I came to this book thinking it would be an alternate history. Instead it was a long meditation on reincarnation. There really is no story here. What little it does have gets lost 3/4 of the way through. I complete the book hoping that it would get interesting again. It didn’t.

I only rate items five stars if they change my life. Yes, I will be the first to admit there are slow passages, but the reimagination of the world is truly mind blowing. The book takes place in a world where European culture became extinct during the black death, and then recolonized by the other great cultures of the world. The depth and examination of other cultures as they evolve into a modern technological culture is brilliant. The whole book is tied together by vignettes of the afterlife, as we see the same characters born and reborn as they struggle towards enlightenment. Truly magical

This is a great speculative history imagining Europe completely wiped out by the Black Death and the other cultures carrying on. Excellent read!