RaveIrish Times (IRE)An underestimated element of any novel is something we don’t really have a word for. We might try “atmosphere” or “the world” an author creates that we are compelled to inhabit, even when it’s a world of darkness. The fantasy novel gives that great attention, but it matters in all fiction, never more than historical fiction. O’Connor’s prose creates an extraordinary picture of Rome under Nazi control ... Elegiac tone.
