I put off reading this one for quite awhile. It was long and I wasn't quite sure it would be my type of read. When I finally picked it up, I still wasn't sure this would be for me. Lots of characters thrown at you and with names like Swietoslawa, I had a hard time keeping them straight. Normally, I would just put the book down and try later or just decide it was not for me. Yet, the writing was done so well, I wanted to stick to this one. So I did. What I got was a wonderful, intriguing story that played out like a political game of chess. It didn't need to be overly brutal or have lots of action because the richness of the story itself was enough. Looking forward to more of the story in book two.
