A post-magical apocalypse political thriller and story about succession and inheritance in several senses.Stewart writes beautifully and creates original, well-detailed worlds. There were two aspects of this book that didn't work so well for me: first, the political thriller plot became incoherent, and second, the Chinatown culture seemed stereotypical (martial arts, empty cups of tea, whatever). On the other hand, I loved his evocation of the North Coast forest, and the way the elegance of his descriptions is grounded by down-to-earth characters and moments of humor.I'd recommend this, but not as strongly as GALVESTON or CLOUDS END.