Point of View

The point of view is third person, with the narrative focused on the adventures, discussions, and thoughts of Burton. Burton is a somewhat unreliable narrator, becasue he thinks that he was never very good as a ship captain. He also believes himself to be somewhat psychic, and Kazz as well, but the reader never encounters evidence of this, indeed experiencing much to the contrary. He is unaware that Ethicals walk amongst them, and is many times surprised by the actions or statements of other characters, such as when Kazz kills the slaves in order to join Goring's soldiers. Burton is intelligent and capable as an explorer, but also lacks evidence that the Ethicals are involved in something sinister. Despite this, he continues his quest against them with sheer determination.

The novel unfolds in roughly chronological order, but large gaps in time with rapid summations of events...