This is an intriguing scenario for a metafictional fantasy novel. An outsider trapped in a B-grade fantasy world should be acutely aware of the limitations of the genre, offering rich opportunities for parody and deconstruction. Frustratingly, though, Nightfall doesn’t follow through on this potential. Early on, Aden encounters an inhumanly beautiful witch (one of very few female characters) who uses her magical sex appeal to manipulate and enslave men; this ancient, sexist cliché should be used satirically, if at all. When, instead, the episode plays out without a hint of irony, it becomes disappointingly clear that this is not an ambitious book.

Nightfall proceeds as a straightforward comedic horror-fantasy: Terry Pratchett meets C.S. Lewis with added gore and none of the style. Will Elliott has a strong sense of the macabre, and Nightfall blends disturbing imagery with absurd humour successfully in a few darkly amusing set pieces. It is less convincing when it wants to be taken seriously, or when the focus is on Aden – an utterly generic twenty-something whose most profound moment of character development is that he misses ‘watching movies’, ‘playing some tunes’, and ‘computer games’ (one wonders whether his other hobbies include ‘having fun’ and ‘eating food’). The supporting characters and the world they inhabit are more clearly defined, but still fail to inspire any strong emotions. By the end, the world’s very existence is at stake, but it’s hard to think of a reason why it should be saved.