Enjoyed this more than the 1st of the series. The author has found his writing style a bit more. Had forgotten the sheer number of threads that are weaved together throughout the book - different combinations of characters end up in different groups and places across an epic spread of time. Going to take a lot of effort to keep up with. Having said that I'd read a book of the series every 2 months I'm now v v tempted to go straight on to the next volume.