Ya, like you probably met Albert at this point? You’re like “who the hell are these people - I think another book got printed into this one by mistake!” “This isn’t even the same story!” :) Same thing with other families and bandit gangs etc. And then you slowly realize it was all planned out and all has a purpose.

Isn’t there a saying or writing thing about only introducing things that have a purpose? Like if you introduce a gun into the story, then it has to be used. Anyways, there are no “guns” introduced without a purpose.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you keep track of all the people and their names. I’d go so far as to make a list on the side as you meet people (and try to write down all the people you’ve already met). That’s maybe the only flaw of the book in my opinion - it requires the reader to pay attention to get the full effect. Sometimes very important details or a plot twist are revealed in a single sentence - usually centered around who is who.

Man, maybe I’ll read it again! So good!