Hardinge is one of those writers who does something different every time she writes. In this story, there used to be gods, and then for some reason they all started attacking each other and died. Hark survives in the aftermath as a bit of a con man, with the help of his friend Jelt. When Hark gets caught and then sold as an indentured servant to a scientist, he starts to get a bigger idea of what the world could be.

I think one of my favorite parts of this book was how it explored toxic friendship between men. I feel like I read more about toxic relationships between women, but it can happen with men too. There is also a lot in here about the power of story, both in being the teller and also in having someone listen and hear you. I also enjoyed the normalizing of most people knowing two languages because so many are "sea-kissed", having lost their hearing due to accidents under water.