Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: good writing from a mediocre writer

Difficult to get into. Clear, fully formed characters. Well constructed plot. However, somehow it all falls flat. It left me longing for three books that easily surpass this one on three levels: The Perfect Storm: on the topic of life and death at sea; Serpentine: fulfilling the page-turning murder mystery catagory, and A Prayer for Owen Meany: for SUPERIOR construction of historical plot and character strength.