The Folding Knife

How it reads

The Folding Knife is fantasy (political fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an invented world, in no single period, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are power and politics, justice and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is dark — no rescue, no neat bow. At 452 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.