The book is very well written, the characters have depth and the author does a good job of balancing the plot and history. Relationships in the book are interesting and the characters are quite realistic and convincing but sometimes things seem to get a little bit overcomplicated. I personally even found myself confused on one or 2 occasions. Finishing just shy of 550 pages, the book is quite a lengthy, slow burner. There's nothing wrong with this in itself but I personally prefer a faster pace for books this long. Maybe I was expecting something along the lines of Jeffrey Archer's Kane and Abel, which was an equally lengthy book covering a similar time period but also quite fast paced. Either that or maybe a shorter book. This one was quite demanding even though it was good. Would definitely recommend if you like lengthy slow burners but maybe not a first choice for those who prefer something a little bit pacier. Thank you to Readers First for the free copy