This second book in a tetralogy (The Aegypt Cycle) requires you to have read the first, to an even greater degree than many other series. If you've read the first and are debating reading the second, see my review here on Goodreads: here

The date I read this is approximate, but I'm sure it was within six months of the release of the Bantam paperback in the U.S. I had read the first book in The Aegypt Cycle when it came out -- six years earlier. At that time, I had no idea this would be a 20-year project for author [a:John Crowley|52074|John Crowley|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1223869920p2/52074.jpg].