my heart is a glorious machine;

Yeah, I think it does -- for one thing, it's a thought-full book, with a lot of cultural examinations, and plus it's too awesome and delightful to get buried under the all-encompassing frequently misleading "fantasy" label. :D (Also I find it incredibly cool that the Phouka is Not White. Fairies are usually non-human by their very nature, but they're usually non-human and incredibly Anglo-looking for no good reason, and the fact that the Phouka was this indefinable not-white race pleased me quite a lot.)