When horses where first introduced to the Australian mainland, their galloping motion was said to resemble the flight of the now critically endangered low-flying parrot.

The novel advocates a return to the colonial visions of Ernest Giles, who sought to open up the heart of the continent for industrial development, including uranium mining.

"[3] Maurice Vintner in The Sydney Morning Herald noted a lot of depth in the book: "It could be a subtle psychological study, but it is both more and less than this; it could be a superior piece of natural history, but it is more than this.

"[4] Reviewing a re-issue of the novel in 1986 in The Canberra Times Veronica Sen noted: "This stimulating novel, using myths of the great Australian emptiness, both spiritual and physical, as its underpinning, oscillates between boyish glee and disillusionment as it looks at relationships - and our society – with both wit and compassion.

"[5] Epigraph: with an host of furious fancies whereof I am commaunder, with a burning speare, & a horse of aire, to the wildernesse I wander.

Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares and the slavery of Home, man feels once more happy.

The blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood ... Afresh dawns the morn of life ... - Richard Burton, Journal entry, 2 December 1856.