In another sparkling and slightly askew adventure in the mode of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Jack Vance, Fools Errant's Filidor Vesh sashays once more through the penultimate age, finding that love is a many splintered thing. The dandified Archon's apprentice is literally bowled over by beautiful Emmlyn Podarke -- she knocks him flat and steals his credentials, daring him to pursue her to a remote and mostly forgotten corner of Old Earth. Now Filidor must cope with philosophical pirates, prophet-seeking aliens, light-fingered mummers, and a tiny, bothersome voice in his left ear. Meanwhile, the Archon may or may not have been kidnaped, and somebody's digging up a mysterious ancient artefact buried on the Podarke family farm.Praise for Matthew Hughes:"e;Matthew Hughes does Jack Vance better than anyone except Jack himself"e; - George R.R. Martin"e;Heir apparent to Jack Vance"e; - Booklist"e;Hughes's boldness is admirable"e;- New York Review of Science Fiction"e;Hughes effortlessly renders fantastic worlds and beings believable"e;- Publishers Weekly"e;A towering talent"e;- Robert J. Sawyer"e;A treasure"e; - David Gerrold