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Sean Kelebes Sarazin, returning to Selzirk after a long period as a hostage, expects to play a major role in the city where his mother, Farfalla, is the kingmaker. But his hopes are dashed: his comfortable life as a hostage had left him ill-prepared for a life of war.

‘You travelled by night.’

Alfric kept his face blank. This was no time to show impatience, but Alfric liked to do business in an efficient manner; and not for nothing was the king known as He Who Talks In Circles.

‘Night is a strange time to travel,’ continued King Dimple-Dumpling. ‘Particularly when night is Her chosen time.’

‘My duty bids me to rule the night,’ said Alfric. ‘I cannot permit Her forays to keep me from the dark. I am a Yudonic Knight.’

‘Who fears nothing,’ said the king.

When one hears dry irony from the lips of an ogre, it is hard to credit one’s ears. But Alfric, who knew ogres better than most of his kind, did not underestimate them.

On occasion, Alfric Danbrog, a banker by profession, found it hard to live up to his Yudonic heritage. Yet he was called upon to face not only ogres, dragons, assassins and She Who Walks by Night but – worst of all – more senior bankers.

Part of the Chronicles of an Age of Darkness series, The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers by Hugh Cook is a strong action-orientated standalone novel that accomplishes several things that the other books were not able to. There is a certain air of familiarity here; the book presents a fairly straightforward plot, sticks to it, and offers plenty of swordfights, mystery, and humor throughout it. The Women and the Warlords and The Wizards and the Warriors both seemed to lose focus midway through, teetering on the edge of uncertainty, but not here.

The story follows a red-skinned Ebrell Islander named Chegory Guy as he explores the neighboring city. It has fallen victim to a massive energy drain and the recent theft of its precious wishstone has caused everyone with a knife to be questioned. There is also a pseudo-political struggle for power while demons run amuck, possessing others at will.

Cook manages to create a diverse cast, each with just enough personality to make them memorable. Personal favorites were Empress Justina, Uckermark, and Chegory Guy himself. He makes for a simple hero, always having to make decisions between what is better for the city or better for him. He’s still a rambunctious youngster, but manages to grow up a decent amount during the novel’s time.

And gone are the awkward dictionary entries at the beginning of chapters. Instead, we have a slew of editors and fact checkers inserting notes or deleting paragraphs of text as they please. It’s not as strange as it sounds, and actually adds a lot of flavor to the story, making it seem much more real than it could possibly be.