I really wanted to love this book, considering the hype surrounding it. At just over a thousand pages, its probably one of the largest books I’ve read in a while. The story line is the usual hate to love relationship, intertwined with war, politics, religion, sex and espionage. I almost gave up reading at one point as the story feels like it’s going no where, but perseverance yields reward, and things finally progress. The characters are interesting, with reasonable back stories. The word building can get a tad over complex in places. But that could just be me.

Could the book have been shorter? Yes. Are the characters interesting? Yes. Is it worth the hype? Not so much.

Take this one at a steady pace, after all reading is not a race.