This is a tough book to rate. On the one hand, it perpetuates disproven stereotypes about the Middle Ages . . . but it was written in 1992, so at the time, that was the best knowledge Willis had, probably. The characters are relentlessly myopic and irritating . . . which is totally believable for anyone who's ever been anywhere near academia. I found the lack of cell phones (those were starting to be a thing in the 90s, so it's not like Willis wouldn't have known they were coming) highly unbelievable, but I can see where maybe cell phones would have made the plot too easy. So the whole thing is a balancing act of severe irritation and complete understanding that I'm supposed to be irritated and thus Willis has done her job very well.