I appreciate that this is a different take on the Batman story and I found the portrayal of Lieutenant Gordon very interesting, particularly how his struggle with infidelity paralleled his discovery of a vigilante, but there didn't seem to be many ideas here that extended beyond the lore itself. It is possible that whatever made this novel unique has already been absorbed into the culture through the recent Christopher "I can't handle moral ambiguity" Nolan films. Certainly this is a grittier Batman than the 60s comics. It is entirely possible that my reading is jaded by a sense of having already seen this idea before. Still, it is further evidence of there not being enough depth of theme in the writing.