I found the opening of the book a little confusing, we were thrown at Absolom without much explanation. Despite that, or perhaps because I wasn’t quite clicked, the revelations hit me without me having guessed what was happening. Sam’s prehistoric time didn’t work as I thought it would and much of the “Try but the universe is helping you” motif annoyed me some. Still, from the beginning of part 3 onward, I was intensely hooked, determined to read and keep reading until the mysteries and all around them had been resolved. So in that aspect, the book was excellent, because if you’d suggested doing anything else, I’d have said no thanks!