Excellent fantasy from Cluley, with a setting that convinces – a city rising from the sea on aged timbers, whose inhabitants live off the sea. Those closer to the sea are richer, whilst those further away have to eke out a living, and it is one of these ‘uppers’ who is the protagonist, a young man who dreams of life far away in the fabled city build on sand, Fata Morgana.

There’s more than a touch of Dickens in the setting and telling of the story, as he is orphaned, brought up by his unpleasant uncle, in a society where the rich and the poor live cheek by jowl, with little chance of improving oneself, a sort of mashup of Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. Cluley creates a vivid setting with some great imagery and detail, and provides a story that demands a sequel.