I struggled to get into this storyline of Joe Wilderness . The characters seemed to merge together and I had difficulty telling them apart at some parts probably due to the russian names which I started shortening to make it easier for me . The overall plot was good but I did not warm to the main character or sympathise with him and all in all the book took far longer to read then was necessary. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them but I think this one was just a bit beyond me and I felt like a contestant on University Challenge and not being able to keep up with the questions or those around me . I may try and re read this to see if I can get a better understanding and feel for Joe.