While I found this book to be at best, mildly interesting, my overall feeling is one of disapointment. This effort would have been better served had it been split into two seperate books. This would have allowed for a more focused plot development. I found the numerous side stories to be a distraction, and felt they detracted from the overall focus of the book. This book had potential, which was never realized, due, in my opinion, to the reader never really being able to determine what the main storyline was supposed to be. The most interesting and informative portion of the book is the Afterword, where the Author outlined the figures from History who were the inspiration for the different charachters within the fragmented, unfocused, and otherwise un-remarkable book.