 The book was also discussed by the journalist David Kipen in "The Atlantic".McConnell described the novel as "rich and brilliant", and wrote that it dealt, in fictional form, with the themes of Bloom's non-fiction literary criticism.He considered it "difficult reading", and different in character from the work of fantasy writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, in that it avoided "the comforting details of everyday reality".