I always appreciate Daniel’s takes on epic fantasy, not least because the worlds feel so lived-in. I think that’s in part because he pays attention to economics and class in ways the genre often obscures. Epic fantasy is a genre mostly about upheaval and war, and that’s being set up here. But the focus is explicitly away from the politics and heroes, and instead is on the underclass, people who often have only the vaguest sense of what’s happening in the halls of power. It’s not the first fantasy series to do this but I think Daniel does it particularly well. Really interested to see where this series goes.