A review by benlundns
The Grand Design by John Marco

4.0

This book was rare in the fact that it was much better and more fleshed out than the original. I think that this book shows the author growing as a writer. The first book focused just on Richard "The Jackal". There were minor characters orbiting him, but that book was 100% about him. In this book, the world expands, we have kingdoms, we have different leaders, different factions, plots and counter-plots, it is a much more complex world. And I think that is what Marco does so well, his books lay out military maneuvering, and political scheming as the gears that move this world forward. There is no one big hero or villain that is just omnipresent over everything. The plot moves forward in incremental steps until the whole is revealed and we are almost as surprised as the characters. I know there is a third book, and I am excited to get to it, mostly because I want to know where everyone goes from here. There are still a lot of balls up in the air, and they've all got to land. I'm sure we will be introduced to even more characters that will contribute to the tapestry Marco is weaving for us.