In this masterfully written tale, Justin Cronin takes us on a dark and harrowing journey to witness the death of one age and the birth of another. Epic in scope and yet profoundly personal, Cronin's work is full of depth, evil, heroism, and a surprisingly beautiful, if all-too-human, darkness.

I was immediately drawn in and captivated by the amazingly well-written prose. After a few days of finding myself called back to the book, as if by telepathic inducement, I completed this amazingly satisfying read. The writing itself is clearly five-star work -- like a smooth and tasty liquid made of words. But the one thing keeping me from a five star, overall, is what seems to be a great gap in the story's center. The build-up to the much-talked-about 'Night of Stars and Blades' that never really happened as part of the story -- and is only mentioned in retrospect.

But despite this one disappointment, the entire tale is a wonderful and captivating work of imaginative excellence -- one certainly worthy of the adulation and fanfare it has received. I, for one, will be very interested to see Justin's further writing in this series.