I own to being a fan of this series, a distillation of the best in Tom Holt's books and a delightful idea to say the least. Goblins, magic, bargains with the devil, star crossed love and reincarnation make for an absorbing tale, but I did feel that this tale could have stood some editing for repetition of certain explanations. This isn't the strongest entry in the quartet, but there is still plenty to enjoy. Like Terry Pratchett (who he in no way resembles) Tom Holt is adept at coming out with hilarious comments on the way we live and our hopes and fears. In Colin we have another unfortunate-seeming loser with his family worries and work woes that is easy to identify and sympathize with, adrift in a world that seems to have something against him - or does it? This is uplifting stuff, comic and inventive and even if Colin and his two possible partners have many other parallels in Holt fiction this series has the far more interesting (and amoral) employees of J W Wells & Co. Skipping parts is not an option with this series and unlike too much fictional humor there is a real story in here and plenty of mileage left for many more. Great fun.