This is our current book club read, and at first I was skeptical of how the book was going to turn out. It is almost 600 pages, so it is a challenge with a busy life to get it read in a month. It took about 150 pages for me to be interested in the book...but once I kept reading, I really love it! You can tell the author did her homework, and relates the characters pasts to actual events in history. I loved the alchamist, science, and phsychology aspect of the book and I can't wait for the sequel. This book is the first in a trilogy calle the All Souls Trilogy. The next book comes out in 2012...and I will be first in line!