This is very different from other culture novels, to the point I had to check I was reading one of the series when I was a couple of chapters in. It is the story of 2 culture citizens who have chosen to live on a medieval planet incognito. As a culture fan it was really cool to read a book from this perspective, as it has been mentioned in others of the series but never explored in so much depth. This book reads more like historical fiction than Sci fi, the culture isn't mentioned at all in the book and there's barely any Sci fi beyond "an astronaut in king Arthur's court" kind of vibe. As its written as 2 almost independent stories I will rate it as average of the 2, I'd give the doctors tale a near 5, and the other maybe a 3.5 as I felt less invested in it, so a solid 4 overall. Definitely read this if you like culture novels, but don't read it before at least 2 or 3 culture novels as you'll miss the subtle references.