Too much of this book reads like "Letters to Penthouse". Don't buy this if you don't like graphic descriptions of sex. I enjoyed the political intrigue tracking the rise of the "Napolean-like" Laish Tenedos. However, I was totally turned off by the sex scenes sprinkled liberally throughout the book. They added nothing to the plot and seemed to exist only to please those who "read" porno. You can simply skip the porno sections and you won't miss a thing in the story. What was the author thinking? Most of the battle scenes were ok but a bit on the short side. Unfortunately, I bought the second book in the series at the same time as the first and I'm debating whether to throw it away or use its pages as a cup coaster.