It includes two of his tales of Somna's world, "Courting the Lady Scythe" and "The Man Who Carved Skulls," and the second of his Yamada no Goji stories, "Moon Viewing at Saijo Bridge."

Publishers Weekly characterizes the book as a "breezy collection" providing "provocative reflections on human nature," related "in a lyrical style that is sympathetic without being sentimental, straddling the boundary between the realistic and the romantic."

The title story, described as "a delightful folktale meditation on the mysteries of love and friendship," is singled out for particular comment, as are "The Finer Points of Destruction" and "The Twa Corbies, Revisited.

"[2] Reviewer Don D'Ammassa calls the author "one of the few who consistently writes excellent fantasy at shorter length rather than ponderous novels," with "a light touch that makes his prose sparkle."

That said, he feels this book "doesn’t quite measure up to his two previous collections that I’ve read, which probably contained the pick of his work," though he notes "there are several quite nice tales here including 'The Man Who Carved Skull[s],' 'The Twa Corbies Revisited,' and 'Moon Viewing at Shijo Bridge.