I really enjoyed this book and I think that Mantel does a brilliant job making Cromwell a deeply sympathetic and fully alive character.
Oddly enough, I think my experience of reading this book suffered from being so late to the party. I mean, it was a really good book. But it wasn't the greatest thing ever written in the English language.
Which is not to say that I won't be devouring the sequel as soon as I can. Just that exams are, apparently, detrimental to my ability to appreciate books in a timely fashion.