Siegel has produced a highly absorbing tale.An alchemical blending of fantasy,myth and realism resulting in a fable of the highest order. In recent times the fantasy genre has been suffering a great deal from terminal verbosity and the flogging of many dead horses, certainly not the case here. If anything this book is too brief, given the strength of the characters and vivid narrative. I found the descriptive writing totally engaging, even though the subject matter is definately tried and tested, J.S. manages to give it a breath of fresh air, stirring up old and familiar fantasy models with a blend of charm,intensity and poetry. I had all but given up on this genre, so this book was an immensely rewarding read.I put her up there with Clive Barker,Orson Scott Card, Steven Donaldson and Tim Powers, as an author who can take an overworked subject and give it a reborn sense of originality and vigour. The child in all of us is drawn to a well told fairy tale, which is exactly what J.S. has done here,with finesse and grace. I look foreward to the next offering.