This book is trying too much. Although the writing is good, the story was unbelievable at many points. There was too much going on without concrete reason. So you have a constant chase, constant tension, and in the end you have a feeling it was all for nothing. Also, there's a problem with translating Eastern European curse words literally into English. As somebody from Eastern Europe I can say it doesn't work. I liked the portrayal of Tbilisi, Georgia and Ossetia. With great talent of the writer and his interest in Georgian past and present I think we can expect many good works from him in the future.