This is possibly the best book I have ever read. It's a page turner with twists right up to the last page and flawlessly weaves a variety of subjects into it's plot. It's the kind of book that really can make a person think, but can be a plain source of entertainment as well. I'm obsessed. ( )

I liked the concept of this book but it took too long to get to the pay off at the end. It should have had more action along the way. ( )

Imagine a boy who loses his father and brother, leaving him to his abusing, alcoholic mother. Imagine him bright, but stressed by the deaths around him and the ghosts that haunt him into drug and alcohol abuse. Then imagine him redeemed.

I love first books by authors. They convey a passion that caused their author to spend the years it took to write them. The first third of this book is terrific, although horrifying, as we watch the descent of a gifted boy into the depths of anger and despair. Then there is a great expository lump in the middle of the book, where the action stops and a good bit of philosophic underpinning begins. The last third picks up the pace again, but the denouement, which is meant to be a surprise, was obvious from the first page. And the concept of successful civil war in the United States that ends without violence is laughable.

I do recommend this book, but I have to take away a half of a star for the lumpy exposition of the center and the wish fulfillment, unrealistic politics. ( )