There are many reasons you could be enjoying this series. You might like the story of magic returning to our world and learning about how it works along with the protagonist, Kaz. You might like some of the other human characters and the odd mix of time travelers and secret agents, or more likely, it's the talking dog, demigod cat, and/or the djinn. Or maybe it's a combination of all these things that result in entertaining stories that don't take themselves all too seriously. No matter, you know the formula already, and you also know that the main plot in this series is moving along rather slowly. So does this book finally pick up the pace and move us towards some meaningful plot progress? Not really.

I always find myself enjoying the character interactions in this series, no more so than when Duke and Boots are involved, as the lighthearted interactions between the animals and humans make the series feel like cozy, comfort food. So these books always move along at a decent pace, until they end and I realize that little of consequence happened. I feel like Craig Alanson is just telling me the same story over and over with new jokes worked in. I mean, that isn't terrible, but it also prevents this series from turning into something special.This particular story followed the same predictable pattern as prior books and that made it feel pretty unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. But if you're here just to spend time with the eclectic cast of characters, then it absolutely delivers all you need. So while I feel unsatisfied with the progression, I will still pick up the next one just to be able to spend more time with the crew.

R. C. Bray may seem like an odd choice of narrator for this series, but he is actually perfect, and he is a big reason the character interactions work so well. He delivers another excellent performance with this one.