As a lover of historical fiction and 'Eye of the Needle', I was really looking forward to this book. More than disappointed, I was stunned. It seemed more like the work of a talented high school student. The book was actually goofy at times.The characters themselves have the depth of George Lucas creations. The plot connections between characters are clumsy, like a bad first attempt at Dicken's novel. The acts of cruelty wear the trappings of historical realism, but they are coupled with such juvenile inner dialogs that they are clearly there just to titilate the reader.Finally, you need the patience of a monk to tolerate the pace. Lovers of historical fiction are not afraid of long books. But unfortunately, the author and editor (if there was one) seemed to feel that the genre and audience relieved them of any responsibility to be disciplined and make choices.