This current book has already attracted attention from the press - even though at the time of writing this, the book hasn't even been published yet, film rights were snapped up, and Benedict Cumberbatch is due to play the lead role in the upcoming film! (as well as producing it).
The book is about Tom Hazard, who suffers from a rare medical condition (anageria) which causes him to age much much slower than the average human. He looks and puts his age at 41, but he is actually over 400 years old. There aren't many other sufferers of it in the world, but one of them, Hendrich, has decided to set up The Albatross Society, and aims to recruit all sufferers into the society to protect them from medics and scientists from using them in scientific experiments. Tom has lived through many historical events (for example the plague), met many famous historical figures (for example Shakespeare), but one thing that is the most difficult for him to manage, and one which Hendrich has advised him against, is falling love. He fell in love once, with Rose, and they had a daughter, Marion, who also has anageria. Marion has disappeared, Tom hasn't seen her since she was a child, so he is now trying to find her, but Hendrich seems to be putting obstacles in his way.
I enjoyed the book - I loved the detail of the historical events mentioned. Matt obviously did a lot of research. But I did find my interest waning a bit in the last few chapters - I skim-read them instead. It's a great premise for a story, and I can see it working well as a film, so I'd be interested to see it when it comes out.
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