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Takes a few hundred pages for the action to get going. But I really loved it when it kicked off. My interest dissipated a bit towards he end though. Some of the actions taken by the characters are a bit stupid, which I always fi d really grating (e.g. some elite mercenary dies in a really stupid way because it makes the story more dramatic). The world is really original and richly drawn though. I loved the wyrmen. Overall liked it a lot.

It's one of those books where nothing much happens, there isn't really a plot, it's just people living there lives, so I wasn't expecting to like it. After about the first chapter though I found I was really enjoying it and found it very easy to read. I think it helps that it's written in a very punchy style, the text is regularly broken up into sections and the chapters are regular, which makes it easier to read. And it's broken up over twelve different characters so I never got bored of reading about one. It is of course also really well written, all the characters seemed interesting and written with depth and a little humour.

Unfortunately I left this behind by accident while traveling so I did not get to finish. Probably got a third of the way through. Reminded me a lot of catcher in the rye: the protagonist is a crude cynical whiny little teenage boy, surrounded by ugly stupid corrupt oppressive adults. I didn't enjoy CitR and I didn't think much of this one either (obvious caveat that I didn't finish). In this book the narrator constantly says "fucken'" instead of "fucking" - in trainspotting the dialogue is written in phonetic Scottish accents or dialects and it's brilliant - this however fucking sucks.

Written in quite a textbook style. An adequate history of the suffragettes in and around Bristol

In absolutely dire need of editing. Once past the first chapter or two, which I found quite engaging, it goes on for page after page, shifting between topics and moving back and forth in time with little to guide you as to the change in topic. Some of the details did not interest me, and I was left wondering at some of the details left out. Was very superficial on the actual mechanism by which democratic power was defeated by economic power in the 1900s, not doing much more than recording that it happened. Overall I felt it could have done a far better job of chronicling the history of democracy in the UK, but despite these criticisms I have never before read a book on the history of democracy in the UK, so I was pleased with it.

Somewhat entertaining but dated prose

Well written and engaging but the ending didn't quite justify the drama and mystery leading to it