Though this book does get off to a slow start, it can be credited to the mood being established by Gibson. 19th-Century Ontario is a slow moving place, and Gibson's lack of break-neck action serves well here. However, I do agree that the book never does pick up the pace. Instead, we are treated to seemingly random vignettes of strange occurrences in and around the Fraser homestead in southern Ontario. There are certain gothic elements to this tale: family dysfuncion, madness, violence, and a perpetual feeling of uncertainty. That's what this book left me with: I was uncertain about where it would eventually lead. When it got to the end, the feeling persisted. A strange work, but not worth high praise.

I'm currently only half-way through this book because I like it so much I can't bear to finish it. I keep going back and re-reading, even out loud, as one would with poetry. I love the language, the descriptions and, especially, the humor. I started this book immediately after an action-mystery and at first found it slow going as well; descriptions of people, places, things aren't fill-ins--they're the book. So I started over and adjusted myself to the pace. It lit up.

This book does a very good job of informing the reader of a neat idea. I found it to be quite fascinating and would recommend it to anyone interested in engineering.