This is not my usual style of novel....despite it being my beloved historical fiction. I picked it up at a used book store, sat down and fell in love in the first chapter. After that things get sketchy. I was bored for much of the first third of the book...not so much with the author's style, which is beautiful and poignant and gritty, but with the procession of a number of skimming-the-surface characters. As we go back and forth and get to know each better I did find my heroes and the book held my interest more fully. All of the seemingly surface characters didn't feel overwhelming to me as other readers have mentioned. I enjoyed the peeks into the misconceptions of our main characters. The pervading emotion through all of the book though is one of a poignant looking-back, which took me out of the time and place, placing me here as a reader rather than inside the world. It's a horrible, human and inhumane story encompassing war in it's regular sense and war of the classes and cultures, all historical or perfectly plausible as such. Beautiful writing....I will certainly be seeking out more by this author. ( )

Very disappointed with this book. Tried to
do too much in too short a time. ( )

Utterly facile - I really don't know why he bothered to write it, nor, indeed, why I bothered to read it. I have had migraines that were more enjoyable than this novel. ( )

A strangely structured novel about Britain's early attempts to control Afghanistan in the mid 19th Century, it is told through the stories of a wide range of characters, only some of whom are integral to the story. It is interesting and written with a nice style. Ultimately, I felt it didn't quite work as a novel, but it kept me reading to the end. ( )

Interesting and erudite novel which provides detailed character sketches of some individuals involved in the first Afghan and a very sketchy coverage of what happened. ( )