This is a good story… perhaps a bit of a slow start… but (you knew there was a ‘but’ coming, right?) for some reason the author or the typesetter or the editor has decided to italicise loads of words. This spoiled the reading for me. When I see an italicised word I mentally emphasise it. And then to discover that most of these words hold no special significance is a bit off-putting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a novel before, and it’s a shame, because otherwise this is a well thought out, complex story with interesting characters.
   On balance, I’d recommend it. Maybe my adverse reaction to over-italicisation is extreme, and other readers won’t be so bothered.