When you read a book, the story definitely happens inside your head. When you listen, it seems to happen in a little cloud all around it, like a fuzz… - Robin Sloan

And even if I fail-this is always the archivist's consolation-perhaps I will have laid a foundation for someone wiser.

Did I see faces? I did not see faces. The power outlet looked like a little dude, but power outlets always look like little dudes.

Moffat's prose is fine: clear and steady, with just enough sweeping statements about destiny and dragons to keep things well inflated. The characters are appealing archetypes: Fernwen the scholarly dwarf is the everynerd, doing his best to live through the adventure. Telemach Half-Blood is the hero you wish you could be. He always has a plan, always has a solution, always has secret allies that he can call upon - pirates and sorcerers whose allegiance he earn with long-ago sacrifices.