I flat out love this book. At 900 pages, I was actually saddened when it ended. The story reads like prose. At times one wondered if the author was trying too hard to impress, but his beautiful, captivating style was demonstrated so often and almost effortlessly that the thought was put to rest.

One of the things I love is the multitude of genres included in this story. Romance, action,adventure, philosophy. All of these and more are blended in to this one mans figurative and literal journey. Another aspect I both loved and loathed was the jarring change of pace that happened at least 3-4 times. You're cozy, you're enjoying the scenery then WHAM! The trajectory flips 180 degrees and you're shaking your head wondering if it really DID just happen. I grew to love this device as I was never allowed to get TOO comfortable.

If there's one negative, and it's not exactly small- it's that I put the book down twice and had to read 200 pages before I found myself entrenched. I was very close to giving up, but am sooo glad I jumped back on board. After those 200 pages I could not stop reading nor could I wait to get back to find out what was going on with these beautifully imagined characters and the world they inhabited. I work in a book store and whenever this book comes up from someone who's read it, I find myself talking for 5-10 minutes to passionate readers both male and female. If you can, do what I did and don't read what it's about. Just dive in and let the author immerse you in his characters world.