I figured out what was bugging me about the pacing: they were told not to talk to anyone about the mystery. And they keep running into exactly the right people who mysteriously already know about it, telling them their bit even though they’re not supposed to, and getting the next bit of information to keep them going. Ultimately, it’s not a mystery, it’s a series of conversations they were TOLD NOT TO HAVE OR ELSE [UNSPECIFIED DIRE CONSEQUENCES]!

This had all the ingredients of a book I should have loved, but I found it hard going.  I’m not entirely sure if this was due to the book or to unrelated factors that made it challenging for me to focus on this book during the time frame when I was reading it. 

The writing was solid and it was intricately-plotted.  I enjoyed the scenes set in the 70s more than the historical bits set much longer ago.  There was a large cast of characters I mostly couldn’t keep straight, so perhaps I’d have liked it more if I’d read it on kindle and could have easily looked up each name when characters resurfaced.  

The major thing that made this book such a slog for me is that I never bought into or cared much about the quest to find the chess pieces.  Though, I *did* enjoy quest-related revelation about the

elixir of life

!)  If this weren’t a book club read I likely wouldn’t have gotten that far.

The scope of this book was wide ranging in the arts/sciences/figures referenced, so there will be something there for everyone.  But, it also felt a tad random to me… like a bet to see how many references could be worked into a single (looong) book.  

This just wasn’t for me, at least not in this season.

Engaging and expansive mystery that takes place over time and in different places, with an adventurous spirit and a fascinatingly well weaved set of puzzles, stories and tales.