The Desert Mermaid

I agree with pretty much everything you said (one of my favourite things is cause and effect - what were the steps leading up to this thing, how would changing them slightly make it different, what's this thing going to cause... and it all fits together in an amazing yet not at all rigid way) except I quite like historical fiction - not the kind about famous figures, mostly, but the type where the author makes up some characters and puts them in that historical setting. Which is almost like fantasy anyway, I guess. The amount of fantasy depending on the depth of research done. :P

I'm not entirely sure how much sense this comment makes. I should maybe go to bed soon.