The best mainstream Banks book that I've read so far. I can't think of a single thing wrong with this book. I especially liked the fact that Isis starts out as a humble member of a strange sect, and gradually learns that the founder is just a dirty old man and there is no magic involved. The last 2 pages even strip her of any magical powers of her own, which was a very welcome surprise, since that was about the only thing I would've been left unhappy with by the end of the book.