I’ve watched the show previously and it left a pretty indelible impression on me. Meaning I was predestined to enjoy this, so long as the actual prose were serviceable. On that front I needn’t have worried. The marriage of fantasy with historical fiction on the literary side is predisposed to providing the kind of detail I want from a historical setting. Probably, it’s too much for most readers, but I don’t know anything about the time period (for the most part) and part of the appeal of this kind of fiction is being steeped in esoteric information. Social customs and dynamics, stratification of class, intellectualism, fashion—all of it is of interest to me.

On the fantasy side, all the major plot beats were satisfying and I was aware of them already from the show. The magic is a bit more described here, but not as much as I’d have liked. It’s a mix of soft and hard magic systems (and worldbuilding), and I sometimes wish it would pick a lane. It is substantive where it most matters and has interesting lore, I assume is informed by historical mythology and culture, based on the substantive research that seems to manifest in other aspects of the setting.

It manages to be kind to the characters despite some pretty severe hardships. Invoking some tropes people might expect, subverting others—mostly the cheap thrills, which was really nice to see eschewed. I particularly liked the ending. I would wager that, had I not seen the show first, it would have been too slow for me. So perhaps that’s actually the best way into this. But then again, you’ll experience the major plot beats on the screen instead. And the characters were only ever the actors on the screen, which is sometimes an annoyance when you prefer to self-generate the fiction. But because it is so foreign to me I’m inclined to believe this was the best trajectory for me, personally.