The book follows the travels of a man to the small town of Evening, Oregon, where his beloved wife was killed in a freak accident the year before.

Nonetheless, the book retains a small following of fans that greatly admire its "mature" style and few reviewers have considered it a poor effort.

Regina Schroeder in her review for Booklist said, "Herter's blending of contemporary fantasy and Kent's Verne opera-in-progress is seamless and intense, and his creation of Downstairs fascinating but terrible.

"[1] Charles De Lint reviewing for Fantasy & Science Fiction said, "there is far more to praise in Evening's Empire than to criticize.

"[2] Peter Cannon reviewing for Publishers Weekly said, "while the novel's promotional copy compares it with Gene Wolfe's Peace and Charles de Lint's Newford stories, the cop-out ending is not one either of those pros would have chosen.