This is one of the very few genre novels - among not many novels full stop - that actually blew my mind a bit when I first read it, however many years ago (pre-extemporanea, so probably about 20 or so years back), specifically its ending. The canny melding of 15th century historical/military/fantasy thrills with its contemporary framing device and how they interact was just something else, especially having picked it up without an inkling of where it was going. Re-read today, it's still an impressive and immersive experience, though the thin-ness of the characterisation is an issue - except, to some degree, the three central (female) characters from the main narrative.
