[1] The book was dedicated to author Neil Gaiman, who later wrote a poem about the honor and gave it to Jones.

[2] Jones said of the book "it's very strange but people who've read it so far say that it's absolutely fascinating, I mean it's really weird—I couldn't begin to describe it.

Following instructions in case of such an accident, the Sector Controller sends a message to the Reigners, the five people who rule the galaxy.

When she enters it, she finds that the woods have expanded, and she encounters a futuristic chamber with a famished, exceptionally tall and skeletal man, Mordion Agenos, inside.

He claims he has been asleep for centuries, but Ann knows she saw him enter Hexwood Farm just a few days ago.

While she is in her own town, she and her brother see more and more people appearing to enter Hexwood Farm Estate and still none ever emerge.

Yam then tells Mordion, Ann, and Hume that they are all in the field of the Bannus, which warps time and space in order to run scenarios for some mysterious purpose.

Hume turns out to be Merlin, and "Ann's" brother is discovered to be Fitela, a dragon-slayer mentioned in "Beowulf".

It received mostly positive reviews: Kirkus Reviews called it "an elaborate, fascinating, and superbly crafted adventure", School Library Journal praised it for its "knife-sharp prose" and for being a "marvelously mind-stretching" book, while Booklist said it was a "satisfying tale" and that "[t]he action is fast paced, the mysterious circumstances are compelling, and there's even a nice bit of humor.