I was worried that the length of this book would be an issue. But, not at all. The story was gripping enough for the pages to fly by; I was quite engrossed in the tale. Not knowing much about the actual historical facts was not a problem either; in fact, I think that helped me enjoy the tale even more. I am generally against the forced inclusion of new-age tropes, but in this book, everything seemed to flow so well together. I now see that I’m not anti-anything as a rule: all I want is a well-told story, whatever the themes/tropes. Loved this book.