This was a book that I picked up on a total whim at the library while grabbing another book. I had never heard of Darien or C.F. Iggulden before, but I thought I would give it a try. Sometimes that backfires; sometimes it results in some of the best reads of my year. In the case of this book, I would say it landed decidedly in the middle! What started as a dud gradually blooms…