 The name of Ir, the subterranean city-state where much the plot takes place, is simply the Hebrew word for "city" (עיר).Adopting the viewpoint of an outsider to comment on the foibles of one's own society has been done before in fiction, but adapting it to fantasy also permits him to extend it into an outside view of humanity as a whole by an alien being and maintain a satirical edge throughout the book.De Camp's demonic protagonist Zdim long remained a uniquely unlikely fantasy hero, as other authors were slow to mine the concept de Camp pioneered.