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I slogged through the first half of this book with little interest. There was so much exposition with so little action, and characters were piled on. An interesting setting - within the walls of the palace - was introduced, but it didn't really go anywhere.

Finally, almost two-thirds of the way through, plots started to thicken, irrelevant characters started to show up, THINGS HAPPENED.

So the book went from a total loss to a 'meh'. Looking back on the book, I'm mostly disappointed by what could have been. The idea of a subterranean between the walls second city is awesome, but is merely used as a plot device, barely explored. A cave of a seraglio, treated the same. A mad woman with ties to the story that come up in the last 20 pages? Wasted. A denizen of the hidden city who observes everything and has a cute cat for a sidekick? I want a whole book about him! Two minor chracters betrayed, corrupted, and then some betrayal of their own. But again, mere plot devices that enter and exit as needed with little exposition.

Ultimately I found myself interested in the world that wasn't addressed by this book. The court intrigue and the queen were boring. The climax (haha) of the book that tied everything together was practically independent of the rest of the story. It felt tacked on and rushed.

My edition (the Kindle) had an afterword by Moorcock describing his influences and nods to classic literature. Maybe if I had read those books I would've seen the subtle satire he is apparently working with. His afterword also addresses the last chapter and its rape scene that was later rewritten. I found it interesting that this edition included both endings but kept the original (offensive) while adding the rewrite as an appendix. Odd. I did find the original rather obnoxious, but found the rewrite just as condescending in its own way.

I know this is something of a modern classic, but the descriptions of it set the stage for a much more exciting book than it really is. It's a clever idea with potential for sexy, opulent writing about grimy underworld characters mixing with the strait-laced and proper court with a dark streak. But it falls pathetically flat with long-winded writing and little action for 200 pages.