I have only read a little more than one third of this book and I can't get up the gumption to read any more. This is very unlike me. Yes, the descriptions of landscapes and even mood of places and people seem very well done (why I rated more than just one star) but the book just goes on and on and on. Great descriptive writing, great descriptive writing, great descrptive writing, a tiny bit of story . . . A friend who I love discussing books with and who is a voracious reader loaned me The Historian, telling me I would love it. I am a little confounded that anyone could love it, or perhaps I am confounded with myself that I don't love it, but the whole thing is a mystery to me. Well, not the plot (I just don't care) but rather, how anyone could enjoy this book!