Despite the many rave reviews, my kiddos and I thought that this was the worst of the Arcadia trilogy. Again, as others have noted, the plot is hopelessly fast. Time travel features as a central element of the plot, but it's not as well thought out as in, say, Dark, though I think it aspires to be. But it's still epic in its own way, with a healthy mix of satire. For us, the satire was encapsulated in Merlin's imperfections, short temper, and taste for satire, in short, the somewhat non-traditional portrayal of the Arthurian mage as a saucy old fart.