Following on from A God-Blasted Land, The Bastard Cadre and The Enchanted Forest picks up with Avril Ethanson struggling to understand his place in the hierarchy of Lord Obdurin’s court at Frake’s Peak, but a chance encounter with a mysterious, outlawed gypsy princess, Falloomaloonadaria Smith, saves him from having to think too hard. Entranced by Falloomaloonadari’s beauty and utter contempt for him, Avril decides questions about his fate, the identities of his cadre-mates, and Lord Obdurin’s war with the Gods can wait, he’s horny and Ranora has been acting kind of clingy – what with the whole talking to him thing – ever since he smoked Rapta. So he decides it’s time for a gap year and takes off in a previously unhinted at direction leaving his friends and readers completely bemused about the point of the story.

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