A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked In (edition 2012)

This novel is in Magnus Mills' usual sparse style, where every word counts and he has constructed another clever world and leads the reader by the hand through this strange, but familiar, world.
The plot seems very simple, but try and explain it and the complexity of it starts to emerge; the emperor has gone AWOL, new ministers are not necessarily up to the job and the empire is under threat. Some people seem aware of the threats, but others bury their heads in the sand. This gives plenty of opportunity for comic writing and wonderful situations.
The other review mentions that this novel seems to miss the dark side that other Magnus Mills novels have. Yes, this can seem a quirky fairytale sort of novel, but to me there is a dark theme throughout the novel about power, how it is abused, changes hands, but generally stays with the elite. ( )

At once very similar but utterly different to what has gone before. It's a hard book to review as Mills dry, amusing minimalist style also applies to his plots.

This time we are far away in Greater Fallowfields, where the emperor has gone missing, a mysterious edict states the sun must always set at 5 o'clock, none of the ministers can get a pint and there are mysterious sounds and smoke coming closer from the east.

The amusing (and scary) familiar Kafkaesque bureaucracy is there , as to are much mystery and memorable characters. Mills expertly controls the information creating a world which is hauntingly familiar if very unreal. The dialogue is tight and funny, there are quite a few characters, all full of human quirks who bounce off each other quite beautifully. The quiet menace has gone though and is much missed, especially with a plot of conquest that could of been much darker.. but maybe that’s the point.

A whimsical, endearing story and one although I would recommend to Mills fans and newbies’ alike I think they should be prepared for something different. ( )