What a unique book! I've not read anything like it. Susanna Clarke has really put together something special here. You're sucked into a world that's so unlike anything that we're used to, and yet you can still visualise it all, so vivid is the writing. There's mystery, intrigue, philosophy, history, etymology, and more tied up in this one. If anything, given the build up and tension, I was left a little wanting. I wish that it was a little bit longer and that Clarke had gone a little deeper with certain aspects, which sounds funny to say for a concept as rich as this one and given how much Clarke did pack in between the lines!