It didn't knock me out the way I thought it would. A few passages even felt forced, things caught fire for awhile toward the end, but mostly the writing, plotting, etc. underwhelmed. Somehow I had a hard time keeping track of the boys and the staff, which tells me that they weren't characterized deeply enough. Even the protagonist remains kind of rough-sketched in my mind. I can't remember how I rated Underground Railroad, but my sense is that I liked it a good deal more than this one. It was good, maybe very good, maybe my expectations too high, and maybe my estimation of it will grow as it settles in my mind, but I kind of feel like this was a missed opportunity.