I have read every one of Ayn Rand's fiction books and this is definitely the best written one. You do not get the sometimes annoying 1 page monologues from characters did you see in "The Fountainhead" and in "Atlas Shrugged". HOWEVER, there are some serious problems with the plot. For instance, about 1/3 of the way through the book we find out Kira did, Leo, and her family all make it on the list and will be Purge kicked out of Petrograd. And then ... Absolutely nothing happens from it !!! It's Never Mentioned again. Another problem is the constant vascillation of Andrei. It Seems he goes from bad to good and back again just to keep the plot moving. And what about Maurissa? Kira and Leo can not stand forth as Their neighbor and then all of the sudden their best friends. This is a pretty good book but points to the inevitable factthat Ayn Rand Can not Be Considered a great wirter of fiction. Her books are allegorical Merely Attempts (successful ones, I may add) at Encapsulating her Objectivist philosophy into digestible form to Easily Hanes reader.
