Andy Mangels said in this forum that Michael Martin is simply not a character writer. He is however a plot and politics writer.
This was a good book. The parts leading up to
were actually well-done.
I would have preferred a longer epilogue or perhaps a transfer into another book, but that would probably be tripping a few too many canon tripwires.
I like the comparisons with the First World War made in the book, which, a war which was frustrating and confusing from beginning to end. It's not a war many writers reference anymore, though it is timely as the 100th Anniversary of the Guns of August is in 2014.