funny -- the sort of book that you can only read on the bus if you're not self-conscious about laughing uproariously in public.