From my first sight of the extremely attractive cover design I wanted to read this book. I was not disappointed. It is an epic tale set in seventeeth century Europe and revolves around the life of a character called Jack. The book is divided into three parts and deals with three different periods of his life. The first introduces Jack as a teenager, the earliest is in part two, his boyhood, and the third deals with Jack as a young man and his wartime exploits. There is a large cast of interesting supporting characters in all parts of the book and the story is told from various characters' points of view. Jack is a fascinating and admirable character, though flawed as a result of the hardship he has faced, and never lost my sympathy throughout, despite some of the hard things that he has to do. I was totally pulled into the story and, despite it being a formidably thick volume, I read it very quickly. It was hard to put down. I am looking forward to the sequel. Highly recommended.